MariaDB + Adminer

beginner

MariaDB database with Adminer, a lightweight database management tool.

Overview

MariaDB is a community-developed fork of MySQL created by the original MySQL developers after Oracle's acquisition of MySQL AB. Born from concerns about MySQL's future under Oracle, MariaDB has evolved into a robust database server that maintains MySQL compatibility while introducing advanced features like the Aria storage engine, Galera clustering, and enhanced JSON support. This makes it an ideal drop-in replacement for MySQL with superior performance and additional capabilities. This stack combines MariaDB with Adminer, a lightweight database management tool that provides a clean web interface for database administration. Unlike heavyweight alternatives like phpMyAdmin, Adminer is distributed as a single PHP file and supports multiple database systems beyond just MySQL/MariaDB. The combination creates a complete database solution where MariaDB handles data storage and processing while Adminer provides intuitive database management through a web browser. Developers working on PHP applications, WordPress sites, or any MySQL-compatible projects will find this stack invaluable for both development and production environments. The pairing is particularly useful for teams that need quick database access without installing desktop database tools, or for scenarios where you need to manage multiple database types through a single interface. MariaDB's enhanced features combined with Adminer's simplicity make this an excellent choice for startups, development teams, and anyone migrating away from Oracle's MySQL ecosystem.

Key Features

Aria storage engine with crash-safe MyISAM replacement and better caching
Galera Cluster support for synchronous multi-master replication built into MariaDB
Thread pool connection handling for improved performance under high concurrency
Single-file Adminer deployment supporting MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, and Oracle databases
MariaDB's Oracle compatibility mode for easier enterprise application migration
System-versioned tables enabling temporal queries and data history tracking
Adminer's plugin system for extending functionality with custom themes and features
ColumnStore storage engine for analytical workloads and data warehousing

Common Use Cases

1WordPress and PHP application hosting with enhanced MySQL compatibility
2Development environments requiring quick database setup and web-based management
3Small to medium business applications migrating away from Oracle MySQL
4Multi-database environments where developers work with MariaDB, PostgreSQL, and SQLite
5High-availability web applications utilizing MariaDB's Galera clustering capabilities
6Data analytics projects leveraging MariaDB's ColumnStore engine for warehousing
7Remote database administration where desktop tools aren't available or practical

Prerequisites

Minimum 1GB RAM for MariaDB with 128MB additional for Adminer web interface
Port 3306 available for MariaDB database connections from external clients
Port 8080 available for Adminer web interface access
Basic understanding of SQL and relational database concepts
Familiarity with web-based database administration tools
Knowledge of environment variable configuration for database credentials

For development & testing. Review security settings, change default credentials, and test thoroughly before production use. See Terms

docker-compose.yml

1services: 
2  mariadb: 
3    image: mariadb:11
4    container_name: mariadb
5    restart: unless-stopped
6    environment: 
7      MARIADB_ROOT_PASSWORD: ${MARIADB_ROOT_PASSWORD}
8      MARIADB_DATABASE: ${MARIADB_DATABASE}
9      MARIADB_USER: ${MARIADB_USER}
10      MARIADB_PASSWORD: ${MARIADB_PASSWORD}
11    volumes: 
12      - mariadb_data:/var/lib/mysql
13    ports: 
14      - "3306:3306"
15    networks: 
16      - mariadb-network
17
18  adminer: 
19    image: adminer:latest
20    container_name: adminer
21    restart: unless-stopped
22    ports: 
23      - "8080:8080"
24    depends_on: 
25      - mariadb
26    networks: 
27      - mariadb-network
28
29volumes: 
30  mariadb_data: 
31
32networks: 
33  mariadb-network: 
34    driver: bridge

.env Template

.env

1MARIADB_ROOT_PASSWORD=rootpassword
2MARIADB_DATABASE=myapp
3MARIADB_USER=appuser
4MARIADB_PASSWORD=changeme

Usage Notes

1Docs: https://mariadb.com/kb/en/documentation/ | Adminer: https://www.adminer.org/
2Access Adminer at http://localhost:8080, select 'MySQL', server: mariadb
3Login with root/MARIADB_ROOT_PASSWORD or MARIADB_USER/MARIADB_PASSWORD
4Backup: docker exec mariadb mariadb-dump -u root -p --all-databases > backup.sql
5MySQL-compatible, most MySQL tools and drivers work
6Data persisted in mariadb_data volume

Individual Services(2 services)

Copy individual services to mix and match with your existing compose files.

mariadb

mariadb:
  image: mariadb:11
  container_name: mariadb
  restart: unless-stopped
  environment:
    MARIADB_ROOT_PASSWORD: ${MARIADB_ROOT_PASSWORD}
    MARIADB_DATABASE: ${MARIADB_DATABASE}
    MARIADB_USER: ${MARIADB_USER}
    MARIADB_PASSWORD: ${MARIADB_PASSWORD}
  volumes:
    - mariadb_data:/var/lib/mysql
  ports:
    - "3306:3306"
  networks:
    - mariadb-network

adminer

adminer:
  image: adminer:latest
  container_name: adminer
  restart: unless-stopped
  ports:
    - "8080:8080"
  depends_on:
    - mariadb
  networks:
    - mariadb-network

Quick Start

terminal

1# 1. Create the compose file
2cat > docker-compose.yml << 'EOF'
3services:
4  mariadb:
5    image: mariadb:11
6    container_name: mariadb
7    restart: unless-stopped
8    environment:
9      MARIADB_ROOT_PASSWORD: ${MARIADB_ROOT_PASSWORD}
10      MARIADB_DATABASE: ${MARIADB_DATABASE}
11      MARIADB_USER: ${MARIADB_USER}
12      MARIADB_PASSWORD: ${MARIADB_PASSWORD}
13    volumes:
14      - mariadb_data:/var/lib/mysql
15    ports:
16      - "3306:3306"
17    networks:
18      - mariadb-network
19
20  adminer:
21    image: adminer:latest
22    container_name: adminer
23    restart: unless-stopped
24    ports:
25      - "8080:8080"
26    depends_on:
27      - mariadb
28    networks:
29      - mariadb-network
30
31volumes:
32  mariadb_data:
33
34networks:
35  mariadb-network:
36    driver: bridge
37EOF
38
39# 2. Create the .env file
40cat > .env << 'EOF'
41MARIADB_ROOT_PASSWORD=rootpassword
42MARIADB_DATABASE=myapp
43MARIADB_USER=appuser
44MARIADB_PASSWORD=changeme
45EOF
46
47# 3. Start the services
48docker compose up -d
49
50# 4. View logs
51docker compose logs -f

One-Liner

Run this command to download and set up the recipe in one step:

terminal

1curl -fsSL https://docker.recipes/api/recipes/mariadb-adminer/run | bash

Troubleshooting

Connection refused to MariaDB: Ensure container is fully started by checking logs with docker logs mariadb
Adminer shows 'MySQL server has gone away': Increase MariaDB's max_allowed_packet setting or wait_timeout values
Access denied for user error: Verify MARIADB_USER and MARIADB_PASSWORD environment variables match login credentials
Adminer interface not loading: Check that port 8080 isn't blocked by firewall and container started successfully
Character encoding issues: Set MariaDB charset to utf8mb4 in my.cnf for full Unicode support
Slow query performance: Enable MariaDB's thread pool with thread_handling=pool-of-threads configuration

Community Notes

Loading notes...

Download Recipe Kit

Get all files in a ready-to-deploy package

Includes docker-compose.yml, .env template, README, and license

Components

mariadbadminer

Related Recipes

Ad Space

Shortcuts: C CopyF FavoriteD Download