Executing System Commands in MySQL Shell
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Over the last few years, I have become quite smitten with MySQL Shell. For those who may not be familiar with MySQL Shell, it is a new(ish) command line interface (CLI) for connecting to and managing MySQL instances. During a recent episode of Inside MySQL: Sakila Speaks, Fred and I talked to Miguel Araujo about many of the helpful (and lesser known) features of MySQL Shell. This post is the second in a series about these “hidden gem” features.
The Problem
When working in MySQL Shell, I often need to run system commands for various reasons. I usually opened another tab in my terminal interface to run the needed command. That was until Miguel mentioned a feature of MySQL Shell that allows us to run system commands inside MySQL Shell.
The Solution
The \system
(or \!
) command in MySQL Shell allows us to run system commands without leaving MySQl Shell to do so.
Listing Files
Here is an example. In a previous post, I discussed being able to run external scripts in MySQL Shell. Let’s say we created a script but cannot recall the name. If we know what directory the files are in, we can run an ls
command directly in MySQL Shell.
\system ls -la ~/projects/shell_scripts
The result of this command would look like:
Something to note is that MySQL Shell’s “current directory” is the directory we were in when we started MySQL Shell. For example, I could run the following command to get the same result if I was already in the ~/projects/shell_scripts
directory and ran the mysqlsh
command.
\! ls -la
Editing Files
Let’s assume we are connected to a remote server and must edit one of the files in the shell_scripts
directory. We can open the file in an editor right in MySQL Shell. Here is how to open the file demo2.js
using Nano.
\! nano demo2.js
This command opens the file demo2.js
in Nano.
After editing the file and closing Nano, we are brought back to the MySQL Shell interface.
Using sudo
If there is a command that you would typically use sudo
to run, no worries. You add sudo
to the command; if necessary, you will be asked to provide a password.
\! sudo ls /
Wrap-Up
MySQL Shell has many features that help make our lives easier. Running system commands, even those needing sudo
, without having to leave MySQL Shell can save a lot of time. This behavior is one of those features you appreciate the more you use it.
Photo by Sora Shimazaki.
Related Entries
- Running External Scripts in MySQL Shell
- Getting Help in MySQL Shell
- Sandboxes in MySQL Shell
- Server Upgrade Checks with MySQL Shell
- MySQL Connection Status with MySQL Shell
- Managing MySQL Shell Configuration Options
- Advanced Data Dump with MySQL Shell
- Advanced Data Load with MySQL Shell
- MySQL Shell CLI Integration
- MySQL Shell Table Export Utility
- Copy Data Directly To A MySQL Instance With MySQL Shell
- Create an InnoDB Replica Set With MySQL Shell
- Using MySQL Shell to Get MySQL Diagnostic Information
- Customizing The MySQL Shell Prompt
- Extending MySQL Shell with Startup Scripts
- Extending MySQL Shell with Plugins