dbdeployer

Deploy MySQL & PostgreSQL sandboxes in seconds.

dbdeployer deploys database servers locally for development and testing — single instances, replication topologies, and full stacks with ProxySQL. No root, no Docker, no hassle.

Originally created by Giuseppe Maxia as a Go rewrite of MySQL-Sandbox (see the original repository). Now maintained by the ProxySQL team with Giuseppe's blessing.

Website · Quick Start · Documentation

Install

curl -s https://github.com/ProxySQL/dbdeployer/master/scripts/dbdeployer-install.sh | bash

Quick Start

MySQL

# Download and unpack MySQL 8.4
dbdeployer downloads get-by-version 8.4 --newest --minimal
dbdeployer unpack mysql-8.4.8-*.tar.xz

# Deploy a single sandbox
dbdeployer deploy single 8.4.8
~/sandboxes/msb_8_4_8/use -e "SELECT VERSION();"

# Deploy replication (1 master + 2 slaves)
dbdeployer deploy replication 8.4.8
~/sandboxes/rsandbox_8_4_8/check_slaves

# Deploy replication + ProxySQL (read/write split)
dbdeployer deploy replication 8.4.8 --with-proxysql
~/sandboxes/rsandbox_8_4_8/proxysql/use_proxy

PostgreSQL

Unlike MySQL, PostgreSQL doesn't distribute pre-compiled tarballs. dbdeployer extracts binaries from .deb packages — no system-wide installation needed, no risk to existing PostgreSQL instances, and you can have multiple versions side by side.

# Download debs (no root, no installation)
apt-get download postgresql-16 postgresql-client-16

# Extract into dbdeployer's binary layout
dbdeployer unpack --provider=postgresql postgresql-16_*.deb postgresql-client-16_*.deb

# Deploy a single sandbox
dbdeployer deploy postgresql 16.13
~/sandboxes/pg_sandbox_*/use -c "SELECT version();"

# Deploy streaming replication
dbdeployer deploy replication 16.13 --provider=postgresql

Note: The apt-get download command downloads .deb files to the current directory without installing anything. Your system is untouched. See the PostgreSQL provider guide for details and alternative installation methods.

Supported Databases

Provider	Single	Replication	Group Replication	ProxySQL Wiring
MySQL (8.0, 8.4, 9.x)	✓	✓	✓	✓
PostgreSQL (12+)	✓	✓ (streaming)	—	✓
ProxySQL	✓	—	—	—
Percona Server	✓	✓	✓	✓
MariaDB	✓	✓	—	✓
NDB Cluster	✓	✓	—	—
Percona XtraDB Cluster	✓	✓	—	—

Key Features

• Any topology — single, replication, group replication, fan-in, all-masters
• Multiple databases — MySQL, PostgreSQL, Percona, MariaDB via provider architecture
• ProxySQL integration — --with-proxysql wires read/write split into any topology
• No root, no Docker — runs entirely in userspace with self-contained directories
• Modern MySQL — full support for 8.4 LTS and 9.x Innovation releases

Documentation

Full documentation is available at proxysql.github.io/dbdeployer.

Quick Start Guides

• MySQL Single Sandbox — deploy, connect, clean up
• MySQL Replication — master + slaves in one command
• PostgreSQL — deb extraction, single + replication
• ProxySQL Integration — read/write split testing

Provider Guides

• MySQL Provider — tarballs, flavors, all topologies
• PostgreSQL Provider — deb binaries, streaming replication, limitations
• ProxySQL Provider — standalone and topology-integrated deployment
• Provider Comparison — capabilities matrix

Deploying

• Single Sandbox — deploy, connect, manage
• Multiple Sandboxes — independent instances
• Replication — master-slave
• Group Replication — single-primary and multi-primary
• InnoDB Cluster — GR + MySQL Shell + Router
• Fan-In & All-Masters — multi-source replication
• NDB Cluster
• Percona XtraDB Cluster

Reference

• Topology Reference — full matrix of topologies, providers, proxies, ports, users, and scripts
• CLI Commands
• Configuration
• Environment Variables

Legacy Documentation

The original wiki documentation is preserved in docs/wiki/ for reference. The website has the up-to-date versions.

Maintainer

Maintained by the ProxySQL team since 2026, with the blessing of original creator Giuseppe Maxia.

Licensed under the Apache License 2.0.