Uninstalling MySQL on Ubuntu can be a crucial task when you’re looking to install a new version, remove a corrupted MySQL installation, or just free up some system resources. Knowing how to do this accurately and effectively saves you a lot of grief and ensures that no remnant files are left that could interfere with future installations.
MySQL is an open-source relational database management system that is primarily used for web database applications. It’s essential for many software applications to function optimally. However, there are instances when you need to uninstall MySQL from your Ubuntu system, therefore, let’s dwell into a comprehensive process to do so.
How to Uninstall MySQL on Ubuntu
The process is quite straightforward and can be done within the terminal. The first thing you need to do is to stop the MySQL service if it’s running on your machine.
sudo service mysql stop
Next, you’d want to remove MySQL packages from the system. We’ll use the apt package manager which is available by default on Ubuntu.
sudo apt-get remove --purge mysql-server mysql-client mysql-common sudo apt-get autoremove sudo apt-get autoclean
In these commands, `mysql-server` is the MySQL server package, `mysql-client` is the MySQL client, which allows you to run commands and view data in the MySQL database, and `mysql-common` are the MySQL database common files, shared between the server and client.
Deletion of MySQL Files
Post uninstalling through the terminal, you may need to delete residual MySQL files manually. These files usually contain data and configurations regarding your previous MySQL installation.
One common misconception is just uninstalling MySQL eliminates all files associated with it. Hence, it’s crucial to know where these files are located:
sudo rm -rf /etc/mysql /var/lib/mysql sudo deluser mysql
This set of commands will remove the MySQL configuration, data directory and the MySQL user.
Final Steps
To validate if MySQL has been fully uninstalled from your Ubuntu system, you can attempt to restart the service:
sudo service mysql start
You should receive an error which indicates there is no MySQL service to start, thus confirming that MySQL has been uninstalled completely.
In conclusion, uninstalling MySQL on Ubuntu is a simple yet critical process which if done correctly, can save you a significant amount of disk space and pave the way for clean installations. However, it’s key to note that uninstalling MySQL permanently deletes all data stored in the database. Therefore, be sure to make crucial backups before proceeding with this process.
