5.1.2. Server Configuration Defaults

The MySQL server has many operating parameters, which you can change at server startup using command-line options or configuration files (option files). It is also possible to change many parameters at runtime. For general instructions on setting parameters at startup or runtime, see Section 5.1.3, "Server Command Options", and Section 5.1.4, "Server System Variables".

On Unix platforms, mysql_install_db creates a default option file named my.cnf in the base installation directory. This file is created from a template included in the distribution package named my-default.cnf. You can find the template in or under the base installation directory. When started using mysqld_safe, the server uses my.cnf file by default. If my.cnf already exists, mysql_install_db assumes it to be in use and writes a new file named my-new.cnf instead.

With one exception, the settings in the default option file are commented and have no effect. The exception is that the file changes the sql_mode system variable from its default of NO_ENGINE_SUBSTITUTION to also include STRICT_TRANS_TABLES. This setting produces a server configuration that results in errors rather than warnings for bad data in operations that modify transactional tables. See Section 5.1.7, "Server SQL Modes".

On Windows, MySQL Installer interacts with the user and creates a file named my.ini in the base installation directory as the default option file. If you install on Windows from a Zip archive, you can copy the my-default.ini template file in the base installation directory to my.ini and use the latter as the default option file.

On any platform, after completing the installation process, you can edit the default option file at any time to modify the parameters used by the server. For example, to use a parameter setting in the file that is commented with a # character at the beginning of the line, remove the #, and modify the parameter value if necessary. To disable a setting, either add a # to the beginning of the line or remove it.

For additional information about option file format and syntax, see Section 4.2.3.3, "Using Option Files".