Using WSL inside Windows - A Step-by-Step Guide to Managing MySQL Databases on Ubuntu 20.04

I'm using a Windows PC and connecting to Ubuntu 20.04 LTS through WSL. I have also downloaded the *.sql file.

1. To view WSL (Ubuntu) files in Windows Explorer, enter the following path in the address bar

   \\wsl$

2. To copy a file from Windows to a WSL directory, in this example, paste the SQL file into the following directory \\wsl.localhost\Ubuntu-20.04\home\<userName>\<folderName>

   After copying, you may notice an additional file named <sqlfileName>.sqlZone.Identifier. This file is generated by the Windows operating system, not by Ubuntu within WSL, and is associated with Windows security features.

3. Open the Ubuntu terminal then access MySQL by typing

   mysql -u <username> -p

   Alternatively, you can use

   sudo mysql

4. Inside the MySQL prompt, create a database where you will import the dumped file that was previously copied

   CREATE DATABASE <tutorial_database>;

5. Once the database is created, grant access to it for a specific user

   GRANT ALL ON <dbName>.* TO '<userName>'@'localhost';

6. Exit the MySQL terminal by typing

   exit;

7. Verify that everything was executed correctly by logging back into MySQL and listing the databases

   mysql -u <userName> -p
   SHOW DATABASES;

   
8. Exit from MySQL once more
9. Change the directory to where the *.sql file was copied

   cd <databaseFolder>/

10. Import the SQL file into the database named "helios" by running

mysql -u <userName> -p <dbFolder> < <dbName>.sql

This command will prompt for a password and might take some time to execute without displaying a progress bar. Do not worry; this is normal behavior as the SQL file is being imported into the database.

If you prefer to see a progress bar while importing the database, use the following command

pv <db>.sql | mysql -u <userName> -p <database_name>

Note: The pv command may need to be installed separately if it's not already available on your system.