How to add MySQL 8 in Laragon Portable?

[OmarHasan16]

Adding MySQL 8 to Laragon Portable

Step 1: Download MySQL 8

1. Visit the official [MySQL Community Downloads page](https://dev.mysql.com/downloads/mysql/).
2. Select the platform (Windows) and download the ZIP Archive version of MySQL 8.
3. Extract the downloaded archive to a directory (e.g., C:\laragon\bin\mysql\mysql-8.x.x).

Step 2: Integrate MySQL 8 into Laragon

1. Navigate to your Laragon installation directory.
2. Go to the bin\mysql folder (e.g., C:\laragon\bin\mysql).
3. Place the extracted MySQL folder (e.g., mysql-8.x.x) inside the mysql directory.

Step 3: Update MySQL Configuration in Laragon

1. Open Laragon.
2. Go to Menu → Preferences → Services & Ports.
3. In the Database section, set the path to the new MySQL 8 version if necessary.
4. If you want to configure MySQL further:
   • Open the my.ini configuration file located in the mysql-8.x.x folder.
   • Update paths or settings as needed.

Step 4: Switch to MySQL 8 in Laragon

1. Restart Laragon to detect the new MySQL version.
2. In Laragon's main window, click on the Database section (next to Start All).
3. Select MySQL 8.x.x from the drop-down menu.

Step 5: Test the Installation

1. Start Laragon services.
2. Use a database client (e.g., HeidiSQL or Laragon's built-in terminal) to connect to MySQL 8.
3. Execute SELECT VERSION(); to confirm MySQL 8 is running.

But not working

[Sophist-UK]

At this point, with a new version being released apparently tomorrow, we should I think hope that the default MySQL version is already 8 and that these instructions will be moot.

I am hopeful that the new version will do a lot of what I have been waiting for, including having MySQL 8 as a default version, and that I can continue to use Laragon and to be an active advocate for others to use it.

However, if it turns out that the next release doesn't have a more modern version of MySQL, especially after such a long long long wait for a new version, that is going to severely dent my confidence in Laragon as a solution, and I will probably switch to FlyEnv (which I am already actively evaluating).