Step‑by‑Step: Install MySQL on AlmaLinux (CentOS Alternative) with Docker Compose

Why choose AlmaLinux?

AlmaLinux is a community‑driven, binary‑compatible replacement for CentOS, offering the same stability for enterprise workloads. MySQL runs on top of this operating system as the database service.

Traditional installation (RPM/YUM)

All commands are executed on the AlmaLinux terminal.

Check for existing MySQL packages

sudo rpm -qa | grep mysql  # list installed MySQL‑related packages

If any mysql‑* or mariadb‑* packages are found, remove them to avoid conflicts:

sudo rpm -e --nodeps <package1> <package2> ...  # force removal, use with caution

Install the official MySQL YUM repository

sudo dnf install https://dev.mysql.com/get/mysql80-community-release-el8-7.noarch.rpm

Import the MySQL GPG key

sudo rpm --import https://repo.mysql.com/RPM-GPG-KEY-mysql-2022

Install the MySQL server package sudo dnf install mysql-community-server Start and enable the service

sudo systemctl start mysqld

sudo systemctl enable mysqld

sudo systemctl status mysqld  # should show active (running)

Retrieve the temporary root password

sudo grep 'temporary password' /var/log/mysqld.log

Run the secure installation script sudo mysql_secure_installation Follow the prompts: set a strong root password, remove anonymous users, disallow remote root login, delete the test database, and reload privilege tables.

Test the installation mysql -u root -p Enter the new password, then verify the version:

SELECT VERSION();

Docker‑Compose deployment (optional)

Docker Compose isolates MySQL in a container, making setup and teardown painless.

Create a project directory mkdir mysql-docker && cd mysql-docker Create docker-compose.yml

version: '3.8'
services:
  mysql_db:
    image: mysql:8.0.33
    container_name: my_mysql_container
    restart: always
    environment:
      MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: YourStrongRootPass!
      MYSQL_DATABASE: my_app_db
      MYSQL_USER: app_user
      MYSQL_PASSWORD: AppUserPass123
    volumes:
      - mysql_data:/var/lib/mysql
    ports:
      - "3306:3306"
    networks:
      - mysql_net
volumes:
  mysql_data:
networks:
  mysql_net:

Start the stack docker-compose up -d Check container status docker-compose ps Connect inside the container

docker-compose exec mysql_db mysql -u root -p

Connecting with DataGrip

DataGrip is a JetBrains IDE for database management. Create a new MySQL data source, set host to localhost (or the Docker‑mapped host), port 3306 (or the mapped port), user root (or app_user), and the password you defined. Test the connection; if it fails, common issues include wrong credentials, MySQL service not running, or missing SSH tunnel configuration for remote hosts.