--- title: How to Resize MySQL Database Clusters description: Change the size of your database cluster to accommodate your data needs. product: Databases url: https://docs.digitalocean.com/products/databases/mysql/how-to/resize/ last_updated: "2026-07-31" --- > **For AI agents:** The documentation index is at [https://docs.digitalocean.com/llms.txt](https://docs.digitalocean.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of pages use the same URL with `index.html.md` in place of the HTML page (for example, append `index.html.md` to the directory path instead of opening the HTML document). # How to Resize MySQL Database Clusters MySQL is an open source, object-relational database built with speed and reliability in mind. Its large and active developer community has created many third-party applications, tools, and libraries that expand MySQL’s functionality. You can resize existing MySQL database clusters at any time to change CPU, RAM, and storage, including scaling up or down when disk utilization and plan limits allow. ## Scaling Down You can scale down compute and storage when the target configuration keeps projected disk utilization at or under 80%. Projected utilization is calculated using the size of your most recent backup plus your current log size. The combined size must be within 80% of the target storage. Each compute plan enforces minimum and maximum storage values. When scaling down, the target storage must remain within these limits, even if the 80% utilization check would otherwise allow a smaller size. You can choose a smaller compute tier only if the requested storage falls within that tier’s allowed range. For example, starting from a General Purpose Dedicated CPU plan with 4 vCPU / 16 GiB RAM, 100 GiB storage, and 80 GiB used for data: | Target configuration | Result | |---|---| | Same plan with 90 GiB storage | Allowed (meets 80% limit) | | General Purpose Dedicated CPU, 2 vCPU / 8 GiB RAM, 90 GiB storage | Allowed (within plan limits) | | Basic Shared CPU, 1 vCPU / 2 GiB RAM, 90 GiB storage | Not allowed (plan supports maximum storage of 60 GiB) | | General Purpose Dedicated CPU, 8 vCPU / 32 GiB RAM, 90 GiB storage | Not allowed (plan requires minimum storage of 160 GiB) | ## Resize a Database Cluster Using Automation You can resize a database cluster using the DigitalOcean CLI (`doctl`) or the API. ### Resize a Database Cluster via CLI To resize a database cluster using `doctl`, you need to provide a value for the `--size` flag, which specifies the cluster’s new configuration (number of CPUs, amount of RAM, and hard disk space). Use the [`doctl databases options slugs`](https://docs.digitalocean.com/reference/doctl/reference/databases/options/slugs/index.html.md) command to get a list of available values. ## How to Resize a Database Cluster Using the DigitalOcean CLI 1. [Install `doctl`](https://docs.digitalocean.com/reference/doctl/how-to/install/index.html.md), the official DigitalOcean CLI. 2. [Create a personal access token](https://docs.digitalocean.com/reference/api/create-personal-access-token/index.html.md) and save it for use with `doctl`. 3. Use the token to grant `doctl` access to your DigitalOcean account. ```shell doctl auth init ``` 4. Finally, run `doctl databases resize`. Basic usage looks like this, but you can [read the usage docs](https://docs.digitalocean.com/reference/doctl/reference/databases/resize/index.html.md) for more details: ```shell doctl databases resize [flags] ``` The following example resizes a PostgreSQL or MySQL database to have two nodes, 16 vCPUs, 64 GB of memory, and 2048 GiB of storage space: ```shell doctl databases resize ca9f591d-9999-5555-a0ef-1c02d1d1e352 --num-nodes 2 --size db-s-16vcpu-64gb --storage-size-mib 2048000 --wait true ``` ### Resize a Database Cluster via API To resize a database cluster using the API, you need to provide a value for the `size` field, which specifies the cluster’s configuration (number of CPUs, amount of RAM, and hard disk space). Use the [`/v2/databases/options`](https://docs.digitalocean.com/reference/api/reference/databases/index.html.md#databases_list_options) endpoint to get a list of available values. ## How to Resize a Database Cluster Using the DigitalOcean API [Create a personal access token](https://docs.digitalocean.com/reference/api/create-personal-access-token/index.html.md) and save it for use with the API. ### cURL Send a PUT request to [`https://api.digitalocean.com/v2/databases/{database_cluster_uuid}/resize`](https://docs.digitalocean.com/reference/api/reference/databases/index.html.md#databases_update_clusterSize). Using cURL: ```shell curl -X PUT \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $DIGITALOCEAN_TOKEN" \ -d '{"size":"db-s-4vcpu-8gb", "num_nodes":3, "storage_size_mib":163840}' \ "https://api.digitalocean.com/v2/databases/9cc10173-e9ea-4176-9dbc-a4cee4c4ff30/resize" ``` ### Go Using [Godo](https://github.com/digitalocean/godo), the official DigitalOcean API client for Go: ```go import ( "context" "github.com/digitalocean/godo" ) func main() { pat := "mytoken" client := godo.NewFromToken(pat) ctx := context.TODO() resizeRequest := &godo.DatabaseResizeRequest{ SizeSlug: "db-s-4vcpu-8gb", NumNodes: 3, StorageSizeMib: 163840, } } ``` ### Python Using [PyDo](https://github.com/digitalocean/pydo), the official DigitalOcean API client for Python: ```python import os from pydo import Client client = Client(token=os.environ.get("DIGITALOCEAN_TOKEN")) req = { "size": "db-s-4vcpu-8gb", "num_nodes": 3, "storage_size_mib": 163840 } update_resp = client.databases.update_cluster_size(database_cluster_uuid="a7a8bas", body=req) ``` ## Resize a Database Cluster Using the Control Panel To resize a MySQL database cluster, go to the [**Databases page**](https://cloud.digitalocean.com/databases), and select the cluster you want to resize. On the cluster’s **Overview** page, click the **Settings** tab. In the **Configuration** section, click **Edit**. Select a tab to view available **Shared CPU** or **Dedicated CPU** plans, then choose options under **CPU options** and **Select a plan**. ![Cluster configuration section, showing available plan options](https://docs.digitalocean.com/screenshots/databases/mysql-cluster-configuration.f2ed80f77ce8a35dd66f5829bca74021fdc89b86dc1f91e4abe2d553a5f5092f.png) Under **Choose a storage size**, you can update the amount of storage. ![The Choose a Storage Size section of the database configuration](https://docs.digitalocean.com/screenshots/databases/dbaas-choose-storage-size.76fbdc153eb2704b1df30b014ccbb9db2e98c476ace3b7b2959237150dd3d4b8.png) In the **Autoscale storage** section, select **Enable Storage Autoscaling** to automatically increase storage when disk utilization on any node in the cluster reaches the specified threshold. The threshold is based on the worst-performing node in the cluster, not the average across nodes. ![The Autoscale storage section with Enable Storage Autoscaling selected and custom threshold and increment options](https://docs.digitalocean.com/screenshots/databases/storage-autoscaling.abf053e0aa32de291b44f5cbda18c0a2a3ce16605b233651945149bc318500ce.png) Click **Customize** to set a custom **Threshold** and **Storage Increment**. The system bills this increase as [additional storage](https://docs.digitalocean.com/products/databases/mysql/details/pricing/index.html.md). **Note**: When autoscaling occurs, the specified storage increment is added to each node in the cluster, not distributed across the cluster. The total added storage is the increment multiplied by the number of nodes. Autoscaling takes several minutes, depending on the cluster size. It runs without downtime, and no action is required. In the **Maximize uptime for critical workloads** section (for plans with **2 GB RAM** or higher), you can add standby nodes. Click **Save** to apply your changes. Your cluster’s state changes from **Active** to **Resizing** until the process is complete. Provisioning can take several minutes, depending on cluster size, but does not cause downtime.