Knowledgebase

Is There a Way for Me to Copy an Entire Database?

• Copying a Database in phpMyAdmin

This tutorial will demonstrate how to copy or duplicate a database in phpMyAdmin.

 Begin by accessing phpMyAdmin via cPanel or Plesk.

1. Select the database you wish to copy (by clicking on the database from the phpMyAdmin home screen).
2. Once inside the database, select the Operations tab.
3. Scroll down to the section where it says "Copy database to:"
4. Type in the name of the new database.
5. Select "structure and data" to copy everything.  Alternately, you can select "Structure only" if you want the columns but not the data.
6. Check the box "CREATE DATABASE before copying" to create a new database.
7. Check the box "Add AUTO_INCREMENT value."
8. Click on the Go button to proceed.

Indeed. You can rename a database in phpMyAdmin. For instructions on how to do so, please see the following article:

• Renaming a Database in phpMyAdmin

Before You Begin

For cPanel: If you want the same database user to have access to the renamed database, you should take note of the username already assigned to the database, which may or may not be similar to the name of the current database.

1. In cPanel, click on MySQL Databases.
2. Scroll down to the Current Databases section of the page.
3. Find the database you are about to rename, and take note or remember the database user already assigned to the database.  You will need to know this for step 2.
4. You can return to the cPanel home screen to begin Step 1.

Step 1: Renaming the Database

1. From cPanel, click on phpMyAdmin. (It should open in a new tab.)
2. Click on the database you wish to rename in the left hand column.
3. Click on the Operations tab.
4. Where it says "Rename database to:" enter the new database name.
5. Click the Go button.
6. When it asks you to want to create the new database and drop the old database, click OK to proceed. (This is a good time to make sure you spelled the new name correctly.)
7. Once the operation is complete, click OK when asked if you want to reload the database.

 Step 2: Reconfiguring User Permissions

If your hosting plan has cPanel, then you will need to reconfigure user permissions.

1. Go back to the main cPanel page.
2. Click on MySQL Databases.
3. Scroll down to the Add User To Database section of the page.
4. Select the database from the list (should be the new name).
5. Select the database user from the list (the same one that used to be associated with this database).
6. Click on Add button.
7. On the Manage User Privileges page that appears, check the box next to All Privileges.
8. Click on the Make Changes button.

Step 3: Update Scripts

You may need to update any scripts or applications that reference this database, since the name has changed, if you want them to continue to have access to this database.

If you click on the home icon, you will notice your new database listed in the left column.  If you go inside, you will see the database is a copy of the previous database.