In this tutorial, we will guide you on how to completely uninstall MySQL from your Ubuntu 20.04 system. This process includes removing the MySQL server, its configurations, data directories, and even the MySQL logs.
Before we start, it’s crucial to ensure that you have backed up your data as this process will delete all your MySQL databases and associated data.
Step 1: Stop the MySQL Service
Firstly, we need to stop the MySQL service that is currently running on your system. You can do this by using the systemctl command:
sudo systemctl stop mysqldHere, sudo is used to run the command with root privileges, systemctl is a system management command, stop is the action we want to perform, and mysqld is the service we want to stop.
Step 2: Purge MySQL Packages
Next, we will purge the MySQL server, its binaries, and associated packages. This will also remove the configurations and data directories. Use the following command:
sudo apt purge mysql-server mysql-common mysql-server-core-* mysql-client-core-*In this command, apt is the package handling utility in Ubuntu, purge is used to remove the packages along with their configuration files. The mysql-server mysql-common mysql-server-core-* mysql-client-core-* are the MySQL packages installed on your system.
Step 3: Remove Additional Database Files
To ensure that all MySQL related data is removed, we will manually delete the MySQL data directory:
sudo rm -rf /var/lib/mysql/Here, rm is the remove command, -rf are the options where -r or -R is for recursive removal and -f is for force removal, and /var/lib/mysql/ is the location of the MySQL data directory.
Step 4: Remove Configuration Files
Next, we will remove the MySQL configuration files that are stored in the /etc/mysql/ directory:
sudo rm -rf /etc/mysql/Step 5: Clean the Logs
To remove the MySQL logs, use the following command:
sudo rm -rf /var/log/mysqlStep 6: Delete the MySQL User and Group
During the installation of MySQL, a user and a group named ‘mysql’ were created. We will now remove them:
sudo deluser --remove-home mysql
sudo delgroup mysqlStep 7: Remove the PPA (If Installed via PPA)
If you installed MySQL using a third-party PPA, you’ll need to remove it as well:
sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:theppayouused/ppaHere, add-apt-repository is the command used to add or remove repositories, --remove is the action to remove the repository, and ppa:theppayouused/ppa is the PPA you used to install MySQL. Replace theppayouused/ppa with the actual PPA.
By following these steps, you should be able to completely remove MySQL from your Ubuntu 20.04 system. Remember to always backup important data before performing such operations. If you have any questions or run into any issues, feel free to ask in the comments section below.
Yes, it is crucial to backup your data before uninstalling MySQL as this process will delete all your MySQL databases and associated data.
You can stop the MySQL service by using the sudo systemctl stop mysqld command.
The apt purge command is used to remove packages along with their configuration files.
You can remove the MySQL data directory by using the sudo rm -rf /var/lib/mysql/ command.
You can remove the MySQL configuration files by using the sudo rm -rf /etc/mysql/ command.
You can remove the MySQL logs by using the sudo rm -rf /var/log/mysql command.
You can remove the MySQL user and group by using the sudo deluser --remove-home mysql and sudo delgroup mysql commands.
To remove a third-party PPA, you can use the sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:theppayouused/ppa command, where theppayouused/ppa should be replaced with the actual PPA.
