Could not load database driver: MySQLEngineSpec

[Ikarashi0310]

I'm encountering an issue when trying to connect to a MySQL database from a custom Superset Docker image built using the latest tag.

The error message I receive is:
Could not load database driver: MySQLEngineSpec

Context

1. Working Scenario (Master Tag): When I used a custom image based on the master Docker image tag (from a while ago), the MySQL connection worked perfectly without any additional driver installation steps in my custom Dockerfile.
2. Failing Scenario (Latest Tag): After switching my base image to the latest tag, I started seeing this driver loading error.
3. My Setup:
   • I'm using a custom Dockerfile based on the official Apache Superset image (apache/superset:latest).
   • The MySQL instance is running on a separate container (via Docker Compose).

My Question

It seems the necessary Python database driver (like mysqlclient or PyMySQL) might no longer be pre-installed in the latest image by default, whereas it was likely included in the older master image.

Could someone confirm if this is the case?

If so, what is the recommended method to reliably install the MySQL driver (mysqlclient or other) into the current latest Superset Docker image for a production-like environment?

I'd appreciate any guidance or pointers to the relevant documentation or a best-practice Dockerfile snippet.

Thank you in advance for your help!

FROM apache/superset:latest

USER root
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y \
    pkg-config \
    default-libmysqlclient-dev \
    gcc \
    libssl-dev \
    curl \
    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*

USER superset
RUN pip install mysqlclient pymysql psycopg2

CMD ["superset", "run", "-h", "0.0.0.0", "-p", "8088", "--with-threads", "--reload"]

[dosubot[bot]]

Hi @Ikarashi0310! I'm Dosu and I’m helping the superset team.

You're correct—the MySQL Python drivers (like mysqlclient or PyMySQL) are no longer included by default in the latest Superset Docker images (starting from version 4.1.0) to keep the image leaner. This change means you now need to explicitly install the required drivers and their system dependencies in your custom image to connect to MySQL databases. Reference Reference.

The recommended approach is to create a custom Dockerfile that installs the necessary system packages and then the Python driver. For recent Superset versions (5.x), it's best to use the new uv package manager instead of pip for Python dependencies. Here’s a best-practice snippet:

FROM apache/superset:latest

USER root
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y \
    python3-dev \
    default-libmysqlclient-dev \
    build-essential \
    pkg-config \
    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*

USER superset
RUN uv pip install --no-cache-dir mysqlclient pymysql

# Or, if you're on Superset 4.x, you can use pip:
# RUN pip install --no-cache-dir mysqlclient pymysql

CMD ["superset", "run", "-h", "0.0.0.0", "-p", "8088", "--with-threads", "--reload"]

Alternatively, you can add mysqlclient to a requirements-local.txt in your docker directory and rebuild your image, but you still need to ensure the system dependencies are installed in your Dockerfile. Reference Reference.

After making these changes, rebuild your Docker image and restart your containers. This will reliably enable MySQL support in your Superset deployment.

To reply, just mention @dosu.

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[msyavuz]

Hey @Ikarashi0310, I think this might be what you are looking for: https://superset.apache.org/docs/configuration/databases#installing-drivers-in-docker-images

[Ikarashi0310]

@dosu
"I was able to use MySQL after switching from pip install to uv pip install! Thank you so much!"

@msyavuz
"And thank you! Your information was very helpful."