MySQL: How do I list the tables in a MySQL database?

MySQL FAQ: How do I show (list) the tables in a MySQL (or MariaDB) database using the mysql command line client?

Solution: How to list MySQL/MariaDB tables

To list (or show) the tables in a MySQL database, follow these steps:

1. Log into your database using the mysql command line client
2. Issue the use command to connect to your desired database (such as, use mydatabase)
3. Use the show tables command, like this:

show tables;

A complete example/solution follows.

Complete solution: MySQL 'show tables'

First, connect to your MySQL database using your MySQL client from your operating system command line:

$ mysql -u root -p

Next, after you're logged into your MySQL database, tell MySQL which database you want to use:

mysql> use pizza_store;

Now issue the MySQL show tables command to list the tables in the current database:

mysql> show tables;

For instance, if I issue this MySQL show tables command in one of my example MySQL databases, I see this output:

mysql> show tables;
+-----------------------+
| Tables_in_pizza_store |
+-----------------------+
| crust_sizes           | 
| crust_types           | 
| customers             | 
| orders                | 
| pizza_toppings        | 
| pizzas                | 
| toppings              | 
+-----------------------+
7 rows in set (0.00 sec)

That’s how you show the tables in a MySQL database using the MySQL command line client.