mysqldexporter

mysqld_exporter, commonly referred to as mysqld_exporter or mysqld_exporter, is a Prometheus exporter designed to collect and expose metrics from MySQL and MariaDB servers. It runs as a standalone application, typically as a small network service that exposes an HTTP endpoint (usually /metrics) that Prometheus can scrape. The exporter is written in Go and relies on a MySQL client to query status, variables, and other performance-related data from the database server. It supports multiple collectors, including global status and variables, performance schema, and InnoDB metrics, allowing operators to observe a wide range of server health and performance indicators.

Operation and configuration are centered around a data source name (DSN) that specifies how the exporter connects to MySQL. A DSN typically includes the host, port, user, password, and optional database, for example user:password@tcp(host:3306)/ or a similar form depending on the environment. The exporter can be run as a binary or via a Docker image and can be configured with command-line flags to enable or disable specific collectors, set timeouts, and tune collection intervals. Prometheus is configured to scrape the exporter’s /metrics endpoint, producing time-series data for alerting and dashboards.

Security and deployment considerations include using a dedicated MySQL account with limited privileges, avoiding exposure of credentials, and securing the metrics endpoint. It is widely used in Kubernetes and on traditional servers as part of the Prometheus monitoring stack. mysqld_exporter is open source and maintained as part of the Prometheus ecosystem.