MySQL Database Table Prefix Explained: How to Change It in Minutes

How to Change a MySQL Database’s Table Prefix: A Step-by-Step Guide

Introduction

Changing the table prefix of a MySQL database is a common task for enhancing security or reorganizing database structures. This guide walks you through the process step by step, ensuring clarity and efficiency. Whether you're a developer or a site administrator, these instructions will help you tackle the task with confidence.

Why Change Your Table Prefix?

• Enhanced Security: Default table prefixes, like wp_ in WordPress, are often targeted by attackers. Changing them can reduce vulnerabilities.
• Customization: A new prefix makes your database easier to identify in complex environments.
• Avoid Conflicts: Helps prevent issues when importing databases into shared environments.

Changing a database table prefix is easy and here’s the simple step-by-step guide! For WordPress installations, it’s essential!

How to change a prefix

1. In your text editor, change database_name, old_prefix_ and new_prefix_ to the required values:

SET @database = "database_name";
SET @old_prefix = "old_prefix_";
SET @new_prefix = "new_prefix_";

SELECT
concat(
"RENAME TABLE ",
TABLE_NAME,
" TO ",
replace(TABLE_NAME, @old_prefix, @new_prefix),
';'
) AS "SQL"
FROM information_schema.TABLES WHERE TABLE_SCHEMA = @database;

2. Run the query in cPanel or PHPMyAdmin on your WordPress database
3. The output will be a series of SQL queries that will rename the tables for you
4. Run the output
5. Done!

How to add a prefix

If your database doesn’t have a prefix at all, follow the steps above but use the below query that’s been slightly modified for this purpose:

SET @database = "database_name";
SET @prefix = "prefix_";

SELECT
concat(
"RENAME TABLE ",
TABLE_NAME,
" TO ",
@prefix,
TABLE_NAME,
';'
) AS "SQL"
FROM information_schema.TABLES WHERE TABLE_SCHEMA = @database;