There are plenty of ways to set up a database for local development. You can use Docker containers, install locally using Homebrew or other tools, and various other GUI tools.
My option of choice is DBngin. It is a simple tool that lets you add databases quickly for whatever you need including MySQL, Postgres, and even Redis.
I am going to create a MySQL database.
...and it is just that simple! Now just start the new database and DBngin will take care of the rest!
DBngin also happens to be made by the company behind my favorite database GUI tool, TablePlus. If you use TablePlus, you can click on the arrow next to the "Start/Stop" button and open the database right in TablePlus.
From there, it is easy to create databases, and tables, and set up users.
A future post can go into more MySQL or TablePlus usage, but if you want to dive deeper into MySQL, I cannot recommend the MySQL for Developers course on Planetscale by Aaron Francis enough. It is a fantastic resource and even if you have been using MySQL for a while, I am sure there will still be something to learn!
I know this was a simple post, but hopefully, others getting started in their careers can find it helpful.