Create and connect to a database

Most dynamic websites keep their content in a database: WordPress posts, shop orders, user accounts. FiniteHost web hosting plans include MariaDB databases, a drop-in replacement for MySQL that works with WordPress and any PHP app written for MySQL.

Before you start#

• Databases come with web hosting plans (Spark and above). Python compute and mail plans do not include databases.
• The plan must be Active to create a database.
• Have a safe place ready for the password, such as a password manager. It is shown only once.

How databases are named#

You choose a short name, and FiniteHost puts your subscription ID in front of it so names never clash between customers. The user name is the same as the database name.

A name is 2 to 16 characters: lowercase letters, digits or _, starting with a letter.

Create a database#

1. Open Databases in the panel sidebar under Data & files.
2. Type a name in Create a database, for example wordpress.
3. Click Create database.
4. Copy the details from the Database created dialog: the database, the user and the password.
5. Click I have copied it. The database shows as Being set up.
6. Wait about a minute until its state changes to Ready. The page refreshes on its own.

Connection details#

Databases are reachable only from your own websites and Python apps on FiniteHost, through localhost. You cannot connect from your own computer with a desktop tool such as MySQL Workbench or HeidiSQL: there is no remote database access. To move data in or out, see Import and export a database.

Connect from PHP#

Keep the password out of your public folder. Put the settings in a file next to public (see Folder layout), for example /sites/acme.in/private/db.php:

<?php
return [
    'host' => 'localhost',
    'name' => 't3d2ca2b860_shop',
    'user' => 't3d2ca2b860_shop',
    'pass' => 'paste-the-password-here',
];

Then connect with PDO, the recommended way:

<?php
$cfg = require __DIR__ . '/../private/db.php';
$pdo = new PDO(
    "mysql:host={$cfg['host']};dbname={$cfg['name']};charset=utf8mb4",
    $cfg['user'],
    $cfg['pass'],
    [
        PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE => PDO::ERRMODE_EXCEPTION,
        PDO::ATTR_DEFAULT_FETCH_MODE => PDO::FETCH_ASSOC,
    ]
);

$stmt = $pdo->prepare('SELECT name, price FROM products WHERE id = ?');
$stmt->execute([42]);
$product = $stmt->fetch();

Or with mysqli:

<?php
$cfg = require __DIR__ . '/../private/db.php';
mysqli_report(MYSQLI_REPORT_ERROR | MYSQLI_REPORT_STRICT);
$db = new mysqli($cfg['host'], $cfg['user'], $cfg['pass'], $cfg['name']);
$db->set_charset('utf8mb4');

Connect from WordPress#

WordPress asks for these during installation, or you set them in wp-config.php:

define( 'DB_NAME', 't3d2ca2b860_wordpress' );
define( 'DB_USER', 't3d2ca2b860_wordpress' );
define( 'DB_PASSWORD', 'paste-the-password-here' );
define( 'DB_HOST', 'localhost' );
define( 'DB_CHARSET', 'utf8mb4' );

The full walk-through is in Install WordPress.

Connect from a Python app#

Python apps on a web hosting plan (Pro and above include apps) run on the same server as your databases, so they connect through localhost too. Add the driver to your app's requirements.txt:

PyMySQL==1.1.1

import pymysql

conn = pymysql.connect(
    host="localhost", port=3306,
    user="t3d2ca2b860_shop", password="paste-the-password-here",
    database="t3d2ca2b860_shop", charset="utf8mb4",
)
with conn.cursor() as cur:
    cur.execute("SELECT COUNT(*) FROM products")
    print(cur.fetchone()[0])
conn.close()

Python compute plans (Compute Nano to Large) have no databases. An app can store data in files inside its own folder instead, for example with Python's built-in sqlite3.

Troubleshooting#

• Access denied for user: check the user name includes your subscription ID, and that you copied the whole password. If unsure, make a new password.
• Unknown database: the database is still Being set up. Wait a minute for Ready.
• Can't connect from my computer: that is expected; there is no remote access. Use a tool that runs on your site instead.
• Too many connections or slow queries: see Database limits and passwords.

More fixes are in Database problems.

What's next#

• Database limits and passwords.
• Install WordPress.
• Import and export a database.