Copy MySQL Database to Another Server

The easiest way to do a one off move of a MySQL database from one server to another is to use the mysqldump utility. This utility will dump the entire database and it’s content to a file and which can then be imported it into the target database.

Before running the export, you should make sure you have enough free space to hold the database. The bigger the database, the more free space you will need for the SQL dump.

Run the below command to export your database from the source server. Replace [EXPORT_DATABASE] with the name of the database to export.

mysqldump -uroot -p [EXPORT_DATABASE] -r /location/to/export/to.sql

If required, move the SQL dump file to the target server. On the target server, run the below command to connect, create the database and import the data. Change [USERNAME] to the user you would like to connect as and [DATABASE_NAME] to the name of the databse where the dump file will be imported. The [DATABASE_NAME] will most likely be the same as on the source database however you are able to change it if required.

mysql -p -u [USERNAME] [DATABASE_NAME] < /location/to/export/to.sql