How to Create and Load a Second Database in ddev for Your Drupal Project (MySQL/MariaDB)

Steps:

1. Import the Database Schema (Recommended):

2. Optional: Manual Database Creation (Less Common):

Using the Second Database in Drupal:

• Update your Drupal settings to point to the newly created database:

  • In your settings.php file, locate the database configuration section:

    $databases['default']['default'] = [
      'driver' => 'mysql',
      'database' => 'my_second_db',
      'username' => 'db',
      'password' => 'db',
      'host' => 'db',
      'port' => 3306,
    ];
    

• ddev drush cc all
  

Additional Considerations:

• For complex database setups, consider using Drupal's multisite functionality to manage multiple Drupal installations on the same codebase but with separate databases.

ddev import-db --target-db=my_second_db --file=path/to/your_dump.sql.gz

• Replace my_second_db with your desired database name (e.g., drupal_staging).
• Replace path/to/your_dump.sql.gz with the actual path to your database schema file (e.g., /path/to/project/dumps/drupal_staging.sql.gz).

Connecting to MySQL within ddev:

ddev ssh mysql -uroot -proot

Inside the MySQL container:

CREATE DATABASE my_second_db;  # Create the database

GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON my_second_db.* TO 'db'@'%';  # Grant permissions for the 'db' user

Updating Drupal Settings (settings.php):

$databases['default']['default'] = [
  'driver' => 'mysql',
  'database' => 'my_second_db',  # Replace with your second database name
  'username' => 'db',
  'password' => 'db',
  'host' => 'db',
  'port' => 3306,
];

Clearing Drupal Caches:

ddev drush cc all

• Using Environment Variables: Instead of hardcoding the database name in your settings.php, you can leverage environment variables. This promotes better code management and easier switching between environments.

  1. DB_NAME=my_second_db