8.13. mysqlhotcopy — A Database Backup Program

mysqlhotcopy is a Perl script that was originally written and contributed by Tim Bunce. It uses LOCK TABLES, FLUSH TABLES, and cp or scp to make a database backup quickly. It is the fastest way to make a backup of the database or single tables, but it can be run only on the same machine where the database directories are located. mysqlhotcopy works only for backing up MyISAM and ARCHIVE tables. It runs on Unix and NetWare.

shell> mysqlhotcopy db_name [/path/to/new_directory]

shell> mysqlhotcopy db_name_1 ... db_name_n /path/to/new_directory

Back up tables in the given database that match a regular expression:

shell> mysqlhotcopy db_name./regex/

The regular expression for the table name can be negated by prefixing it with a tilde (‘~’):

shell> mysqlhotcopy db_name./~regex/

mysqlhotcopy supports the following options:

--help, -?
Display a help message and exit.
--addtodest
Do not rename target directory (if it exists); merely add files to it.
--allowold
Do not abort if a target exists; rename it by adding an _old suffix.
--checkpoint=db_name.tbl_name
Insert checkpoint entries into the specified database db_name and table tbl_name.
--chroot=path
Base directory of the chroot jail in which mysqld operates. The path value should match that of the --chroot option given to mysqld.
--debug
Enable debug output.
--dryrun, -n
Report actions without performing them.
--flushlog
Flush logs after all tables are locked.
--host=host_name, -h host_name
The hostname of the local host to use for making a TCP/IP connection to the local server. By default, the connection is made to localhost using a Unix socket file.
--keepold
Do not delete previous (renamed) target when done.
--method=command
The method for copying files (cp or scp).
--noindices
Do not include full index files in the backup. This makes the backup smaller and faster. The indexes for reloaded tables can be reconstructed later with myisamchk -rq.
--password=password, -ppassword
The password to use when connecting to the server. Note that the password value is not optional for this option, unlike for other MySQL programs. You can use an option file to avoid giving the password on the command line.
Specifying a password on the command line should be considered insecure. See Section 5.9.6, “Keeping Your Password Secure”.
--port=port_num, -P port_num
The TCP/IP port number to use when connecting to the local server.
--quiet, -q
Be silent except for errors.
--record_log_pos=db_name.tbl_name
Record master and slave status in the specified database db_name and table tbl_name.
--regexp=expr
Copy all databases with names that match the given regular expression.
--resetmaster
Reset the binary log after locking all the tables.
--resetslave
Reset the master.info file after locking all the tables.
--socket=path, -S path
The Unix socket file to use for the connection.
--suffix=str
The suffix for names of copied databases.
--tmpdir=path
The temporary directory. The default is /tmp.
--user=user_name, -u user_name
The MySQL username to use when connecting to the server.

mysqlhotcopy reads the [client] and [mysqlhotcopy] option groups from option files.

To execute mysqlhotcopy, you must have access to the files for the tables that you are backing up, the SELECT privilege for those tables, the RELOAD privilege (to be able to execute FLUSH TABLES), and the LOCK TABLES privilege (to be able to lock the tables).

Use perldoc for additional mysqlhotcopy documentation, including information about the structure of the tables needed for the --checkpoint and --record_log_pos options:

shell> perldoc mysqlhotcopy