Install the MySQL JDBC Driver

If your deployment is connected to a MySQL database (which is used by certain asset discovery connections), download the MySQL JDBC driver from the MySQL Community Downloads website.

After you unpack the ZIP or TAR archive, install the driver on your Windows, macOS, or Linux system.

Download the driver

The following procedures explain how to download the driver for WHD servers running MySQL 5.7 and MySQL 8.0. Select the procedure based on your configuration.

Download the driver for MySQL 8.0/8.4/9.x (Recommended)

1. Navigate to the MySQL Community Downloads website. located at:

   https://dev.mysql.com/downloads/connector/j/

2. Click the Archives tab.

3. Click the Product Version drop-down menu and select 9.2.0 or 8.4.0.

   The Operating System drop-down menu automatically selects Platform Independent for you.

4. Download the ZIP archive (for Windows) or TAR archive (for Linux and macOS).
5. Unpack the archive file using WinZIP (for Windows) or another utility.

6. Locate the following JDBC driver inside the archive:

   mysql-connector-j-9.2.0.jar or mysql-connector-j-8.4.0.jar

7. Install the driver on your Windows, macOS or Linux system.

Install the driver

Install the driver on your Windows, macOS or Linux system.

Install the driver on a Windows system

1. Open a Command Prompt as Administrator.

2. Stop the WHD services:

   cd "C:\Program Files\WebHelpDesk"

   whd_stop.bat

3. Copy the JDBC driver JAR into the lib directory:

   copy "%USERPROFILE%\Documents\mysql-connector-j-9.2.0.jar" "C:\Program Files\WebHelpDesk\bin\lib\"

4. Start the WHD services:

   cd "C:\Program Files\WebHelpDesk"

   whd_start.bat

5. Verify the installation by navigating to the Setup Wizard at:

   https://<your-server-ip>:8443/setup-wizard/database

   Select MySQL as the Database Type and click Test.

Install the driver on a macOS system

1. Stop the WHD services:

   sudo bash /opt/webhelpdesk/scripts/stop.sh

2. Create the lib directory if it does not exist:

   sudo mkdir -p /opt/webhelpdesk/lib

3. Copy the JDBC driver JAR (sudo is required):

   sudo cp ~/Documents/mysql-connector-j-9.2.0.jar /opt/webhelpdesk/lib/

4. Set file ownership and permissions (the WHD backend runs as the whd user):

   sudo chown whd:whd /opt/webhelpdesk/lib/*.jar

   sudo chmod 644 /opt/webhelpdesk/lib/*.jar

   If you skip this step, the backend will fail with ClassNotFoundException: com.mysql.cj.jdbc.Driver even though the JAR file is present.

5. Start the WHD services:

   sudo bash /opt/webhelpdesk/scripts/start.sh

6. Verify the installation by navigating to the Setup Wizard at:

   https://<your-server-ip>:8443/setup-wizard/database

   Select MySQL as the Database Type and click Test.

Install the driver on a Linux system

1. Stop the WHD services:

   sudo /opt/webhelpdesk/scripts/stop.sh

2. Create the lib directory if it does not exist:
   sudo mkdir -p /opt/webhelpdesk/lib

3. Copy the JDBC driver JAR:

   sudo cp mysql-connector-j-9.2.0.jar /opt/webhelpdesk/lib/

4. Set file ownership and permissions (the WHD backend runs as the whd user):

   sudo chown whd:whd /opt/webhelpdesk/lib/*.jar

   sudo chmod 644 /opt/webhelpdesk/lib/*.jar

   If you skip this step, the backend will fail with ClassNotFoundException: com.mysql.cj.jdbc.Driver even though the JAR file is present.

5. Start the WHD services:

   sudo /opt/webhelpdesk/scripts/start.sh

6. Verify the installation by navigating to the Setup Wizard at:

   https://<your-server-ip>:8443/setup-wizard/database

   Select MySQL as the Database Type and click Test.

Directory locations

WHD version	Driver location
WHD 2026.2 and later	Windows: webhelpdesk\bin\lib\ Linux: /opt/webhelpdesk/lib/ macOS: /opt/webhelpdesk/lib/

Troubleshooting

If the MySQL driver is missing on startup:

WHD will fail with the error:

ClassNotFoundException: com.mysql.cj.jdbc.Driver

Resolution: Ensure the JAR file is placed in the correct directory for your WHD version (see Directory locations) and restart the Web Help Desk service.