How to delete MySQL/MariaDB user

If you have an outdated or unused account in your MySQL or MariaDB database, it’s best to get rid of it. Having even one extra user is an additional vulnerability and attack surface in the database. In this guide, we’ll show you the step by the step instructions to delete a specific user from a MySQL or MariaDB database from the command line on a Linux system.

DID YOU KNOW?
If you’ve forgotten the password to a user account and need to reset it, there’s no need to delete it and start over. We have separate guides for changing a user password in MySQL and changing the root password in MySQL.

In this tutorial you will learn:

  • How to delete a user from MySQL/MariaDB database

Deleting a user from MySQL

Deleting a user from MySQL

Software Requirements and Linux Command Line Conventions
Category Requirements, Conventions or Software Version Used
System Any Linux distro
Software MySQL, MariaDB
Other Privileged access to your Linux system as root or via the sudo command.
Conventions # – requires given linux commands to be executed with root privileges either directly as a root user or by use of sudo command
$ – requires given linux commands to be executed as a regular non-privileged user

Deleting a user

Open a terminal on your system and follow these steps to delete a user from MySQL or MariaDB:

  1. Open MySQL as the root user.
    $ mysql -u root -p
    OR
    $ sudo mysql
    
  2. Next, use the DROP USER command to delete a user. In this example, we’re deleting user linuxconfig.
    mysql> DROP USER 'linuxconfig'@'localhost';
    

Assuming the user exists, MySQL should issue a Query OK response, and the user is no longer in the database. You can now exit the MySQL terminal with the exit command.

Conclusion

Deleting a user in MySQL or MariaDB is quick and easy, as we saw in this guide. Keeping a minimal number of users will keep your database more secure against attacks.



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