Using MySQL client applications

Last modified: Friday November 24th, 2023

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Using MySQL client applications

In this article

In this article, you will find how to use MySQL client applications to access and manage your MySQL databases.

MySQL client applications

MySQL provides a GUI (graphical user interface) client application that can be used to manage the database. MySQL Workbench is an integrated tooling environment that allows you to manage databases, run queries, and more. It replaces the old MySQL GUI Tools application package, which is no longer actively developed.

MySQL Workbench is free to download and use. There are versions for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and other operating systems.

Connecting to databases with MySQL Workbench

MySQL Workbench allows you to quickly connect to MySQL databases. In this article we cover two methods:

Direct connection: This method establishes a direct connection from your computer to the MySQL server.
Before you can establish this type of connection, you must allow MySQL remote access to your IP address. See this article for information on how to do this.
SSH connection: This method uses SSH to establish a secure connection from your computer to the MySQL server.

1 Method: Direct connection

Please follow these steps to configure a direct connection to MySQL:

Start MySQL Workbench.
Click the + icon next to MySQL Connections from the workspace page, and the Setup New Connection dialog appears.
Type a name for the connection in the Connection Name text box.
Select Standard (TCP/IP) in the Connection Method list box.
In the Hostname text box on the Parameters tab, type example.com, where example.com is your domain name.
Confirm that the Port text box is set to 3306.
Type one of the following usernames in the Username text box:
- Your Beehosting (cPanel) account username: With this username, you can access all MySQL databases in your hosting account.
- A MySQL database username you created in cPanel: With this username, you can access all MySQL databases for which the specified user has been granted privileges.
Type the name of the MySQL database that you want to access in the Default Schema text box. Also, you can leave this text field empty to select a database later.
Click Test Connection, and type the password for the username you specified in step 7 in the appears Password text box.
Select the “Save password in keychain” checkbox to have MySQL Workbench remember your password.
Click OK.
If you get a connection warning about incompatible or non-standard server versions, click Continue Anyway.
If the connection is successful, you will receive a message that the connection to MySQL was successful. If you don’t receive such a message, check the values in steps 4 through 9 and try again.
Click OK. MySQL Workbench saves the new connection on the workspace page.
To open a connection, click it on the workspace page. Now you can run queries, create tables, and more.

2 Method: SSH connection

Please follow these steps to connect securely to your MySQL databases using an SSH tunnel:

Start MySQL Workbench.
Click the + icon next to MySQL Connections from the workspace page, and the Setup New Connection dialog appears.
Type a name for the connection in the Connection Name text box.
Select Standard (TCP/IP) over SSH in the Connection Method list box.
Type example.com:7822 (where example.com is your domain name) in the SSH Hostname text box.
Type your Beehosting (cPanel) account username in the SSH Username text box.
Type localhost in the MySQL Hostname text box.
Confirm that the MySQL Server Port text box is set to 3306.
Type one of the following usernames in the Username text box:
- Your Beehosting (cPanel) account username: With this username, you can access all MySQL databases in your hosting account.
- A MySQL database username you created in cPanel: With this username, you can access all MySQL databases for which the specified user has been granted privileges.
Click Test Connection, and the Open SSH Tunnel dialog box appears.
Type your Beehosting (cPanel) account password in the Password text box.
Select the “Save password in keychain” checkbox to have MySQL Workbench remember your password.
Click OK, and the Connect to MySQL Server dialog box appears.
Type the password for the username you specified in step 9 in the Password text box.
Select the “Save password in keychain” checkbox to have MySQL Workbench remember your password.
Click OK.
If the connection is successful, you will receive a message that the connection to MySQL was successful. If you don’t receive such a message, check the values in steps 4 through 9 and try again.
Click OK on the Setup New Connection dialog box.
Now you can run queries, create tables, and more. For example, on the workspace page, under Open Connection to Start Querying, double-click on the connection name you provided in step 3. MySQL Workbench will connect to your account and display your databases.