How to create MySQL or MariaDB database backups

Backing up your MySQL or MariaDB databases is a crucial aspect of maintaining the integrity and availability of your data. Regular backups protect your data from loss due to hardware failures, human errors, or malicious activities. Two popular methods of creating backups are using the mysqldump command and the mysqlhotcopy utility. This guide focuses on using the mysqldump command, which is a more versatile and widely supported approach for both MySQL and MariaDB databases.

The mysqldump command is a client utility provided by MySQL and MariaDB, allowing you to create a logical backup of your database in various formats, such as SQL, CSV, or XML. These backups can be used to restore your database or migrate data between servers. The backups created with mysqldump are portable and can be imported into other database systems, which makes it a popular choice among database administrators.

To create a database backup with mysqldump, you will need to have access to your MySQL or MariaDB server, know the login credentials, and have sufficient privileges to perform the backup operation. Follow the step-by-step guide below to create a backup of your MySQL or MariaDB database:

1. Open a terminal or command prompt.
2. Navigate to the directory where you want to save the backup file.
3. Run the following command to create a backup of your database.

   mysqldump -u [username] -p [database_name] > [backup_file].sql

   Replace [username] with your MySQL or MariaDB username, [database_name] with the name of the database you want to back up, and [backup_file] with the desired name for the backup file.

4. Enter your password when prompted.
5. Verify that the backup file has been created in the specified directory.