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cPanel’s Databases section is where you create MySQL databases, manage the users that connect to them, and run queries through phpMyAdmin. Most apps you install through Softaculous create their own database, so you’ll typically only come here when you’re setting something up by hand or troubleshooting.
Databases section in cPanel home with all four tool icons

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What’s in the Databases section

Manage My Databases

Create databases, add MySQL users, and assign privileges. The full-control tool.

Database Wizard

A four-step guided flow that creates a database, a user, and the link between them in one go.

Remote Database Access

Whitelist external IPs so your laptop or another server can connect to MySQL.

phpMyAdmin

Browse tables, run SQL, import or export dumps, and repair tables.

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How databases are named

Every database and user you create is automatically prefixed with your cPanel username and an underscore. If your account is acme and you type wordpress into the database name field, the actual database name is acme_wordpress. Same pattern for users: acme_wpuser. This isn’t optional. cPanel adds the prefix to keep account databases isolated on the shared MySQL server. Use the prefixed name (acme_wordpress) in your application’s config file.

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Connecting from your code

For an app running on the same hosting account (WordPress, your own PHP scripts, anything in public_html), use these connection values:
SettingValue
Hostlocalhost
Port3306
DatabaseThe full prefixed name, e.g. acme_wp
UsernameThe full prefixed user, e.g. acme_wpuser
PasswordThe password you set when creating the user
For connections from outside the server (your laptop, another VPS, a CI runner), see Remote Database Access.

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Common starting points

Create a database the fast way

Database Wizard handles the full create-database, create-user, link-them flow in four steps.

Import a SQL dump

Restore a .sql or .sql.gz file into a freshly-created database.

Export for backup

Dump a database to your laptop before risky changes.

Connect from your laptop

Whitelist your IP and connect from MySQL Workbench, TablePlus, or DBeaver.

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Need a hand?