Installing MySQL-Python on OS X Yosemite

Installing the MySQL-Python package requires a few steps. In an effort to aid future Internet travellers, this post will document how to install the MySQL-Python package on OS X Yosemite.

First, install MariaDB, the drop-in replacement for MySQL. I chose MacPorts for this task, though Homebrew would work just fine. Second, update your PATH to include the mariadb executables. Third, install the Python MySQL connector.

sudo port install mariadb
PATH=/opt/local/lib/mariadb/bin:$PATH
pip install MySQL-Python

That’s it! You should be able to import MySQLdb in your Python code and interact with your MariaDB database.