Install MariaDB Server on Windows with the MSI Installer

MariaDB provides a Windows MSI installer that can install the server, configure a database instance, and register it as a Windows service. This guide covers a local development installation using the current generally available release. Check the official MariaDB download page for the latest MSI and release notes.

Download and install MariaDB

1. Open the MariaDB Server download page, select the current stable MariaDB Server release, Windows, x86_64, and the MSI package. Use a release supported by the applications that will connect to this server.
2. Run the downloaded MSI and accept the license agreement.
3. In Custom Setup, keep Database instance selected. The installer can also install the client tools and register the server as a service.
4. In the database security settings, set a strong root password. Leave anonymous accounts disabled and do not enable remote root access.
5. In the database properties, keep Install as service selected and use the default port 3306 unless another local service already uses it. Keep TCP/IP access restricted to local use unless remote clients are required; only open the Windows Firewall for specific intended clients.
6. Review the summary and select Install. If the instance is installed as a service, the installer starts it after setup.

See MariaDB’s MSI installation guide for installer options and details.

Verify the service

Open MariaDB Client from the Start menu, enter the root password you set during installation, and check the server version:

SELECT VERSION();

The installer also creates a MariaDB Command Prompt with the server’s bin directory on PATH. To check the service, open the Windows Services application and confirm that the MariaDB service is running. On current MariaDB releases, the default service name is MariaDB; an existing or customized installation may use a different name.

Create a database and restricted application account

As the administrator, create a database, a sample table, and an application account with row-level privileges:

CREATE DATABASE appdb;
CREATE TABLE appdb.users (
  id INT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
  name VARCHAR(50),
  email VARCHAR(100)
);

CREATE USER 'appuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'replace-with-a-unique-secret';
GRANT SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE ON appdb.* TO 'appuser'@'localhost';

Replace the password placeholder with a unique secret from a password manager. The application account can read and modify rows in appdb, but cannot create or alter schema objects; use a separate migration account when schema changes are needed.

Open MariaDB Client as the application account, enter the new password, and verify the selected database:

SELECT DATABASE();
SHOW TABLES;

For remote application access, configure a specific account host, network binding, and firewall rule rather than enabling remote root access or opening port 3306 broadly.