Better Stack MySQL logging

Start logging in 2 minutes

What you would like to collect from your MySQL?

Collect both logs and metrics from your MySQL instance
Collect only logs from your MySQL instance

Collect logs & metrics

Collect logs and metrics from your MySQL instance using Vector and Prometheus mysqld exporter.

1. Set up MySQL exporter

Create a dedicated MySQL user for Vector to securely scrape metrics:

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mysql -u root -p

Create a MySQL user

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CREATE USER 'better_stack_metrics'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY '$YOUR_PASSWORD';
GRANT PROCESS, REPLICATION CLIENT, SHOW DATABASES ON *.* TO 'better_stack_metrics'@'localhost';
GRANT SELECT ON performance_schema.* TO 'better_stack_metrics'@'localhost';
GRANT SELECT ON mysql.user TO 'better_stack_metrics'@'localhost';

Fill in your password

Replace $YOUR_PASSWORD with password of your choice.

Flush & exit

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FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
exit;

Create /etc/mysqld_exporter.cnf config file using MySQL user password you've just set:

/etc/mysqld_exporter.cnf

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[client]
user=better_stack_metrics
password=$YOUR_PASSWORD

2. Install MySQL exporter

Install latest mysqld exporter:

Install mysqld exporter

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curl -sSL https://telemetry.betterstack.com/install/mysqld_exporter | sudo -E bash

3. Run exporter

Start the MySQL exporter:

Linux macOS

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systemctl start mysqld_exporter

launchctl start com.prometheus.mysqld_exporter

4. Set up Vector

Select your platform:

Install and configure Vector on Ubuntu or Debian:

Set up Vector

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curl -sSL https://telemetry.betterstack.com/setup-vector/mysql_with_metrics/$SOURCE_TOKEN \
  -o /tmp/setup-vector.sh && \
  bash /tmp/setup-vector.sh

Curious about what the script does?

Installs Vector using official package.
Configures Vector for your Better Stack source.
Enables and restarts Vector.

The script will ask for confirmation before making any changes.

Install

Install Vector on Windows using official installer:

Install Vector

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powershell Invoke-WebRequest https://packages.timber.io/vector/latest/vector-x64.msi -OutFile vector-latest-x64.msi
msiexec /i vector-latest-x64.msi

Setup

Run in Powershell as administrator to download Vector config:

Download Vector config using Powershell

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$config_yaml_path = "C:\Program Files\Vector\config\vector.yaml"
$backup_path = "C:\Program Files\Vector\config\vector-backup.yaml"
Move-Item -Path "$config_yaml_path" -Destination "$backup_path"
Invoke-RestMethod -Uri https://telemetry.betterstack.com/vector-yaml/mysql_with_metrics/$SOURCE_TOKEN |
  Add-Content $config_yaml_path

Run Vector

Run Vector with new configuration:

Start Vector

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& "C:\Program Files\Vector\bin\vector" --config "C:\Program Files\Vector\config\vector.yaml"

Install

Install Vector using official installer:

Install Vector

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curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.vector.dev | sh -s -- -y

Create a Vector service:

Create a Vector service

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mkdir -p /etc/vector
mkdir -p /var/lib/vector/
cat <<-'SERVICE' >> /etc/systemd/system/vector.service
[Unit]
Description=Vector
Documentation=https://vector.dev
After=network-online.target
Requires=network-online.target

[Service]
User=vector
Group=vector
ExecStart=/root/.vector/bin/vector
ExecReload=/bin/kill -HUP $MAINPID
Restart=no
AmbientCapabilities=CAP_NET_BIND_SERVICE
EnvironmentFile=-/etc/default/vector

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
SERVICE

Setup

Download Vector configuration for your source:

Download Vector config

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CONFIG_YAML_PATH="/etc/vector/vector.yaml"
BACKUP_SUFFIX=".bak-$(date +%Y%m%d%H%M%S)"
mv "${CONFIG_YAML_PATH}" "${CONFIG_YAML_PATH}${BACKUP_SUFFIX}"
curl -o "$CONFIG_YAML_PATH" \
  https://telemetry.betterstack.com/vector-yaml/mysql_with_metrics/$SOURCE_TOKEN

Restart Vector

Restart Vector to reload the configuration:

Restart Vector

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systemctl restart vector

You should see your logs in Better Stack → Live tail.

Collect only logs

Collect logs from your MySQL database using Vector.

Select your platform:

Install and configure Vector on Ubuntu or Debian:

Set up Vector

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curl -sSL https://telemetry.betterstack.com/setup-vector/mysql/$SOURCE_TOKEN \
  -o /tmp/setup-vector.sh && \
  bash /tmp/setup-vector.sh

Curious about what the script does?

Installs Vector using official package.
Configures Vector for your Better Stack source.
Enables and restarts Vector.

The script will ask for confirmation before making any changes.

Install

Install Vector on Windows using official installer:

Install Vector

Copied!

powershell Invoke-WebRequest https://packages.timber.io/vector/latest/vector-x64.msi -OutFile vector-latest-x64.msi
msiexec /i vector-latest-x64.msi

Setup

Run in Powershell as administrator to download Vector config:

Download Vector config using Powershell

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$config_yaml_path = "C:\Program Files\Vector\config\vector.yaml"
$backup_path = "C:\Program Files\Vector\config\vector-backup.yaml"
Move-Item -Path "$config_yaml_path" -Destination "$backup_path"
Invoke-RestMethod -Uri https://telemetry.betterstack.com/vector-yaml/mysql/$SOURCE_TOKEN |
  Add-Content $config_yaml_path

Run Vector

Run Vector with new configuration:

Start Vector

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& "C:\Program Files\Vector\bin\vector" --config "C:\Program Files\Vector\config\vector.yaml"

Install

Install Vector using official installer:

Install Vector

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curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.vector.dev | sh -s -- -y

Create a Vector service:

Create a Vector service

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mkdir -p /etc/vector
mkdir -p /var/lib/vector/
cat <<-'SERVICE' >> /etc/systemd/system/vector.service
[Unit]
Description=Vector
Documentation=https://vector.dev
After=network-online.target
Requires=network-online.target

[Service]
User=vector
Group=vector
ExecStart=/root/.vector/bin/vector
ExecReload=/bin/kill -HUP $MAINPID
Restart=no
AmbientCapabilities=CAP_NET_BIND_SERVICE
EnvironmentFile=-/etc/default/vector

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
SERVICE

Setup

Download Vector configuration for your source:

Download Vector config

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CONFIG_YAML_PATH="/etc/vector/vector.yaml"
BACKUP_SUFFIX=".bak-$(date +%Y%m%d%H%M%S)"
mv "${CONFIG_YAML_PATH}" "${CONFIG_YAML_PATH}${BACKUP_SUFFIX}"
curl -o "$CONFIG_YAML_PATH" \
  https://telemetry.betterstack.com/vector-yaml/mysql/$SOURCE_TOKEN

Restart Vector

Restart Vector to reload the configuration:

Restart Vector

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systemctl restart vector

You should see your logs in Better Stack → Live tail.

Need help?

Please let us know at hello@betterstack.com.
We're happy to help! 🙏

Additional information

Looking for manual instructions to set up Vector?

Find step-by-step instructions in our dedicated Vector guide.

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Better Stack MySQL logging

Start logging in 2 minutes

Collect logs & metrics

1. Set up MySQL exporter

Fill in your password

2. Install MySQL exporter

3. Run exporter

4. Set up Vector

Install

Setup

Run Vector

Install

Setup

Restart Vector

Collect only logs

Install

Setup

Run Vector

Install

Setup

Restart Vector

Need help?

Additional information

Looking for manual instructions to set up Vector?

On this page