= How do I copy my MySQL database from one site to another? =

There are two methods you can use.

== Using phpMyAdmin ==

If your database is relatively small (less than 5 or 10 MB), you can use [wiki:phpmyadmin_link phpMyAdmin] to export your database from one site and then import it into another. You will need the ''database'' username and password for each site.

 * Login with the the source database username and password. 
 * Click the export button
 * Select the database you want to export
 * Check the box that says "Add DROP TABLE / VIEW / PROCEDURE / FUNCTION"
 * Click Go.
 * You will see a big textarea box containing a text representation of your database. One of the first lines will be: "CREATE DATABASE `name_of_source_db`". That line should be deleted.
 * The second line will be: "USE `name_of_source_db`". Change the name of the source database into the name of the target database. 
 * Copy and paste the output into a file and save the file.
 * Logout and log back in again with the ''target'' database username and passwrd
 * Click Import. 
 * Click Browse and find the file you just saved.
 * Click Go.

== Using the Command Line and Secure FTP ==

For large databases, you may need to use a more reliable method.

You will need to be ready to access both the source and target sites via both [wiki:secure_shell secure shell (ssh)] and [wiki:sftp Secure FTP]. You will also need to know the name of both the source and target database names.

 * [wiki:secure_shell Secure Shell] into the source site server and run the following command to create a dump of your database into a file called name-of-source-database.sql. Replace "name-of-source-database" with the actual name of your source database: 
{{{
mysqldump name-of-source-database > name-of-source-database.sql
}}}
 * [wiki:sftp Secure FTP] into the source site server and download the file name-of-source-database.sql to your computer
 * [wiki:sftp Secure FTP] into the target site server and upload the file
 * [wiki:secure_shell Secure shell] into your target server and run the following command to import the source database into the target database. Replace "name-of-target-database" with the name of your actual target database:
{{{
mysql name-of-target-database < name-of-source-database.sql
}}}