How do I import an SQL file using the command line in MySQL?

You do not need to specify the name of the database on the command line if the .sql file contains `CREATE DATABASE IF NOT EXISTS db_name` and `USE db_name` statements.

Just make sure you are connecting with a user that has the permissions to create the database, if the database mentioned in the .sql file does not exist.

Add the [`--force` option][1]:

mysql -u username -p database_name --force < file.sql

[1]:

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Among all the answers, for the problem above, this is the best one:

mysql> use db_name;
mysql> source file_name.sql;

Providing credentials on the command line is not a good idea. The above answers are great, but neglect to mention

mysql --defaults-extra-file=etc/myhost.cnf database_name < file.sql

Where etc/myhost.cnf is a file that contains host, user, password, and you avoid exposing the password on the command line. Here is a sample,

[client]
host=hostname.domainname
user=dbusername
password=dbpassword

I think it's worth mentioning that you can also load a **gzipped (compressed)** file with `zcat` like shown below:

<!-- language: bash -->

zcat database_file.sql.gz | mysql -u username -p -h localhost database_name

To import a single database, use the following command.

mysql -u username -p password dbname < dump.sql

To import multiple database dumps, use the following command.

mysql -u username -p password < dump.sql

A solution that worked for me is below:

Use your_database_name;
SOURCE path_to_db_sql_file_on_your_local;

You can try this query.

Export:

mysqldump -u username –-password=your_password database_name > file.sql



Import:

mysql -u username –-password=your_password database_name < file.sql

and detail following this link:

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**In Ubuntu**

mysql -u root -p
CREATE database dbname;
use dbname;
source /home/computername/Downloads/merchantapp.sql
exit;

**In Windows**

Download the SQL file and save it in `C:\xampp\mysql\bin`.

After that, open the command prompt with `C:\xampp\mysql\bin`:

C:\xampp\mysql\bin> mysql -u username -p database_name < file.sql

### To import a database via the terminal

Navigate to folder where the .sql file is located

Then run the below command:

mysql -u database_user_name -p database_name < sql_file_name.sql

It will ask for a password. Enter the database password. It will take a few seconds to import the data into the database.