How to import and export a MySQL database with phpMyAdmin?

Need to back up or move your Minecraft MySQL database? Do it cleanly with phpMyAdmin in a few clicks. With our dedicated Minecraft server, enjoy exceptional performance.

Prerequisites

• Access to your Oxygenserv panel (login and password)
• Database credentials (username, password, database name)
• MySQL host and port if required (e.g., mysql.oxygenserv.local and 3306)
• A .sql or .sql.gz backup file if you plan to import
• Up-to-date browser and stable connection

Detailed steps

1. Log into your Oxygenserv panel
   Open your panel and sign in. Go to the “Databases” or “MySQL” section depending on your interface. If you don’t have a database yet, click “Create database” and save the username, password, and DB name. You’ll see your database listed with a manage button.
2. Open phpMyAdmin
   From your database page, click “Manage” then “phpMyAdmin”. The login screen appears: enter the database user and password (not your panel login). For example, user oxy1234, database minecraft_prod. If login fails, double-check you didn’t swap the DB name and user fields.
3. Export with Quick method (fast backup)
   In phpMyAdmin, click your database on the left sidebar (it turns bold). At the top, open the “Export” tab. Keep “Export method” on “Quick” and format SQL. Click “Go” at the bottom to download a .sql file. Store it clearly, e.g., backups/2025-10-07_minecraft.sql.
4. Export with Custom method (advanced options)
   Still under “Export”, choose “Custom” for more control. Select all tables and enable “Add DROP TABLE statement” for clean restores. Set character set to utf8mb4 and collation to utf8mb4_general_ci. Turn on output compression gzip to reduce file size. Click “Go” and download the compressed .sql.gz.
5. Prepare for import (data safety)
   Before importing, stop your Minecraft server from the panel to avoid writes during the operation. Go to “Console” and press the red “Stop” button. Wait for “Server stopped” in the logs. This prevents inconsistent data.
6. Clean the target database if needed
   If you’re restoring over an existing database, clear it first. In phpMyAdmin, open the DB, tick “Check all” under the tables list. Choose “Empty” (keeps structure) or “Drop” (removes tables) from the dropdown. Skip this if you’re importing into a fresh database.
7. Import the .sql file
   Click the “Import” tab at the top. Under “File to import”, hit “Browse” and select your .sql, .zip, or .sql.gz file. Keep format as SQL and leave “Stop on error” enabled. Click “Go” at the bottom. A green success banner confirms completion; a red one shows errors to fix.
8. Point your plugins/mods to the database
   In your configs (e.g., plugins/Essentials/config.yml or plugins/YourPlugin/database.yml), set host, port, user, password, database. Example: host: mysql.oxygenserv.local, port: 3306, user: oxy1234, database: minecraft_prod. Save the file. Go back to the panel and restart the server.
9. Restart and verify
   Click “Start” and watch the logs. You should see lines like “Connected to MySQL” or “Tables initialized”. Test in-game features that use the DB (player data, economy, permissions). If you see “Access denied for user”, your credentials are wrong; if “Unknown column”, update the plugin or import a compatible schema; if “Packet too large” or “max_allowed_packet”, compress/split the dump or contact support.

Tips & optimization

Always export with .sql.gz compression: it often cuts size by 80–90% and speeds up transfers. Keep 3–7 restore points with dated names (e.g., YYYY-MM-DD_minecraft.sql.gz) for easy rollbacks. Use utf8mb4 to support all characters. If the file exceeds phpMyAdmin’s upload limit, compress it, split the SQL, or ask support for a server-side import (via SFTP). Stop the server during import and start it only after the green success banner to avoid corruption.

FAQ

I don’t have phpMyAdmin credentials. What now?

In the Oxygenserv panel, open “Databases”, select your DB, and view/regenerate the password. Use these DB credentials (not your panel login) to access phpMyAdmin. If no DB exists, create one and note the details shown.

phpMyAdmin says “Access denied for user”

Confirm the DB user and password, and the correct host mysql.oxygenserv.local if prompted. Regenerate the password in the panel and try again. Also ensure you’re targeting the right database name in your configs.

My file is too large to import

Compress it to .gz to fit the limit. Otherwise, split the dump (SQL splitter tool) or contact support for a server-side import method. You can also export with “Custom” and exclude non-essential large temporary tables.

Collation error (e.g., “Unknown collation utf8mb4_0900_ai_ci”)

In Custom export, choose utf8mb4 and utf8mb4_general_ci. Alternatively, edit the .sql file and replace the problematic collation with utf8mb4_general_ci before importing.

You’re now handling MySQL exports/imports like a pro. Need a hand? We’re here to help you secure and speed up your operations.

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