Access mysql remote database from command line

Question

I have a server with Rackspace. I want to access the database from my local machine command line.

I tried like:

mysql -u username -h my.application.com         


        

Answer 1

mysql servers are usually configured to listen only to localhost (127.0.0.1), where they are used by web applications.

If that is your case but you have SSH access to your server, you can create an ssh tunnel and connect through that.

On your local machine, create the tunnel.

ssh -L 3307:127.0.0.1:3306 -N $user@$remote_host

(this example uses local port 3307, in case you also have mysql running on your local machine and using the standard port 3306)

Now you should be ale to connect with

mysql -u $user -p -h 127.0.0.1 -P 3307