• Overview
• Why mymagicdump?
• Background
• Requirements
• Installation
  • Using Pre-built Binaries
  • Using Go Install
  • From Source
• Quick Start
• Usage
  • Connection Options
  • Database Selection
  • Table Filtering
  • Output Options
  • Execution Control
• Examples
• Disclaimer
• License

A fast and feature-rich mysqldump wrapper that supercharges your MySQL backup workflow with useful enhancements.

Traditional mysqldump workflows can be cumbersome and error-prone. mymagicdump solves common pain points:

• Select Databases: Backup multiple databases in one command, using pattern-based filtering
• Advanced table filtering: Exclude tables by pattern (e.g., logs_2024_*)
• Schema-only dumps for some tables: Export only schema without data for some tables
• Compressed dumps: Support for tar.gz, tar.bz2, and zip
• Separate files or single-file dumps: One file per database or a consolidated backup file
• Automatic retries: Handle transient connection issues (with configurable retry logic)
• More features: Remove DEFINERs for cross-server restoration, real-time progress bar with size estimation, dry-run, and more

mymagicdump was born from a simple need: As a web hosting company, we backup many MySQL databases with different requirements, but existing tools made us choose between writing complex scripts or backing up everything we didn't need.

We needed flexibility and extra goodies derived from real-world everyday scenarios (like pattern-based exclusions, schema-only dumps for selected tables, and separate files per database), all in one simple, robust, and clean command.

• Go: Version 1.20 or higher (for building from source)
• mysqldump (or mariadb-dump): Installed and accessible in PATH
• MySQL/MariaDB: Compatible with MySQL 5.7+, MySQL 8.x, and MariaDB 10.x+
• Operating Systems: Linux, macOS, Windows (with appropriate shell)

Download the latest binary for your operating system from the Releases page.

# Make executable and install to system PATH chmod +x mymagicdump sudo mv mymagicdump /usr/local/bin/mymagicdump mymagicdump --help

go install github.com/trustservers-hosting/mymagicdump@latest

# Clone the repository git clone https://github.com/trustservers-hosting/mymagicdump.git cd mymagicdump # Build the binary make build # Optional: Install to system path sudo mv mymagicdump /usr/local/bin/mymagicdump # Verify installation mymagicdump --help

Backup all databases to separate files with compression:

mymagicdump \ --user=dbuser \ --password=YOUR_PASSWORD \ --host=localhost \ --all-databases \ --separate-dumps \ --output=/backups/ \ --compression=tgz

This creates a separate compressed backup file per database in /backups/.

Security Note: Avoid passing passwords via --password in production. Use --defaults-file instead to keep credentials secure.

mymagicdump [OPTIONS]

• -u, --user=USER - MySQL username
• -p, --password=PASSWORD - MySQL password (Not recommended for production)
• -h, --host=HOST - MySQL host address
• -P, --port=PORT - MySQL port (default: 3306)
• -s, --socket=SOCKET - Path to MySQL socket
• --defaults-file=FILE - Path to MySQL defaults file (default: ~/.my.cnf)
• --defaults-group-suffix=SUFFIX - Suffix to append to the default group name

• --databases=DB1,DB2 - Comma-separated list of databases. Supports glob patterns (*, ?)
• --all-databases - Dump all databases
• --separate-dumps - Create separate dump files for each database

• --exclude=DB1.TABLE1,DB2.TABLE2 - Exclude tables completely. Supports patterns like logs.app_log_*
• --exclude-data=DB1.TABLE1,DB2.TABLE2 - Exclude data but keep schema. Supports patterns

• --output=PATH - Output directory path (default: ./) - If multiple files are produced, the compressed file is named multiple_databases
• --compression=TYPE - Compression: tgz, tbz2, zip, or none (default: none)
• --remove-definers - Remove DEFINER statements for cross-server compatibility

• --dry-run - Simulate without executing real mysqldump
• --retries=NUM - Number of retries on failure (default: 3)
• --retry-interval=SECONDS - Seconds between retries (default: 30)
• -q, --silent - Only print errors to stderr
• -v, --verbose - Enable verbose (debug) logging

Any unrecognized flags are forwarded directly to mysqldump. This allows you to use standard mysqldump options like:

• --no-tablespaces - Disable tablespace handling
• --single-transaction - Use consistent snapshot
• --where="condition" - Apply WHERE clause to all tables

mymagicdump \ --user=dbuser \ --password=YOUR_PASSWORD \ --host=localhost \ --databases=shop_db,analytics_db,logs_db \ --separate-dumps \ --output=/backups/daily/ \ --compression=tgz

Creates: shop_db.tar.gz, analytics_db.tar.gz, logs_db.tar.gz

mymagicdump \ --user=dbuser \ --password=YOUR_PASSWORD \ --databases=myapp \ --exclude="myapp.logs,myapp.temp_*" \ --output=/backups/

This excludes table logs and all tables starting with temp_ in myapp database.

mymagicdump \ --user=dbuser \ --password=YOUR_PASSWORD \ --databases=analytics \ --exclude-data="analytics.raw_events,analytics.page_views_*" \ --output=/backups/ \ --compression=tgz

Export database analytics, for tables named raw_events and any tables starting with page_views_ dump schema only without any data.

mymagicdump \ --user=dbuser \ --password=YOUR_PASSWORD \ --databases="client_*" \ --separate-dumps \ --output=/backups/clients/

Backs up all databases starting with client_.

# Create ~/.my.cnf with credentials mymagicdump \ --defaults-file=~/.my.cnf \ --databases=production_db \ --output=/backups/ \ --compression=tgz \ --remove-definers

# Daily backup at 2 AM 0 2 * * * /usr/local/bin/mymagicdump \ --defaults-file=/root/.my.cnf \ --all-databases \ --separate-dumps \ --output=/backups/$(date +\%Y-\%m-\%d)/ \ --compression=tgz \ --silent \ 2>&1 | logger -t mymagicdump

mymagicdump \ --user=dbuser \ --password=YOUR_PASSWORD \ --databases=test_db \ --exclude="test_db.cache_*" \ --dry-run

Shows exactly what mysqldump commands would be executed.

mymagicdump \ --user=dbuser \ --password=YOUR_PASSWORD \ --databases=mydb \ --single-transaction \ --where="created_at >= '2025-01-01'" \ --output=/backups/

Any additional flags not recognized by mymagicdump are forwarded to mysqldump unchanged. In this example, --single-transaction and --where flags are passed through.

IMPORTANT: This software is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind, express or implied. The authors and contributors are not responsible for any data loss, corruption, or other damages that may occur from using this tool.

Backup Best Practices:

• Always test your backups by performing test restores
• Verify backup integrity before deleting source data
• Maintain multiple backup copies in different locations
• Never rely on a single backup solution
• Test this tool thoroughly in a non-production environment first

While mymagicdump is designed to be reliable and has been tested extensively, you are solely responsible for ensuring your backup strategy meets your needs. No backup tool can guarantee 100% data safety.

By using this software, you acknowledge that you have read and understood the GNU General Public License v3.0 and accept all risks associated with database backup operations.

This project is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 or later (GPL-3.0-or-later). See the LICENSE file for the full text.

Contributions are welcome and will be licensed under the same terms.