What is mysqldump?

mysqldump is a utility tool that can perform logical backups: it produces a set of SQL statements that can be used later to rebuild the original database structure and data.

It's also the most popular tool for exporting and creating backups of your MySQL databases.

mysqldump is a particulary good fit for the following use cases:

• Logical backups for MySQL databases. A logical backup is a set of SQL statements stored in an .sql file. Those statements contain the database schema & data and can be used to restore the database at the same state when the backup was made.

• Moving a MySQL database from one server to another. The logical backups produced by mysqldump can be used to clone an existent database to a different server.

Ready to learn more?

In this guide you will find out everything you need to know about how to use mysqldump to export & backup your MySQL databases.