Import MySQL Database Backups

We use mysqldump command to get database backups or move data between servers. mysqldump command generates backups in SQL format.

On contrary of backup process, you don’t need to use a special command to import backups files back into mysql.

If you didn’t create database before and your backup file doesn’t contain CREATE DATABASE command, you have to create database first,

$ mysqladmin -u username -p create database_name

Then you can use one of the following commands to import your SQL-formatted backups.

Option 1

$ mysql -u username -p database_name < backup_file.sql

Option 2

$ cat backup_file.sql | mysql -u username -p database_name

Option 3

$ mysql -u username -p database_name source backup_file.sql

If you use gzip to compress backup files, you have to use zcat command instead of cat command:

$ zcat backup_file.sql.gz | mysql -u username -p database_name