Backup and Restore MySQL Databases

It is a good idea to backup your MySQL data occasionally as a precautionary measure. It is also a good idea to create a backup before making any major changes, incase something goes wrong and you need to revert to the unmodified version. Database backups can also be used to transfer your database from one server to another if you change web hosts.

From a command prompt, you can backup your entire database using this line:

mysqldump -u user_name -p your_password database_name > File_name.sql

Example:
Let's assume that:
Username: bobbyjoe
Password: happy234
Database Name: BobsData

mysqldump -u bobbyjoe -p happy234 BobsData > BobBackup.sql

This will backup the database to a file called BobBackup.sql