6.3.7.5. The Test Authentication Plugin

MySQL includes a test plugin that authenticates using MySQL native authentication, but is a loadable plugin (not built in) and must be installed prior to use. It can authenticate against either normal or older (shorter) password hash values.

This plugin is intended for testing and development purposes, and not for use in production environments. The test plugin source code is separate from the server source, unlike the built-in native plugin, so it can be examined as a relatively simple example demonstrating how to write a loadable authentication plugin.

The following table shows the plugin and library file names. The file name suffix might differ on your system. The file location is the directory named by the plugin_dir system variable. For installation information, see Section 6.3.7, "Pluggable Authentication".

Table 6.13. MySQL Test Authentication Plugin

Server-side plugin name	`test_plugin_server`
Client-side plugin name	`auth_test_plugin`
Library object file name	`auth_test_plugin.so`

Because the test plugin authenticates the same way as native MySQL authentication, provide the usual --user and --password options that you normally use for accounts that use native authentication when you connect to the server. For example:

shell> mysql --user=your_name
        --password=your_pass

For general information about pluggable authentication in MySQL, see Section 6.3.7, "Pluggable Authentication".