---
title: "Add the MySQL data source | Grafana Labs"
description: "Learn how to navigate Grafana Cloud and add the MySQL data source."
---

> For a curated documentation index, see [llms.txt](/llms.txt). For the complete documentation index, see [llms-full.txt](/llms-full.txt).

# Add the MySQL data source

Grafana provides built-in support for MySQL databases. In this milestone, you add the MySQL data source and give it a descriptive name.

Let’s walk through the steps together.

Watch video ->

1. In the navigation menu, click **Connections > Data sources**.
2. Click **Add new data source**.
3. In the **Search** field, enter `MySQL`.
4. From the search results, click **MySQL**.
5. In the **Name** field, enter a descriptive name for your MySQL data source.
   
   For example, enter `Production MySQL Database`.
   
   **Did you know?** The name of the data source is displayed on dashboard panels, so it’s important to choose a meaningful name.

In the next milestone, you’ll configure the connection details and authentication credentials for your MySQL server.

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### More to explore (optional)

- [Adding data sources to Grafana (video)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqHO0oYW6Ic&list=PLDGkOdUX1Ujo27m6qiTPPCpFHVfyKq9jT&index=8)
- [Data source plugins for Grafana](/grafana/plugins/data-source-plugins/)