All Products
Search
Document Center

ApsaraDB RDS:Create a database and an account

Last Updated:Mar 01, 2026

Before applications can connect to your ApsaraDB RDS for MariaDB instance, you must create at least one account and one database on the instance.

Account types

ApsaraDB RDS for MariaDB supports two account types. Both are managed through the ApsaraDB RDS console.

PropertyPrivileged accountStandard account
Limit per instanceOneMultiple (varies by minor engine version)
Management methodsConsole or APIConsole, API, or SQL statements
Database permissionsAll databasesOnly authorized databases
Manage standard accountsYesNo
Disconnect any accountYesNo
Fine-grained per-table permissionsYesNo
Important

If a privileged account username matches an existing standard account, the privileged account replaces that standard account.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure that you have:

  • An ApsaraDB RDS for MariaDB instance in the Running state

  • An Alibaba Cloud account with permissions to manage the RDS instance

Create a privileged account

  1. Go to the Instances page. In the top navigation bar, select the region of your RDS instance. Find the instance and click its ID.

  2. In the left-side navigation pane, click Accounts.

  3. Click Create Account.

  4. Configure the following parameters.

    ParameterDescription
    Database AccountEnter a username. Requirements: starts with a letter, ends with a letter or digit, contains only lowercase letters, digits, or underscores (_). Length: 2-16 characters.
    Account TypeSelect Privileged Account.
    New PasswordEnter a password. Length: 8-32 characters. Must contain at least three of these character types: uppercase letters, lowercase letters, digits, and special characters (! @ # $ % ^ & * ( ) _ + - =).
    Confirm PasswordRe-enter the password.
    DescriptionOptional. A note to identify the account. Maximum: 256 characters.
  5. Click OK.

Note

If the privileged account username matches an existing standard account, the privileged account replaces the standard account.

Result

The new privileged account appears on the Accounts page with full permissions on all databases.

Create a standard account

  1. Go to the Instances page. In the top navigation bar, select the region of your RDS instance. Find the instance and click its ID.

  2. In the left-side navigation pane, click Accounts.

  3. Click Create Account.

  4. Configure the following parameters.

    ParameterDescription
    Database AccountEnter a username. Requirements: starts with a letter, ends with a letter or digit, contains only lowercase letters, digits, or underscores (_). Length: 2-16 characters.
    Account TypeSelect Standard Account.
    Authorize Database:Optional. Grant the account permissions on one or more databases. Select databases from the left panel and click the arrow icon to add them to the right panel. Then select a permission level for each database: Read/Write (DDL + DML), Read-Only, DDL Only, or DML Only. To apply the same permission to all databases, click the batch button such as Set All To Read/Write (DDL+DML). Leave blank to grant permissions later.
    New PasswordEnter a password. Length: 8-32 characters. Must contain at least three of these character types: uppercase letters, lowercase letters, digits, and special characters (! @ # $ % ^ & * ( ) _ + - =).
    Confirm PasswordRe-enter the password.
    DescriptionOptional. A note to identify the account. Maximum: 256 characters.
  5. Click OK.

Result

The new standard account appears on the Accounts page. Permissions apply only to databases that you explicitly authorized.

Create a database

  1. Go to the Instances page. In the top navigation bar, select the region of your RDS instance. Find the instance and click its ID.

  2. In the left-side navigation pane, click Databases.

  3. Click Create Database.

  4. Configure the following parameters.

    ParameterDescription
    Database NameEnter a database name. Requirements: starts with a letter, ends with a letter or digit, contains only lowercase letters, digits, underscores (_), or hyphens (-). Length: 2-64 characters.
    Supported Character SetSelect the character set for the database.
    Authorized ByOptional. Select a standard account to grant permissions on this database. The privileged account is not listed because it automatically has full permissions on all databases. Leave blank to grant permissions later. For more information, see Modify or reset account permissions.
    DescriptionOptional. A note to identify the database. Maximum: 256 characters.
  5. Click Create.

Result

The new database appears on the Databases page. If you selected an account in Authorized By, that account is granted the specified permissions on this database.

Reset privileged account permissions

If the privileged account of your RDS instance encounters exceptions such as accidentally revoked permissions, you can reset the permissions by performing the following steps.

  1. Go to the Instances page. In the top navigation bar, select the region of your RDS instance. Find the instance and click its ID.

  2. In the left-side navigation pane, click Accounts.

  3. Find the Privileged Account and click Reset Account Permissions in its row.

  4. Enter and confirm a new password for the privileged account, and then click OK.

Result

The privileged account regains full permissions on all databases and standard accounts.

Related API operations

APIDescription
CreateAccountCreate an account on an RDS instance
CreateDatabaseCreate a database on an RDS instance