Single Command Database Setup

Kamran Ahmed · Improve this Guide

When you are working on a backend application, you are likely to need a database. You can either install it on your machine or use a Docker container. I prefer to use Docker containers because it is easier to setup and doesn’t pollute my machine with unnecessary dependencies.

This short guide will show you how to spin up a MySQL, PostgreSQL, or MongoDB instance on your local machine using docker. Feel free to submit a PR adding more databases.

PostgreSQL

You can run the following command to run PostgreSQL in a Docker container:

docker run \
  --name pg \
  --detach \
  --publish 5432:5432 \
  --env POSTGRES_PASSWORD=admin \
  postgres

Now you can connect and run commands against the instance using the following:

docker exec -it pg \
  psql -U postgres

MySQL

You can run the following command to run MySQL in a Docker container:

docker run \
  --name ms \
  --publish 3306:3306 \
  --detach \
  --env MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=admin \
  mysql

Now, you can use the following to run commands against the MySQL instance:

docker exec -it ms \
  mysql -u root -padmin

MongoDB

You can run the following command to run MongoDB in a Docker container:

docker run \
  --name mdb \
  --publish 27017:27017 \
  --detach \
  mongo

Now, you can use the following to run commands against the MongoDB instance:

docker exec -it mdb \
  mongo

Feel free to submit a pull request by adding additional databases to this guide.