MYSQLSHOW

mysqlshow provides a command-line interface to several SQL SHOW statements. See Section 15.7.7, lqSHOW Statementsrq. The same information can be obtained by using those statements directly. For example, you can issue them from the mysql client program.

Invoke mysqlshow like this:

mysqlshow [options] [db_name [tbl_name [col_name]]]

* If no database is given, a list of database names is shown.

* If no table is given, all matching tables in the database are shown.

* If no column is given, all matching columns and column types in the table are shown.

The output displays only the names of those databases, tables, or columns for which you have some privileges.

If the last argument contains shell or SQL wildcard characters (*, ?, %, or _), only those names that are matched by the wildcard are shown. If a database name contains any underscores, those should be escaped with a backslash (some Unix shells require two) to get a list of the proper tables or columns. * and ? characters are converted into SQL % and _ wildcard characters. This might cause some confusion when you try to display the columns for a table with a _ in the name, because in this case, mysqlshow shows you only the table names that match the pattern. This is easily fixed by adding an extra % last on the command line as a separate argument.

mysqlshow supports the following options, which can be specified on the command line or in the [mysqlshow] and [client] groups of an option file. For information about option files used by MySQL programs, see Section 6.2.2.2, lqUsing Option Filesrq.

* --help, -?

Comman-Line Format

-help

Display a help message and exit.

* --bind-address=ip_address

Comman-Line Format

-bin-address=ip_address

On a computer having multiple network interfaces, use this option to select which interface to use for connecting to the MySQL server.

* --character-sets-dir=dir_name

Comman-Line Format	-characte-set-dir=path
Type	String
Default Value	[none]

The directory where character sets are installed. See Section 12.15, lqCharacter Set Configurationrq.

* --compress, -C

Comman-Line Format	-compress[={OFF|ON}]
Deprecated	8.0.18
Type	Boolean
Default Value	OFF

Compress all information sent between the client and the server if possible. See Section 6.2.8, lqConnection Compression Controlrq.

As of MySQL 8.0.18, this option is deprecated. Expect it to be removed in a future version of MySQL. See the section called lqConfiguring Legacy Connection Compressionrq.

* --compression-algorithms=value

Comman-Line Format	-compressio-algorithms=value
Introduced	8.0.18
Type	Set
Default Value	uncompressed
Valid Values	zlib zstd uncompressed

The permitted compression algorithms for connections to the server. The available algorithms are the same as for the protocol_compression_algorithms system variable. The default value is uncompressed.

For more information, see Section 6.2.8, lqConnection Compression Controlrq.

This option was added in MySQL 8.0.18.

* --count

Comman-Line Format

-count

Show the number of rows per table. This can be slow for non-MyISAM tables.

* --debug[=debug_options], -# [debug_options]

Comman-Line Format	-debug[=debug_options]
Type	String
Default Value	d:t:o

Write a debugging log. A typical debug_options string is d:t:o,file_name. The default is d:t:o.

This option is available only if MySQL was built using WITH_DEBUG. MySQL release binaries provided by Oracle are not built using this option.

* --debug-check

Comman-Line Format	-debu-check
Type	Boolean
Default Value	FALSE

Print some debugging information when the program exits.

This option is available only if MySQL was built using WITH_DEBUG. MySQL release binaries provided by Oracle are not built using this option.

* --debug-info

Comman-Line Format	-debu-info
Type	Boolean
Default Value	FALSE

Print debugging information and memory and CPU usage statistics when the program exits.

This option is available only if MySQL was built using WITH_DEBUG. MySQL release binaries provided by Oracle are not built using this option.

* --default-character-set=charset_name

Comman-Line Format	-defaul-characte-set=charset_name
Type	String

Use charset_name as the default character set. See Section 12.15, lqCharacter Set Configurationrq.

* --default-auth=plugin

Comman-Line Format	-defaul-auth=plugin
Type	String

A hint about which client-side authentication plugin to use. See Section 8.2.17, lqPluggable Authenticationrq.

* --defaults-extra-file=file_name

Comman-Line Format	-default-extr-file=file_name
Type	File name

Read this option file after the global option file but (on Unix) before the user option file. If the file does not exist or is otherwise inaccessible, an error occurs. If file_name is not an absolute path name, it is interpreted relative to the current directory.

For additional information about this and other option-file options, see Section 6.2.2.3, lqComman-Line Options that Affect Optio-File Handlingrq.

* --defaults-file=file_name

Comman-Line Format	-default-file=file_name
Type	File name

Use only the given option file. If the file does not exist or is otherwise inaccessible, an error occurs. If file_name is not an absolute path name, it is interpreted relative to the current directory.

Exception: Even with --defaults-file, client programs read .mylogin.cnf.

For additional information about this and other option-file options, see Section 6.2.2.3, lqComman-Line Options that Affect Optio-File Handlingrq.

* --defaults-group-suffix=str

Comman-Line Format	-default-grou-suffix=str
Type	String

Read not only the usual option groups, but also groups with the usual names and a suffix of str. For example, mysqlshow normally reads the [client] and [mysqlshow] groups. If this option is given as --defaults-group-suffix=_other, mysqlshow also reads the [client_other] and [mysqlshow_other] groups.

For additional information about this and other option-file options, see Section 6.2.2.3, lqComman-Line Options that Affect Optio-File Handlingrq.

* --enable-cleartext-plugin

Comman-Line Format	-enabl-cleartex-plugin
Type	Boolean
Default Value	FALSE

Enable the mysql_clear_password cleartext authentication plugin. (See Section 8.4.1.4, lqClien-Side Cleartext Pluggable Authenticationrq.)

* --get-server-public-key

Comman-Line Format	-ge-serve-publi-key
Type	Boolean

Request from the server the RSA public key that it uses for key pair-based password exchange. This option applies to clients that connect to the server using an account that authenticates with the caching_sha2_password authentication plugin. For connections by such accounts, the server does not send the public key to the client unless requested. The option is ignored for accounts that do not authenticate with that plugin. It is also ignored if RSA-based password exchange is not needed, as is the case when the client connects to the server using a secure connection.

If --server-public-key-path=file_name is given and specifies a valid public key file, it takes precedence over --get-server-public-key.

For information about the caching_sha2_password plugin, see Section 8.4.1.2, lqCaching SH-2 Pluggable Authenticationrq.

* --host=host_name, -h host_name

Comman-Line Format	-host=host_name
Type	String
Default Value	localhost

Connect to the MySQL server on the given host.

* --keys, -k

Comman-Line Format

-keys

Show table indexes.

* --login-path=name

Comman-Line Format	-logi-path=name
Type	String

Read options from the named login path in the .mylogin.cnf login path file. A lqlogin pathrq is an option group containing options that specify which MySQL server to connect to and which account to authenticate as. To create or modify a login path file, use the mysql_config_editor utility. See mysql_config_editor(1).

For additional information about this and other option-file options, see Section 6.2.2.3, lqComman-Line Options that Affect Optio-File Handlingrq.

* --no-defaults

Comman-Line Format

-n-defaults

Do not read any option files. If program startup fails due to reading unknown options from an option file, --no-defaults can be used to prevent them from being read.

The exception is that the .mylogin.cnf file is read in all cases, if it exists. This permits passwords to be specified in a safer way than on the command line even when --no-defaults is used. To create .mylogin.cnf, use the mysql_config_editor utility. See mysql_config_editor(1).

For additional information about this and other option-file options, see Section 6.2.2.3, lqComman-Line Options that Affect Optio-File Handlingrq.

* --password[=password], -p[password]

Comman-Line Format	-password[=password]
Type	String

The password of the MySQL account used for connecting to the server. The password value is optional. If not given, mysqlshow prompts for one. If given, there must be no space between --password= or -p and the password following it. If no password option is specified, the default is to send no password.

Specifying a password on the command line should be considered insecure. To avoid giving the password on the command line, use an option file. See Section 8.1.2.1, lqEn-User Guidelines for Password Securityrq.

To explicitly specify that there is no password and that mysqlshow should not prompt for one, use the --skip-password option.

* --password1[=pass_val] The password for multifactor authentication factor 1 of the MySQL account used for connecting to the server. The password value is optional. If not given, mysqlshow prompts for one. If given, there must be no space between --password1= and the password following it. If no password option is specified, the default is to send no password.

Specifying a password on the command line should be considered insecure. To avoid giving the password on the command line, use an option file. See Section 8.1.2.1, lqEn-User Guidelines for Password Securityrq.

To explicitly specify that there is no password and that mysqlshow should not prompt for one, use the --skip-password1 option.

--password1 and --password are synonymous, as are --skip-password1 and --skip-password.

* --password2[=pass_val] The password for multifactor authentication factor 2 of the MySQL account used for connecting to the server. The semantics of this option are similar to the semantics for --password1; see the description of that option for details.

* --password3[=pass_val] The password for multifactor authentication factor 3 of the MySQL account used for connecting to the server. The semantics of this option are similar to the semantics for --password1; see the description of that option for details.

* --pipe, -W

Comman-Line Format	-pipe
Type	String

On Windows, connect to the server using a named pipe. This option applies only if the server was started with the named_pipe system variable enabled to support named-pipe connections. In addition, the user making the connection must be a member of the Windows group specified by the named_pipe_full_access_group system variable.

* --plugin-dir=dir_name

Comman-Line Format	-plugi-dir=dir_name
Type	Directory name

The directory in which to look for plugins. Specify this option if the --default-auth option is used to specify an authentication plugin but mysqlshow does not find it. See Section 8.2.17, lqPluggable Authenticationrq.

* --port=port_num, -P port_num

Comman-Line Format	-port=port_num
Type	Numeric
Default Value	3306

For TCP/IP connections, the port number to use.

* --print-defaults

Comman-Line Format

-prin-defaults

Print the program name and all options that it gets from option files.

For additional information about this and other option-file options, see Section 6.2.2.3, lqComman-Line Options that Affect Optio-File Handlingrq.

* --protocol={TCP|SOCKET|PIPE|MEMORY}

Comman-Line Format	-protocol=type
Type	String
Default Value	[see text]
Valid Values	TCP SOCKET PIPE MEMORY

The transport protocol to use for connecting to the server. It is useful when the other connection parameters normally result in use of a protocol other than the one you want. For details on the permissible values, see Section 6.2.7, lqConnection Transport Protocolsrq.

* --server-public-key-path=file_name

Comman-Line Format	-serve-publi-ke-path=file_name
Type	File name

The path name to a file in PEM format containing a client-side copy of the public key required by the server for RSA key pair-based password exchange. This option applies to clients that authenticate with the sha256_password or caching_sha2_password authentication plugin. This option is ignored for accounts that do not authenticate with one of those plugins. It is also ignored if RSA-based password exchange is not used, as is the case when the client connects to the server using a secure connection.

If --server-public-key-path=file_name is given and specifies a valid public key file, it takes precedence over --get-server-public-key.

For sha256_password, this option applies only if MySQL was built using OpenSSL.

For information about the sha256_password and caching_sha2_password plugins, see Section 8.4.1.3, lqSH-256 Pluggable Authenticationrq, and Section 8.4.1.2, lqCaching SH-2 Pluggable Authenticationrq.

* --shared-memory-base-name=name

Comman-Line Format	-share-memor-bas-name=name
Platform Specific	Windows

On Windows, the shared-memory name to use for connections made using shared memory to a local server. The default value is MYSQL. The shared-memory name is case-sensitive.

This option applies only if the server was started with the shared_memory system variable enabled to support shared-memory connections.

* --show-table-type, -t

Comman-Line Format

-sho-tabl-type

Show a column indicating the table type, as in SHOW FULL TABLES. The type is BASE TABLE or VIEW.

* --socket=path, -S path

Comman-Line Format	-socket={file_name|pipe_name}
Type	String

For connections to localhost, the Unix socket file to use, or, on Windows, the name of the named pipe to use.

On Windows, this option applies only if the server was started with the named_pipe system variable enabled to support named-pipe connections. In addition, the user making the connection must be a member of the Windows group specified by the named_pipe_full_access_group system variable.

* --ssl* Options that begin with --ssl specify whether to connect to the server using encryption and indicate where to find SSL keys and certificates. See the section called lqCommand Options for Encrypted Connectionsrq.

* --ssl-fips-mode={OFF|ON|STRICT}

Comman-Line Format	-ss-fip-mode={OFF|ON|STRICT}
Deprecated	8.0.34
Type	Enumeration
Default Value	OFF
Valid Values	OFF ON STRICT

Controls whether to enable FIPS mode on the client side. The --ssl-fips-mode option differs from other --ssl-xxx options in that it is not used to establish encrypted connections, but rather to affect which cryptographic operations to permit. See Section 8.8, lqFIPS Supportrq.

These --ssl-fips-mode values are permitted:

* OFF: Disable FIPS mode.

* ON: Enable FIPS mode.

* STRICT: Enable lqstrictrq FIPS mode.

Note
If the OpenSSL FIPS Object Module is not available, the only permitted value for --ssl-fips-mode is OFF. In this case, setting --ssl-fips-mode to ON or STRICT causes the client to produce a warning at startup and to operate in non-FIPS mode.

As of MySQL 8.0.34, this option is deprecated. Expect it to be removed in a future version of MySQL.

* --status, -i

Comman-Line Format

-status

Display extra information about each table.

* --tls-ciphersuites=ciphersuite_list

Comman-Line Format	-tl-ciphersuites=ciphersuite_list
Introduced	8.0.16
Type	String

The permissible ciphersuites for encrypted connections that use TLSv1.3. The value is a list of one or more colon-separated ciphersuite names. The ciphersuites that can be named for this option depend on the SSL library used to compile MySQL. For details, see Section 8.3.2, lqEncrypted Connection TLS Protocols and Ciphersrq.

This option was added in MySQL 8.0.16.

* --tls-version=protocol_list

Comman-Line Format	-tl-version=protocol_list
Type	String
Default Value (≥ 8.0.16)	TLSv1,TLSv1.1,TLSv1.2,TLSv1.3 (OpenSSL 1.1.1 or higher) TLSv1,TLSv1.1,TLSv1.2 (otherwise)
Default Value (≤ 8.0.15)	TLSv1,TLSv1.1,TLSv1.2

The permissible TLS protocols for encrypted connections. The value is a list of one or more comma-separated protocol names. The protocols that can be named for this option depend on the SSL library used to compile MySQL. For details, see Section 8.3.2, lqEncrypted Connection TLS Protocols and Ciphersrq.

* --user=user_name, -u user_name

Comman-Line Format	-user=user_name,
Type	String

The user name of the MySQL account to use for connecting to the server.

* --verbose, -v

Comman-Line Format

-verbose

Verbose mode. Print more information about what the program does. This option can be used multiple times to increase the amount of information.

* --version, -V

Comman-Line Format

-version

Display version information and exit.

* --zstd-compression-level=level

Comman-Line Format	-zst-compressio-level=#
Introduced	8.0.18
Type	Integer

The compression level to use for connections to the server that use the zstd compression algorithm. The permitted levels are from 1 to 22, with larger values indicating increasing levels of compression. The default zstd compression level is 3. The compression level setting has no effect on connections that do not use zstd compression.

For more information, see Section 6.2.8, lqConnection Compression Controlrq.

This option was added in MySQL 8.0.18.

COPYRIGHT

Copyright © 1997, 2025, Oracle and/or its affiliates.

This documentation is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it only under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; version 2 of the License.

This documentation is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with the program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 0211-1301 USA or see http://www.gnu.org/licenses/.

SEE ALSO

AUTHOR

Index

NAME

SYNOPSIS

DESCRIPTION

COPYRIGHT

SEE ALSO

AUTHOR