MySQL

Why deploy MySQL on Render?

MySQL is an open-source relational database management system (RDBMS) that stores and manages structured data using SQL. It solves the problem of efficiently organizing, querying, and maintaining large amounts of data with support for transactions, indexing, and concurrent access.

This template gives you a production-ready MySQL 8 instance with persistent SSD storage already configured via Render Disks, running securely in your private network without public internet exposure. Skip the Docker configuration, volume mounting, and network security setup—one click handles the database initialization and disk attachment that would otherwise require manual orchestration. You also get the flexibility to switch to MySQL 5 via a branch toggle, with Render managing the container lifecycle and persistent storage automatically.

Architecture

What you can build

After deploying, you'll have a MySQL 8 database running on persistent SSD storage, accessible only within your private network. You can connect to it from your other Render services but it won't be exposed to the public internet. If you need MySQL 5 instead, switch to the mysql-5 branch before deploying.

Key features

• Official Docker Image: Uses the official MySQL Docker image from mysql/mysql-server for reliable, maintained builds.
• Persistent SSD Storage: Integrates Render Disks for fast, persistent SSD-backed database storage that survives restarts.
• Private Network Isolation: Runs as a private service not exposed to the public internet, accessible only within your Render network.
• MySQL Version Selection: Supports both MySQL 8 (master branch) and MySQL 5 (mysql-5 branch) for version flexibility.
• One-Click Deployment: Includes deploy-to-Render button for instant provisioning without manual configuration.

Use cases

• Backend developer deploys MySQL database for Laravel app on Render
• Startup migrates legacy MySQL 5 application to managed cloud hosting
• Agency spins up isolated MySQL instance for client WordPress project
• Developer needs private relational database with persistent storage for SaaS

Next steps

1. Connect to the MySQL instance from another Render service using the internal hostname and port 3306 — You should successfully authenticate and see the MySQL prompt or receive a connection success response
2. Run a test query like CREATE DATABASE testdb; followed by SHOW DATABASES; — You should see 'testdb' listed in the database output confirming write operations work on the persistent disk
3. Check the Render Disk usage in the dashboard under your MySQL service's Disks tab — You should see the disk mounted at /var/lib/mysql with initial storage usage reflecting the MySQL data directory

Resources

• MySQL official site