Shrink the MySQL ibdata1 file

Bash shell script to shrink the MySQL metadata file and restore disk space. This script should work with all MySQL variants such as Percona and MariaDB.

Overview:

Over time, MySQL databases are added and tables are populated which can cause the /var/lib/mysql/ibdata1 metadata file to grow. This script makes it easy to shrink this file and recover valuable disk space. The script is based loosely on the steps outlined here: http://dba.stackexchange.com/questions/8982/what-is-the-best-way-to-reduce-the-size-of-ibdata-in-mysql.

Installation:

$ git clone https://github.com/uberhacker/shrink-ibdata1.git
$ sudo mv shrink-ibdata1/shrink /usr/local/bin

Usage:

$ shrink [-k]

Use the -k switch to keep backups instead of restoring the databases

Examples:

To shrink the MySQL metadata file and restore the databases:

$ shrink

To shrink the MySQL metadata file and keep the backups instead of restoring the databases:

$ shrink -k

You might want to do this if you wish to clear out MySQL of any existing databases.

Warning: Make a backup of your databases just in case

Although this script will perform a backup and restore of the databases, it is still advisable to make your own backup of /var/lib/mysql and all the databases prior to using.