Enable All Features for phpMyAdmin in DirectAdmin

This guide needs root access, so it is for VPS and dedicated server owners.

What is phpMyAdmin?

A database is an organised store of information, like a filing cabinet. Many websites keep their pages, users and posts in a database. phpMyAdmin is a web tool that lets you look inside and change a database without typing commands.

Sometimes phpMyAdmin shows a message like "The phpMyAdmin configuration storage is not completely configured, some extended features have been deactivated." This means a helper database is missing. Features such as bookmarks, saved queries and relation views stay off until it is set up.

Before you start

• Back up your databases.
• Make a copy of the phpMyAdmin settings file before changing it.
• Know your server runs DirectAdmin with CustomBuild, which is the tool that installs and updates server software.

Steps

1. Log in to your server with SSH, a secure way to type commands. Use the root login.
2. Go to the CustomBuild folder:

cd /usr/local/directadmin/custombuild

This moves you to the folder with the build tool.

3. Update the build scripts:

./build update

This gets the latest build instructions.

4. Rebuild phpMyAdmin:

./build phpmyadmin

This installs a fresh phpMyAdmin and sets up its helper database where possible.

5. Open phpMyAdmin in your browser and log in again.
6. Check that the warning has gone.

If the warning stays

1. In phpMyAdmin, click the Operations tab or open the warning's link, which often says Find out why.
2. Choose the option to create the missing storage database, if offered.
3. Reload the page.

The helper database is usually named phpmyadmin. The MySQL user for it needs access to it.

Quick recap

• The warning means phpMyAdmin's helper database is not set up.
• Back up first.
• Run ./build update then ./build phpmyadmin in the CustomBuild folder.
• Check the warning is gone.