Local database with Docker

Spin up a database locally with Docker to practice SQL without installing MySQL on the host.

MySQL with Docker Compose

Create a compose.yaml in a project folder (e.g. sql-lab/):

services:
  db:
    image: mysql:8
    container_name: sql-lab-mysql
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "3306:3306"
    environment:
      MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: localdev
      MYSQL_DATABASE: labdb
      MYSQL_USER: student
      MYSQL_PASSWORD: localdev
    volumes:
      - mysql-data:/var/lib/mysql

volumes:
  mysql-data:

Start and check status:

docker compose up -d
docker compose ps

Connect from the host (requires a MySQL client) or from inside the container:

mysql -h 127.0.0.1 -P 3306 -u student -p labdb

docker exec -it sql-lab-mysql mysql -u student -p labdb

Quick start with docker run

Fastest option — one line, no Compose file, no volume (data is lost when the container is removed):

docker run --name local-mysql -e MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=admin -p 3306:3306 -d mysql:latest

Connect as root:

mysql -h 127.0.0.1 -P 3306 -u root -p

docker exec -it local-mysql mysql -u root -p

For a named database, extra user, and persistent storage:

docker run -d \
  --name sql-lab-mysql \
  -e MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=localdev \
  -e MYSQL_DATABASE=labdb \
  -e MYSQL_USER=student \
  -e MYSQL_PASSWORD=localdev \
  -p 3306:3306 \
  -v mysql-data:/var/lib/mysql \
  mysql:8

Persist data

The named volume mysql-data keeps data across container restarts. Removing the container does not delete the volume unless you run docker compose down -v or docker volume rm mysql-data.

Stop and reset

docker compose down          # stop containers, keep data
docker compose down -v       # stop and delete volumes (fresh database)

docker stop local-mysql && docker rm local-mysql   # remove quick-start container