4.2.8 Command-Line Options that Affect Option-File Handling

--print-defaults may be used immediately after --defaults-file, --defaults-extra-file, or --login-path.

On Windows, if the server is started with the --defaults-file and --install options, --install must be first. See Section 2.3.5.8, “Starting MySQL as a Windows Service”.

--defaults-extra-file=file_name

Read this option file after the global option file but (on Unix) before the user option file and (on all platforms) before the login path file. (For information about the order in which option files are used, see Section 4.2.7, “Using Option Files”.) If the file does not exist or is otherwise inaccessible, an error occurs. file_name is interpreted relative to the current directory if given as a relative path name rather than a full path name.

See the introduction to this section regarding constraints on the position in which this option may be specied.

--defaults-file=file_name

Read only the given option file. If the file does not exist or is otherwise inaccessible, an error occurs. file_name is interpreted relative to the current directory if given as a relative path name rather than a full path name.

Exceptions: Even with --defaults-file, mysqld reads mysqld-auto.cnf and client programs read .mylogin.cnf.

See the introduction to this section regarding constraints on the position in which this option may be specied.

--defaults-group-suffix=str

Read not only the usual option groups, but also groups with the usual names and a suffix of str. For example, the mysql client normally reads the [client] and [mysql] groups. If the --defaults-group-suffix=_other option is given, mysql also reads the [client_other] and [mysql_other] groups.

--login-path=name

Read options from the named login path in the .mylogin.cnf login path file. A “login path” is an option group containing options that specify which MySQL server to connect to and which account to authenticate as. To create or modify a login path file, use the mysql_config_editor utility. See Section 4.6.7, “mysql_config_editor — MySQL Configuration Utility”.

A client program reads the option group corresponding to the named login path, in addition to option groups that the program reads by default. Consider this command:

shell> mysql --login-path=mypath

By default, the mysql client reads the [client] and [mysql] option groups. So for the command shown, mysql reads [client] and [mysql] from other option files, and [client], [mysql], and [mypath] from the login path file.

Client programs read the login path file even when the --no-defaults option is used.

To specify an alternate login path file name, set the MYSQL_TEST_LOGIN_FILE environment variable.

See the introduction to this section regarding constraints on the position in which this option may be specied.

--no-defaults

Do not read any option files. If program startup fails due to reading unknown options from an option file, --no-defaults can be used to prevent them from being read.

The exception is that client programs read the .mylogin.cnf login path file, if it exists, even when --no-defaults is used. This permits passwords to be specified in a safer way than on the command line even if --no-defaults is present. (.mylogin.cnf is created by the mysql_config_editor utility. See Section 4.6.7, “mysql_config_editor — MySQL Configuration Utility”.)

--print-defaults

Print the program name and all options that it gets from option files. Password values are masked.

See the introduction to this section regarding constraints on the position in which this option may be specied.