[MySQL](https://www.mysql.com/) is a popular open-source relational database management system (RDBMS). The `loopback-connector-mysql` module provides the MySQL connector module for the LoopBack framework.
This installs the module from npm and adds it as a dependency to the application's`package.json`file.
If you create a MySQL data source using the data source generator as described below, you don't have to do this, since the generator will run `npm install` for you.
## Creating a MySQL data source
Use the[Data source generator](http://loopback.io/doc/en/lb3/Data-source-generator.html)to add a MySQLdata source to your application.
The generator will prompt for the database server hostname, port, and other settings
required to connect to a MySQL database. It will also run the `npm install` command above for you.
The entry in the application's `/server/datasources.json` will look like this:
```javascript
"mydb": {
"name": "mydb",
"connector": "mysql",
"host": "myserver",
"port": 3306,
"database": "mydb",
"password": "mypassword",
"user": "admin"
}
```
Edit `datasources.json` to add any other additional properties that you require.
### Properties
<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<thwidth="150">Property</th>
<thwidth="80">Type</th>
<th>Description</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>collation</td>
<td>String</td>
<td>Determines the charset for the connection. Default is utf8_general_ci.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>connector</td>
<td>String</td>
<td>Connector name, either “loopback-connector-mysql” or “mysql”.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>connectionLimit</td>
<td>Number</td>
<td>The maximum number of connections to create at once. Default is 10.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>database</td>
<td>String</td>
<td>Database name</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>debug</td>
<td>Boolean</td>
<td>If true, turn on verbose mode to debug database queries and lifecycle.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>host</td>
<td>String</td>
<td>Database host name</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>password</td>
<td>String</td>
<td>Password to connect to database</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>port</td>
<td>Number</td>
<td>Database TCP port</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>socketPath</td>
<td>String</td>
<td>The path to a unix domain socket to connect to. When used host and port are ignored.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>supportBigNumbers</td>
<td>Boolean</td>
<td>Enable this option to deal with big numbers (BIGINT and DECIMAL columns) in the database. Default is false.</td>
The MySQL connector supports _model discovery_ that enables you to create LoopBack models
based on an existing database schema using the unified[database discovery API](http://apidocs.strongloop.com/loopback-datasource-juggler/#datasource-prototype-discoverandbuildmodels). For more information on discovery, see [Discovering models from relational databases](https://loopback.io/doc/en/lb3/Discovering-models-from-relational-databases.html).
The MySQL connector also supports _auto-migration_ that enables you to create a database schema
from LoopBack models using the [LoopBack automigrate method](http://apidocs.strongloop.com/loopback-datasource-juggler/#datasource-prototype-automigrate).
For more information on auto-migration, see[Creating a database schema from models](https://loopback.io/doc/en/lb3/Creating-a-database-schema-from-models.html) for more information.
Destroying models may result in errors due to foreign key integrity. First delete any related models first calling delete on models with relationships.
If you do not have a local MySQL instance, you can also run the test suite with very minimal requirements.
- Assuming you have [Docker](https://docs.docker.com/engine/installation/) installed, run the following script which would spawn a MySQL instance on your local:
```bash
source setup.sh <USER><PASSWORD><PORT>
```
where `<USER>`, `<PASSWORD>` and `<PORT>` are optional parameters. The default values are `root`, `pass` and `3306`.