MySQL Get Started

Python can talk to MySQL databases through the official MySQL Connector/Python driver. This chapter shows you how to install the driver, establish a connection, create a database, and run your first queries — giving you a solid foundation before moving on to creating tables, inserting rows, and querying data.

What You Need

Before writing any code you need two things in place:

• Python 3.7 or later installed on your machine.
• A running MySQL server — either a local installation (MySQL Community Server) or a cloud instance (PlanetScale, Amazon RDS, etc.).

You do not need to create a database ahead of time; you will create one from Python in a later section.

Installing MySQL Connector/Python

MySQL Connector/Python is the official MySQL driver maintained by Oracle. Install it with pip:

pip install mysql-connector-python

Verify the installation:

import mysql.connector
print(mysql.connector.__version__)
# Example output: 8.4.0

If you see a version number, the driver is ready to use.

Why mysql-connector-python and not PyMySQL?

Both drivers work, but mysql-connector-python is the officially supported driver from Oracle. It uses a pure-Python implementation by default and optionally a C extension for better performance. PyMySQL is a popular community alternative with a nearly identical API. The chapters in this section use mysql-connector-python.

Connecting to a MySQL Server

Use mysql.connector.connect() to open a connection. Pass your credentials as keyword arguments:

import mysql.connector

connection = mysql.connector.connect(
    host="localhost",
    user="yourusername",
    password="yourpassword"
)

if connection.is_connected():
    print("Connected to MySQL Server")

connection.close()

Replace yourusername and yourpassword with your actual credentials. The host value is "localhost" when MySQL runs on the same machine; use an IP address or hostname for a remote server.

Keeping credentials out of source code

Hard-coding passwords in scripts is a security risk. Store them in environment variables and read them at runtime:

import mysql.connector
import os

connection = mysql.connector.connect(
    host=os.environ.get("MYSQL_HOST", "localhost"),
    user=os.environ.get("MYSQL_USER"),
    password=os.environ.get("MYSQL_PASSWORD")
)

print("Connected:", connection.is_connected())
connection.close()

Set the variables in your shell before running the script:

export MYSQL_USER=yourusername
export MYSQL_PASSWORD=yourpassword
python connect.py

Creating a Database

Once connected to the server (without specifying a database), you can create one with a CREATE DATABASE statement. Execute it through a cursor — an object that sends SQL commands and retrieves results.

import mysql.connector

connection = mysql.connector.connect(
    host="localhost",
    user="yourusername",
    password="yourpassword"
)

cursor = connection.cursor()
cursor.execute("CREATE DATABASE IF NOT EXISTS mydatabase")
print("Database created")

cursor.close()
connection.close()

The IF NOT EXISTS clause prevents an error if the database already exists.

Listing databases

You can verify the database was created by listing all databases on the server:

import mysql.connector

connection = mysql.connector.connect(
    host="localhost",
    user="yourusername",
    password="yourpassword"
)

cursor = connection.cursor()
cursor.execute("SHOW DATABASES")

for db in cursor:
    print(db)

cursor.close()
connection.close()

Each row is returned as a tuple, so you will see output like:

('information_schema',)
('mydatabase',)
('mysql',)
('performance_schema',)
('sys',)

Connecting to a Specific Database

Once the database exists, include the database parameter when connecting so all subsequent queries run against it:

import mysql.connector

connection = mysql.connector.connect(
    host="localhost",
    user="yourusername",
    password="yourpassword",
    database="mydatabase"
)

print("Database in use:", connection.database)
connection.close()

Using a Context Manager (Recommended Pattern)

Manually calling .close() on every connection and cursor is error-prone — if an exception occurs before .close(), the connection leaks. Use a try/finally block, or better, wrap the cursor in a with statement:

import mysql.connector

connection = mysql.connector.connect(
    host="localhost",
    user="yourusername",
    password="yourpassword",
    database="mydatabase"
)

try:
    with connection.cursor() as cursor:
        cursor.execute("SELECT DATABASE()")
        row = cursor.fetchone()
        print("Current database:", row[0])
finally:
    connection.close()

The with block closes the cursor automatically when the block exits, even if an exception is raised.

Handling Connection Errors

Network issues or wrong credentials raise mysql.connector.Error. Always handle this exception in production code:

import mysql.connector
from mysql.connector import Error

try:
    connection = mysql.connector.connect(
        host="localhost",
        user="yourusername",
        password="yourpassword",
        database="mydatabase"
    )
    print("Connection successful")
except Error as e:
    print(f"Error connecting to MySQL: {e}")
finally:
    if "connection" in dir() and connection.is_connected():
        connection.close()
        print("Connection closed")

Common errors you may encounter:

Quick Reference: Connection Parameters

What Comes Next

With a working connection in place you are ready to build on it:

• Create a table — define columns and data types with CREATE TABLE.
• Insert rows — add data with INSERT INTO and parameterized queries.
• Query data — retrieve rows with SELECT, fetchone(), and fetchall().
• Filter rows — narrow results with WHERE clauses.
• Create a database — full walkthrough of the CREATE DATABASE command.