CREATE {DATABASE | SCHEMA} [IF NOT EXISTS] db_name
    [create_option] ...

create_option: [DEFAULT] {
    CHARACTER SET [=] charset_name
  | COLLATE [=] collation_name
}

CREATE DATABASE creates a database with the given name. To use this statement, you need the CREATE privilege for the database. CREATE SCHEMA is a synonym for CREATE DATABASE.

An error occurs if the database exists and you did not specify IF NOT EXISTS.

CREATE DATABASE is not permitted within a session that has an active LOCK TABLES statement.

Each create_option specifies a database characteristic. Database characteristics are stored in the db.opt file in the database directory. The CHARACTER SET option specifies the default database character set. The COLLATE option specifies the default database collation. For information about character set and collation names, see Chapter 10, Character Sets, Collations, Unicode.

To see the available character sets and collations, use the SHOW CHARACTER SET and SHOW COLLATION statements, respectively. See Section 13.7.5.3, “SHOW CHARACTER SET Statement”, and Section 13.7.5.4, “SHOW COLLATION Statement”.

A database in MySQL is implemented as a directory containing files that correspond to tables in the database. Because there are no tables in a database when it is initially created, the CREATE DATABASE statement creates only a directory under the MySQL data directory and the db.opt file. Rules for permissible database names are given in Section 9.2, “Schema Object Names”. If a database name contains special characters, the name for the database directory contains encoded versions of those characters as described in Section 9.2.4, “Mapping of Identifiers to File Names”.

If you manually create a directory under the data directory (for example, with mkdir), the server considers it a database directory and it shows up in the output of SHOW DATABASES.

When you create a database, let the server manage the directory and the files in it. Manipulating database directories and files directly can cause inconsistencies and unexpected results.

MySQL has no limit on the number of databases. The underlying file system may have a limit on the number of directories.

You can also use the mysqladmin program to create databases. See Section 4.5.2, “mysqladmin — A MySQL Server Administration Program”.