Installing Python MySQLdb 1.2.2 on Mac OS X

Aug 01

Installing Python MySQLdb 1.2.2 on Mac OS X

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Python I started working on Python start of the year and I learned a lot while I'm doing my internship in my current company, MooWee Inc. So it's logical for me to try to pick up Django as the web framework.

One of the hurdle I met and everyone else met is trying to install MySQL adapter for Python. Being the most popular database used, it is crucial to have it work rather than circumventing around the problem by using alternative database such as SQLite or PostgreSQL.

After a few hours of searching, I found a few references that somewhat not entirely complete. I did some cross referencing and found two brings me to the entire solutions, which I'm about to show below.

Step 0:
Before I start, I assumed that you have MySQL and Python installed on the mac.

Step 1:
Download the latest MySQL for Python adapter from SourceForge.

Step 2:
Extract your downloaded package by typing

$ tar xzvf MySQL-python-1.2.2.tar.gz

Step 3:
Inside the folder, clean the package by typing

$ sudo python setup.py clean

Step 4:
In the same folder, edit _mysql.c using your favourite text-editor

4a. Remove the following lines (37-39):

#ifndef uint #define uint unsigned int #endif

4b. Change the following:

uint port = MYSQL_PORT; uint client_flag = 0;

unsigned int port = MYSQL_PORT; unsigned int client_flag = 0;

Step 5:
Create a symbolic link under lib to point to a sub-directory called mysql. This is where it looks for during compilation.

$ sudo ln -s /usr/local/mysql/lib /usr/local/mysql/lib/mysql

Step 6:
Edit the setup_posix.py and change the following

mysql_config.path = "mysql_config"

mysql_config.path = "/usr/local/mysql/bin/mysql_config"

Step 7:
In the same directory, rebuild your package (ignore the warnings that comes with it)

$ sudo python setup.py build

Step 8:
Install the package and you are done.

$ sudo python setup.py install

Step 9:
Test if it's working. It works if you can import MySQLdb.

$ python >>> import MySQLdb

Voila.

References:
n.code
RedElephant
Django users Google Groups

Share and Enjoy:

written by mangoorange \\ tags: 1.2.2, mac osx, mysqldb, Python

26 Responses to “Installing Python MySQLdb 1.2.2 on Mac OS X”

1. Tom Weber Says:
August 21st, 2008 at 9:47 am
Ah, thanks so much! What a relief for MySQLdb install!
2. aceplace Says:
September 9th, 2008 at 11:21 pm
dude, you rock! they need to include this info in the install / readme file!
3. Emily Says:
November 11th, 2008 at 5:43 am
Thank you so much! I spent a few hours searching all over google to try to solve this problem with no luck, but this did it! None of the other instructions I found included all the necessary steps.
4. Giedrius Says:
November 28th, 2008 at 6:09 am
Thanks for the instructuctions! After compiling and installing without errors the test line gave an import error. Any suggestions?
thanks-
Giedrius

>>> import MySQLdb
Traceback (most recent call last):
File “”, line 1, in
File “MySQLdb/__init__.py”, line 19, in
import _mysql
File “build/bdist.macosx-10.5-i386/egg/_mysql.py”, line 7, in
File “build/bdist.macosx-10.5-i386/egg/_mysql.py”, line 6, in __bootstrap__
ImportError: dynamic module does not define init function (init_mysql)
5. Giedrius Says:
December 2nd, 2008 at 2:03 am
For those falling in the same traps of MySQLdb: with some googling I discovered that above mistake is likely to be due to Mac archtecture incompatibilities between preinstalled Mac Python (32 bit) and other components (MySQL 64 bit etc). After making sure I have 32 bit versions for everything on my iMac (OS 10.5.5), MySQLdb successfully started after reverting to 1.2.1 version (1.2.2 kept giving error in my previous message). ..
Giedrius
6. Kearney Says:
December 9th, 2008 at 8:29 am
Gledrius,

I “downgraded” to 1.2.1. but, I had to do some extra steps.

I modified the _mysql.c to remove the defining of the unit and changed everything from to uint to unsigned int.

In setup.py I added: /usr/local/mysql/bin/ to the line

f = popen(“mysql_config –%s” % what)

so the line now looks like:

f = popen(“/usr/local/mysql/bin/mysql_config –%s” % what)

Now, the old packages and eggs need to be deleted. So, I went to /Library/Python/2.5/site-packages, and did an

sudo rm -rf MySQLdb MySQL_Python-1.2.2-py2.5.egg-info

then I ran the: python setup.py clean command
followed by the python setup.py build
and sudo python setup.py install

Hope this helps anyone else who was having these problems
7. David Morton Says:
December 11th, 2008 at 10:49 pm
Kearney,

Many thanks for the help. I’ve read elsewhere that people have been “downgrading” to version 1.2.1.

I followed your instructions, and I got the following error:

[GCC 4.0.1 (Apple Inc. build 5465)] on darwin
Type “help”, “copyright”, “credits” or “license” for more information.
>>> import MySQLdb
Traceback (most recent call last):
File “”, line 1, in
File “MySQLdb/__init__.py”, line 19, in
import _mysql
ImportError: dynamic module does not define init function (init_mysql)

——

would be most grateful if you have any ideas about what’s going on. I went through the process of removing the library files and altering the _mysql.c and setup.py files, and I’m wondering if there’s something else I’m missing.

Kind regards,
-David
8. Michael Kumm Says:
January 18th, 2009 at 11:21 am
Thanks – this is what I needed
9. ds Says:
January 24th, 2009 at 4:01 am
Hi, it seems to have worked! THANK YOU! The one quirk is when I import MySQLdb I get the following error:

Warning (from warnings module):
File “/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.6/lib/python2.6/site-packages/MySQL_python-1.2.2-py2.6-macosx-10.3-i386.egg/MySQLdb/__init__.py”, line 34
DeprecationWarning: the sets module is deprecated

I imagine it’s because I’m running Python 2.6 and there is a change in store for the sets module that is called but I’m a newbie and can’t quite figure this out.

Any ideas?
10. pvc Says:
January 26th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
I kept getting the following error even after converting to 32-bit mysql:

ImportError: dynamic module does not define init function (init_mysql)

Then I discovered that the “clean” option for setup.py does not actually clean out all the old built files so you have to manually delete everything under the “build” directory if you previously built with a 64-bit mysql library.
11. Darren Says:
January 27th, 2009 at 9:14 am
Worked. Thanks!
12. Sampath Girish Munagala Says:
February 10th, 2009 at 4:29 am
Hi Friend,
I got some problem regarding building ‘setup.py’ file. I am pasting the following error which i’ve got at the time of building and installing file.

Sampath:MySQL-python-1.2.2 venkatarampey$ sudo python setup.py build
running build
running build_py
copying MySQLdb/release.py -> build/lib.macosx-10.3-i386-2.5/MySQLdb
running build_ext
building ‘_mysql’ extension
gcc -isysroot /Developer/SDKs/MacOSX10.4u.sdk -fno-strict-aliasing -Wno-long-double -no-cpp-precomp -mno-fused-madd -fno-common -dynamic -DNDEBUG -g -O3 -Dversion_info=(1,2,2,’final’,0) -D__version__=1.2.2 -I/usr/local/mysql/include -I/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.5/include/python2.5 -c _mysql.c -o build/temp.macosx-10.3-i386-2.5/_mysql.o -g -Os -arch i386 -fno-common -D_P1003_1B_VISIBLE -DSIGNAL_WITH_VIO_CLOSE -DSIGNALS_DONT_BREAK_READ -DIGNORE_SIGHUP_SIGQUIT -DDONT_DECLARE_CXA_PURE_VIRTUAL
unable to execute gcc: No such file or directory
error: command ‘gcc’ failed with exit status 1

Sampath:MySQL-python-1.2.2 venkatarampey$ sudo python setup.py install
running install
running bdist_egg
running egg_info
writing MySQL_python.egg-info/PKG-INFO
writing top-level names to MySQL_python.egg-info/top_level.txt
writing dependency_links to MySQL_python.egg-info/dependency_links.txt
reading manifest file ‘MySQL_python.egg-info/SOURCES.txt’
reading manifest template ‘MANIFEST.in’
writing manifest file ‘MySQL_python.egg-info/SOURCES.txt’
installing library code to build/bdist.macosx-10.3-i386/egg
running install_lib
running build_py
copying MySQLdb/release.py -> build/lib.macosx-10.3-i386-2.5/MySQLdb
running build_ext
building ‘_mysql’ extension
gcc -isysroot /Developer/SDKs/MacOSX10.4u.sdk -fno-strict-aliasing -Wno-long-double -no-cpp-precomp -mno-fused-madd -fno-common -dynamic -DNDEBUG -g -O3 -Dversion_info=(1,2,2,’final’,0) -D__version__=1.2.2 -I/usr/local/mysql/include -I/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.5/include/python2.5 -c _mysql.c -o build/temp.macosx-10.3-i386-2.5/_mysql.o -g -Os -arch i386 -fno-common -D_P1003_1B_VISIBLE -DSIGNAL_WITH_VIO_CLOSE -DSIGNALS_DONT_BREAK_READ -DIGNORE_SIGHUP_SIGQUIT -DDONT_DECLARE_CXA_PURE_VIRTUAL
unable to execute gcc: No such file or directory
error: command ‘gcc’ failed with exit status 1

How can i solve this??? Please help me out….

Sampath Girish.M
13. Heather Says:
February 20th, 2009 at 9:29 am
Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.

Thank you.
14. Stephen Clark Says:
February 25th, 2009 at 10:27 pm

OSX 10.5.6
Python 2.5.1 (r251:54863, Jan 13 2009, 10:26:13)

>>> import MySQLdb
/Library/Python/2.5/site-packages/MySQL_python-1.2.2-py2.5-macosx-10.5-i386.egg/_mysql.py:3: UserWarning: Module _mysql was already imported from /Library/Python/2.5/site-packages/MySQL_python-1.2.2-py2.5-macosx-10.5-i386.egg/_mysql.pyc, but /Users/stephenkennedy-clark/Desktop/MySQL-python-1.2.2 is being added to sys.path
import sys, pkg_resources, imp
Traceback (most recent call last):
File “”, line 1, in
File “MySQLdb/__init__.py”, line 19, in
import _mysql
File “build/bdist.macosx-10.5-i386/egg/_mysql.py”, line 7, in
File “build/bdist.macosx-10.5-i386/egg/_mysql.py”, line 6, in __bootstrap__
ImportError: dynamic module does not define init function (init_mysql)
15. Lyle Says:
March 20th, 2009 at 12:46 pm
I got pages and pages of errors when I tried to build.

Thanks for trying.
16. Richard Says:
April 5th, 2009 at 7:26 am
Still getting this error:

ImportError: dynamic module does not define init function (init_mysql)

Traceback (most recent call last):
File “/Users/me/Applications/python/test/src/test.py”, line 17, in
import MySQLdb
File “build/bdist.macosx-10.5-i386/egg/MySQLdb/__init__.py”, line 19, in
File “build/bdist.macosx-10.5-i386/egg/_mysql.py”, line 7, in
File “build/bdist.macosx-10.5-i386/egg/_mysql.py”, line 6, in __bootstrap__
ImportError: dynamic module does not define init function (init_mysql)

I’ve tried multiple options to get MySQLdb working on 10.5.6:

- http://mysql-python.blogspot.com/2008/03/i-am-not-dead.html

- http://www.mangoorange.com/2008/08/01/installing-python-mysqldb-122-on-mac-os-x/

… and I’ve tried Mac Python 3.0.

I seem to be in a Catch-22 — the version 2.3/2.5 Pythons that comes with 10.5 won’t work, the 3.0 Python can’t find the MySQLdb package at all — and presumably will also miss any other (add-on) local packages I’ve installed.

Is there any other alternative to dumping out the MySQL data into a suitable flat file format and sucking it back into a python dictionary — primitive, but probably will work for now — though I’ll pay a price every time the data in the database changes.

Anyone have a MySQLdb fix that works for OS X 10.5.6?

I admit I’m surprised that python, which has been so robust in having libraries and methods for so many things, hasn’t got something as simple as a working Mac OS X MySQL interface. Heck, even Perl has multiple to chose from.

Thanks for any assistance …
17. jordi Says:
April 21st, 2009 at 5:04 am
all ok, but the build does not work. Any clue?

olea:MySQL-python-1.2.2 jvilla$ sudo python setup.py build
running build
running build_py
creating build
creating build/lib.macosx-10.3-i386-2.5
copying _mysql_exceptions.py -> build/lib.macosx-10.3-i386-2.5
creating build/lib.macosx-10.3-i386-2.5/MySQLdb
copying MySQLdb/__init__.py -> build/lib.macosx-10.3-i386-2.5/MySQLdb
copying MySQLdb/converters.py -> build/lib.macosx-10.3-i386-2.5/MySQLdb
copying MySQLdb/connections.py -> build/lib.macosx-10.3-i386-2.5/MySQLdb
copying MySQLdb/cursors.py -> build/lib.macosx-10.3-i386-2.5/MySQLdb
copying MySQLdb/release.py -> build/lib.macosx-10.3-i386-2.5/MySQLdb
copying MySQLdb/times.py -> build/lib.macosx-10.3-i386-2.5/MySQLdb
creating build/lib.macosx-10.3-i386-2.5/MySQLdb/constants
copying MySQLdb/constants/__init__.py -> build/lib.macosx-10.3-i386-2.5/MySQLdb/constants
copying MySQLdb/constants/CR.py -> build/lib.macosx-10.3-i386-2.5/MySQLdb/constants
copying MySQLdb/constants/FIELD_TYPE.py -> build/lib.macosx-10.3-i386-2.5/MySQLdb/constants
copying MySQLdb/constants/ER.py -> build/lib.macosx-10.3-i386-2.5/MySQLdb/constants
copying MySQLdb/constants/FLAG.py -> build/lib.macosx-10.3-i386-2.5/MySQLdb/constants
copying MySQLdb/constants/REFRESH.py -> build/lib.macosx-10.3-i386-2.5/MySQLdb/constants
copying MySQLdb/constants/CLIENT.py -> build/lib.macosx-10.3-i386-2.5/MySQLdb/constants
running build_ext
building ‘_mysql’ extension
creating build/temp.macosx-10.3-i386-2.5
gcc -isysroot /Developer/SDKs/MacOSX10.4u.sdk -fno-strict-aliasing -Wno-long-double -no-cpp-precomp -mno-fused-madd -fno-common -dynamic -DNDEBUG -g -O3 -Dversion_info=(1,2,2,’final’,0) -D__version__=1.2.2 -I/usr/local/mysql/include -I/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.5/include/python2.5 -c _mysql.c -o build/temp.macosx-10.3-i386-2.5/_mysql.o -g -Os -arch x86_64 -fno-common -D_P1003_1B_VISIBLE -DSIGNAL_WITH_VIO_CLOSE -DSIGNALS_DONT_BREAK_READ -DIGNORE_SIGHUP_SIGQUIT -DDONT_DECLARE_CXA_PURE_VIRTUAL
In file included from /Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.5/include/python2.5/Python.h:57,
from pymemcompat.h:10,
from _mysql.c:29:
/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.5/include/python2.5/pyport.h:761:2: error: #error “LONG_BIT definition appears wrong for platform (bad gcc/glibc config?).”
In file included from _mysql.c:35:
/usr/local/mysql/include/my_config.h:1240:1: warning: “SIZEOF_LONG” redefined
In file included from /Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.5/include/python2.5/Python.h:8,
from pymemcompat.h:10,
from _mysql.c:29:
/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.5/include/python2.5/pyconfig.h:811:1: warning: this is the location of the previous definition
error: command ‘gcc’ failed with exit status 1
18. Michael G. Says:
April 21st, 2009 at 11:58 am
In what directory (aka “folder”) should I start this process? The download drops the tar.gz file on my desktop, but that seems an odd place to start an installation.

Thank you!

Michael
19. kvh Says:
April 23rd, 2009 at 9:43 pm
f ing brilliant man! thanks!
20. no Says:
April 28th, 2009 at 12:13 pm
Simply doesn’t work on 10.5.6
21. no Says:
April 28th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
Correction, simply doesn’t work with MAMP. Instructions work fine with 10.5.6 once I junked MAMP.
22. Clark Says:
April 28th, 2009 at 11:29 pm
OSX Server 10.5… any ideas. I get the following warning. Is that a bad thing or is this a harmless warning.

Python 2.6.2 (r262:71600, Apr 16 2009, 09:17:39)
[GCC 4.0.1 (Apple Computer, Inc. build 5250)] on darwin
Type “help”, “copyright”, “credits” or “license” for more information.
>>> import MySQLdb
/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.6/lib/python2.6/site-packages/MySQL_python-1.2.2-py2.6-macosx-10.3-fat.egg/MySQLdb/__init__.py:34: DeprecationWarning: the sets module is deprecated
>>>
23. Clark Says:
April 29th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
http://sourceforge.net/forum/message.php?msg_id=5808948

This link fixed my issue above.

It’s also good to make sure that if you build your own version of Python that you update all of the SymLinks.
24. laptop ekran Says:
May 15th, 2009 at 6:48 am
thank you good share
25. ygarten Says:
August 14th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
This was a great posting, and ultimately the instructions on this page saved me:
http://birdhouse.org/blog/2009/02/21/python-mysql-connections-on-mac-os/

Explanation:
I had the same problem (errors) as David Morton, after following Kearny’s advice.

I tried downgrading to 1.2.2, then 1.2.1 using that advice, and still got:
>>> import MySQLdb
Traceback (most recent call last):
File “”, line 1, in
File “MySQLdb/__init__.py”, line 19, in
import _mysql
ImportError: dynamic module does not define init function (init_mysql)

Finally, found that this error:
Re: ImportError: module does not define init function (init_mysql)

As reported elsewhere by Leon Harris, gives clues towards using darwinports to fix it:

“I was stuck with this error for absolutely ages. I found that using the py25-mysql.darwinports.com port of python mysql connector fixed the problem. Which was occurring due to a problematic _mysql.so file in site-packages.”

Googled that, and found solution by following:

http://birdhouse.org/blog/2009/02/21/python-mysql-connections-on-mac-os/

And it works!!!
26. aspratley Says:
February 21st, 2010 at 9:45 am
If you’re having trouble getting it installed the new version of mysql-python requires some different instructions, also if you’re using 64 or 32 bit versions of python or mysql will make a difference. There’s some information here:

http://learninglamp.wordpress.com/2010/02/21/mysqldb-python-mysql-and-os-x-a-match-made-in-satans-bum/

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Installing Python MySQLdb 1.2.2 on Mac OS X

26 Responses to “Installing Python MySQLdb 1.2.2 on Mac OS X”

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