MySQL Server flashes on and off on mac. How to fix?

I just downloaded the macOS 10.15 (x86, 64-bit), DMG Archive version of MySQL following .

But the server just flashes green for a second and then back to red when I click start.

It will flash intermittently to green and then back to red. In the terminal, I will type

sudo /usr/local/mysql/support-files/mysql.server start

and it returns

Starting MySQL
. ERROR! The server quit without updating PID file (/usr/local/mysql/data/Eileens-MacBook-Air.local.pid).

The result is the same when I type

sudo /usr/local/mysql/support-files/mysql.server restart
or
sudo /usr/local/mysql/support-files/mysql.server stop

Not sure how to fix this. Not sure if this matters, but

• my mac also recently updated to the Catalina OS
• I installed mysql twice bc I'm a noob and thought the first time it didn't work because I thought you were supposed to find it in the launch page and not system preferences.

I have minimal coding background so this is all very new to me. Very much appreciate the help since google and youtube hasn't given much help.

1 Answer

I just had the same issue on my Mac running 10.13.6. I fixed it by clicking "Initialize database" in the MySQL pane from System Preferences.