---
layout: integration
title: mysql2 with managed MySQL
description: Query an Appwrite native MySQL database from Node.js with the mysql2 driver
date: 2026-11-06
featured: false
isPartner: false
isNew: true
cover: /images/integrations/sql-mysql2/cover.avif
category: databases
product:
    vendor: mysql2
    description: 'mysql2 is an open-source MySQL client for Node.js with promise and callback APIs, connection pools, and prepared statements.'
platform:
    - 'Cloud'
---

[mysql2](https://sidorares.github.io/node-mysql2/docs) is an open-source MySQL client for Node.js. It offers promise and callback APIs, connection pools, and server-side prepared statements, and ORMs such as Drizzle use it as their MySQL driver.

# How does the integration work?

An Appwrite native MySQL database is a standard MySQL engine that Appwrite provisions in your project's region, with its own hostname, credentials, and TLS. mysql2 connects to it like any other MySQL server, so you get a connection pool you control with no Appwrite-specific adapter.

Long-running servers can connect to the engine directly on port `3306`. Serverless functions should connect through the database's connection pooler on port `6033`, which absorbs the connection fan-out of many short-lived instances.

**Available on Appwrite Cloud**

Native MySQL databases run in every Appwrite Cloud region and are available on paid plans.

# How to implement

To query an Appwrite native MySQL database with mysql2, there are several steps you must complete:

## Step 1: Create a native MySQL database

[Create an account on Appwrite Cloud](/sign-up) if you haven't already. In your project, go to **Databases**, click **Create database**, and select **MySQL** from the **Native databases** group. Pick a specification and click **Create database**. The database becomes `ready` within a few minutes.

Read the connection values from the database object with `mysql.get()` and an API key that has the `databases.read` scope. The username is `admin.<hash>`, where the hash matches the one in the hostname, and the database name is always `default`. Keep the password in an environment variable.

## Step 2: Create a pool

Install the driver with `npm install mysql2`, then create one promise pool at module scope and reuse it for every request:

```js
import mysql from 'mysql2/promise';

const pool = mysql.createPool({
    host: 'db-<hash>.<region>.appwrite.center',
    port: 3306,
    user: 'admin.<hash>',
    password: process.env.DB_PASSWORD,
    database: 'default',
    ssl: { rejectUnauthorized: true },
    waitForConnections: true,
    connectionLimit: 10,
    idleTimeout: 30000,
    enableKeepAlive: true
});
```

`ssl: { rejectUnauthorized: true }` verifies the certificate with Node's built-in trust store. The certificate is signed by a public CA, so add a custom `ca` bundle only for runtime images that don't ship one. Always use the full `admin.<hash>` username, because the proxy routes your connection by it.

Every connection in `connectionLimit`, across every running instance, counts against your specification's connection cap. Size it to that cap divided by your replica count.

## Step 3: Use the pooler from serverless runtimes

On serverless platforms, set `port: 6033` to connect through the pooler, keep `connectionLimit` at `1` or `2`, and create the pool at module scope so warm invocations reuse it.

The pooler defaults to transaction mode. On port `6033`, send text queries with placeholders through `query` instead of `execute`, because mysql2 prepares `execute` statements on the server and caches them per connection. Keep prepared statements, temporary tables, user variables, and migrations on the direct port `3306`, or switch the pooler to session mode.

## Step 4: Test the connection

Run a parameterized query to confirm the pool can reach the database:

```js
const [rows] = await pool.query('SELECT NOW() AS time, ? AS greeting', ['hello']);
console.log(rows[0]);
```

If you see `ER_CON_COUNT_ERROR`, your combined pool sizes exceed the connection cap. If the connection times out, check the database's IP allowlist and raise `connectTimeout`.

# Read more about mysql2 and Appwrite Databases

If you would like to learn more about mysql2 and Appwrite Databases, we have some resources that you should visit:

- [Node.js drivers for native MySQL databases](/docs/products/databases/mysql/integrations/drivers)
- [Connect to a native MySQL database](/docs/products/databases/mysql/connections)
- [MySQL connection pooling](/docs/products/databases/mysql/connection-pooling)
- [Native MySQL databases on Appwrite](/docs/products/databases/mysql)
- [mysql2 documentation](https://sidorares.github.io/node-mysql2/docs)