Database administration tools other than PHPMyAdmin

DBeaver interface

PHPMyAdmin is a popular database administration tool among Koha users. For beginners, the installation of PHPMyAdmin is complicated. A database administration tool is beneficial for Koha users and administrators to import and export data in a particular context. 

If you feel difficult to install PHPMyAdmin, we can try alternatives like DBeaver and Beekeeper Studio. Several other database administration tools are also available. The convenience of the Dbeaver and Beekeeper Studio is the ease of installation. Installation is easy; either use apt or Snap store. Both software has a simple interface and is easy to log in and manage databases. Certain features are missing with Beekeeper Studio (e.g., import from CSV), and I hope that those features will add soon. 

The home page of DBeaver is https://dbeaver.io Here is the command to install DBeaver using Snaps, 

sudo snap install dbeaver-ce 

The home page of Beekeeper Studio is https://www.beekeeperstudio.io Here is the command to install Beekeeper Studio, 

sudo snap install beekeeper-studio 

The main highlight of the tools mentioned above is that the Snaps packages (https://snapcraft.io) are available and it makes the installation easy.

Delete records in Koha

In certain occasions need to empty bibliographic, patron and transaction details from Koha database and clean the installation to start the process again. The user has to go to Koha database and empty the concerned tables.

Log into MySQL
Apply following commands to login to the MySQL database;

sudo su

mysql -uroot -p
use koha_library;

Koha upgrade

The new version of Koha release every six months with a bundle of new features. Updates also release during the six months.

Up-gradation is easy with Koha installation based on Debian packages.

Apply the following command in Applications > Accessories > Terminal

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade
sudo apt-get install koha-common


If any errors show, install again repository key.

wget -O- http://debian.koha-community.org/koha/gpg.asc | sudo apt-key add -

Again repeat the upgrade process.

Clean the packages after upgradations,

sudo apt-get clean

Upgrade Database Schema

Database schema of old Koha should upgrade to new one. Apply following commands in a terminal,

sudo koha-upgrade-schema library

Rebuild the Zebra Index.

Apply following command in a terminal,

sudo koha-rebuild-zebra -v -f library