Advanced phpMyAdmin-queries, imports, and maintenance

phpMyAdmin is a web-based database management interface available in cPanel, DirectAdmin, aaPanel, and CloudPanel. Beyond basic browsing, it supports SQL queries, bulk imports, and maintenance tasks.

Run SQL queries

1. Open phpMyAdmin, select your database
2. Click the SQL tab
3. Enter your query and click Go

-- Search all posts for a keyword
SELECT ID, post_title FROM wp_posts WHERE post_content LIKE '%keyword%';

-- Update WordPress siteurl after UPDATE wp_options SET option_value = 'https://newdomain.com'
WHERE option_name IN ('siteurl','home');

Import large databases

phpMyAdmin's default upload limit is 2-8 MB. For larger databases:

• Ask your host to increase upload_max_filesize in php.ini
• Or use command line: mysql -u user -p dbname < backup.sql
• Split the SQL file into smaller chunks with BigDump tool

Table maintenance

1. Select all tables in the database
2. From With selected dropdown: choose Optimize table, Repair table, or Analyze table

Search across tables

phpMyAdmin → Search tab on the database level lets you search for a value across all tables at once — useful for finding where a URL or email is stored.

Related: Database backup | SQL basics

Related articles