How to Suppress MySQL Password Warning in Terminal and Bash Scripts

Introduction

When utilizing MySQL commands in a terminal or within bash scripts, you may encounter this warning message:

Warning: Using a password on the command line interface can be insecure.

This warning highlights potential vulnerabilities as passwords entered this way can be visible to other users. However, MySQL provides a secure solution through the mysql_config_editor tool, which allows users to store authentication credentials securely. In this guide, we’ll demonstrate how to suppress the warning message and securely manage MySQL passwords using mysql_config_editor.

Step 1: Install MySQL and mysql_config_editor: Ensure that MySQL is installed on your system along with the mysql_config_editor tool. If you haven’t installed MySQL yet, you can do so by following the official installation guide for your operating system provided by MySQL.

Step 2: Set Up Authentication Credentials: Once MySQL is installed, you can set up authentication credentials securely using the mysql_config_editor tool. Open your terminal and execute the following command:

mysql_config_editor set --login-path=client --host=localhost --user=username --port=your_db_port --password

Replace username with your MySQL username. After executing this command, you'll be prompted to enter your MySQL password. Once entered, the password will be securely stored.

Step 3: Suppress Warning Message: To suppress the warning message about insecure password usage, simply use the --login-path option along with your MySQL command. For example:

mysql --login-path=client -e "SELECT * FROM your_table;"

Replace your_table with the name of the table you want to query. By using --login-path=client, MySQL will fetch the authentication credentials securely from the configuration stored by mysql_config_editor, and the warning message will be suppressed.

Step 4: Incorporating into Bash Scripts: You can integrate the secure authentication method into your bash scripts by using the --login-path option within MySQL commands. Here's an example script:

#!/bin/bash# MySQL command with secure authentication
mysql --login-path=client -e "SELECT * FROM your_table;"

Replace your_table with the appropriate table name or query for your script.

To see what mysql_config_editor writes to the .mylogin.cnf file, use the print command:

$> mysql_config_editor print --all
[client]
user = localuser
password = *****
host = localhost
[remote]
user = remoteuser
password = *****
host = remote.example.com

Conclusion

By utilizing mysql_config_editor and the --login-path option, you can securely manage MySQL authentication credentials and suppress warning messages about insecure password usage in both terminal commands and bash scripts. This ensures the protection of sensitive information while maintaining convenience and efficiency in MySQL operations.