🐬 MySQL Data Matching Wizard
Connect directly to your MySQL database and find matching clusters, no file exports needed
The MySQL Data Matching Wizard is a browser-based, step-by-step tool that connects directly to your MySQL database and uses Interzoid's AI-powered similarity algorithms to identify and cluster matching records within your tables. Whether you need to deduplicate company names, match individual names, or find address variations, the wizard walks you through the entire process, from connecting to MySQL through selecting tables and columns to generating a downloadable match report.
The wizard supports 17 languages and guides you through a cascading connection flow: enter your connection details, then select from your available databases and tables using dropdown menus populated directly from your MySQL server. No need to manually look up or type database object names.
The wizard works with any MySQL server reachable over the network, including self-managed instances and managed services such as Amazon RDS and Aurora MySQL, Azure Database for MySQL, Google Cloud SQL, and PlanetScale. MariaDB uses the same wire protocol and is supported by the same driver.
1Prerequisites
Before using the MySQL Data Matching Wizard, you will need:
- An Interzoid API Key: Register for an account and obtain your unique API license key. This key authenticates your requests and tracks usage credits.
- A MySQL Database: You will need either a host name, port, username, and password, or a complete MySQL connection string, for a database containing the tables you want to match against. MariaDB servers work the same way.
- Network Access: Your database must accept connections from the Interzoid matching service. Managed providers often restrict access by IP address or require TLS, so check your provider's firewall or network settings if a connection attempt times out.
- Available Credits: Each record processed consumes one API credit. Ensure your account has sufficient credits for the number of records in your table.
2Launch the Wizard and Enter Your API Key
Open the MySQL Data Matching Wizard in your browser. Before beginning, enter your Interzoid API key in the top-right area of the header bar. Your key will be saved in your browser for future sessions.
- API Key Field: Type or paste your API key into the input field in the header. Click the lock/eye icon to toggle visibility.
- Check Credits: Click the Credits button to verify your current credit balance before starting a job.
- Language Selection: Click the language dropdown in the navigation bar to switch between any of the 17 supported languages. The entire wizard interface will update immediately. You can also set the language via URL parameter:
?lang=frfor French,?lang=jafor Japanese, etc.
Once your API key is entered, click Get Started on the introduction screen to begin the wizard.
3Select a Matching Function
The wizard presents six matching functions. Choose the one that matches your data and use case. Each function card shows a description and the column parameters it requires.
Single-Column Functions
These functions analyze one column of data to find matches:
| Function | Use Case | Column Required |
|---|---|---|
| Company Name Matching | Match variations like "IBM", "I.B.M. Corp", "International Business Machines" | Company Name |
| Individual Name Matching | Match "James Johnston", "Jim Johnston", "J. Johnston" as the same person | Full Name |
| Street Address Matching | Match "400 E Broadway St" with "400 East Broadway Street" | Address |
Combination Functions
These functions use two columns together for higher matching precision:
| Function | Use Case | Columns Required |
|---|---|---|
| Company + Address | Higher precision matching using both company name and street address | Company Name, Address |
| Company + Full Name | Contact deduplication using company and individual name | Company Name, Full Name |
| Address + Full Name | Person-at-address matching using address and individual name | Address, Full Name |
Click on the card for your chosen function, then click Next to proceed.
4Connect to MySQL
Enter your connection details and use the dropdown menus to navigate to your data. The wizard connects to MySQL in real time and presents the available objects at each level. MySQL has no compute warehouse concept, and it has no separate schema level either: in MySQL a schema and a database are the same object. The connection flow is therefore the shortest of any of the wizards, going from credentials straight to database selection.
Connection Flow
The wizard offers two ways to supply your connection details. Use the toggle at the top of the form to switch between them.
Option A: Connection Fields
- Host: The host name of your MySQL server (e.g.
mydb.example.com). - Port: The port your server listens on. Defaults to
3306. - Username & Password: The credentials for a role with read access to your target tables.
- SSL Mode: How the connection negotiates TLS. Choose
require(the default) for any managed or cloud-hosted database,verify-caorverify-fullwhen you need certificate validation, ordisablefor a local server without TLS configured. The same four values are used across the Interzoid database wizards; see the note below on how they map to MySQL.
Option B: Connection String
Paste a complete MySQL connection string instead of filling in the fields individually. Both common forms are accepted:
# Native driver form
user:password@tcp(host:3306)/database?tls=true
# URL form
mysql://user:password@host:3306/database
When you use a connection string, the database is taken from the string itself, so the wizard skips the database dropdown entirely and is ready to move on as soon as the connection validates. Separate username and password fields are not needed, since the string already carries them.
The connection string field is masked by default. Use the eye icon to reveal it and the clipboard icon to copy it, which is useful if you want to save the string elsewhere or reuse it in another tool.
@, :, /, ?, or #, they must be percent-encoded in the URL form. The native driver form handles most of these without encoding, so it is the safer choice for complex passwords.
Connecting and Selecting Your Data
- Connect Button: Click Connect to validate your connection details. If the connection succeeds, the wizard loads your available databases into a dropdown menu. If it fails, an error message will indicate what went wrong.
- Database: Select the database containing the table you want to match against. The four server-managed databases (
information_schema,performance_schema,mysql, andsys) are filtered out of the list. This step is skipped when you connect with a connection string, which already names the database.
Saving Your Connection Details
Below the credentials is a Remember these connection details on this browser toggle. It is off by default, and nothing connection-related is saved until you turn it on.
- When enabled: The wizard stores your connection mode, host, port, username, password, SSL mode, and connection string in your browser so you do not have to re-enter them next time.
- When disabled: Any previously saved values are erased immediately, not merely left in place.
- On shared computers: Because the stored values include your password, leave this toggle off.
The wizard only reads from your database, and it is good practice to connect with an account that can do nothing else. Creating a dedicated read-only user takes a moment and gives you complete control over what is exposed:
CREATE USER 'interzoid_reader'@'%' IDENTIFIED BY 'strong-password-here';
GRANT SELECT ON mydb.* TO 'interzoid_reader'@'%';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
Granting SELECT on a single database also limits what the wizard can see: the database dropdown lists only databases the account has privileges on. Replace '%' with a specific host or address to narrow where the account may connect from, and revoke access at any time by dropping the user.
Managed MySQL platforms provide the convenience of a hosted service while supporting standard SQL, database tables, and standard MySQL connection methods. Interzoid connects directly using a standard connection string, allowing data to be processed and improved without requiring a custom integration. This covers Amazon RDS and Aurora MySQL, Azure Database for MySQL, Google Cloud SQL, and PlanetScale, among others. MariaDB speaks the same wire protocol and connects through the same driver, so MariaDB servers and MariaDB-based services work without any change.
Some managed platforms require TLS and will refuse a plaintext connection, which is why the SSL mode defaults to require. PlanetScale in particular requires a verified TLS connection, so choose verify-full there.
When connecting to a managed service, use the connection string your provider supplies rather than composing one by hand. Some providers offer several endpoints, and they can differ in host name, port, and network protocol.
disable turns TLS off, require encrypts the connection without validating the server certificate, and both verify-ca and verify-full validate the certificate chain and the host name. The MySQL driver has no mode that validates the chain without also validating the host name, so verify-ca behaves the same as verify-full rather than silently doing less than you asked.
Once you have selected a database, click Next to proceed to table and column selection.
5Select Table, Columns, and Options
Choose the table to match against and configure which columns to use for matching and which columns to include in the output.
Table Selection
The wizard presents a dropdown of all tables and views available in the database you selected. Choose the one containing the records you want to match. Once selected, the wizard loads the column names from that table in their natural column order.
Customers will not be mistaken for customers.
Match Columns
For each matching parameter required by your chosen function, select the corresponding column from the dropdown. For example, if you chose "Company Name Matching," select the column that contains company names.
- Single-column functions: Select one column for the matching parameter.
- Combination functions: Select two different columns, one for each parameter. The two columns must be different.
Output Columns
Use the checkboxes to select which columns from the table you want to include in the match report output. At least one column must be selected. The match columns are automatically included even if you don't check them separately, which ensures the data you matched on always appears in the results.
Output Options
- Show Similarity Keys: When enabled (default), each output record includes the generated similarity key as the last column. Records with the same key are matches. Disable this if you want clean output with only the selected data columns.
- Matches Only: When enabled (default), only records that have at least one other matching record are shown. Disable this to see every record in the table after processing, sorted by similarity key.
Click Next when your selections and options are configured.
6Review and Run
The final screen shows a summary of all your selections: matching function, server, SSL mode, database, table, column assignments, and output options. Review these carefully before proceeding.
Click the green Run Match button to start processing. The wizard will:
- Validate your API key and check that your account has sufficient credits for the job.
- Connect to MySQL and read the selected columns from your table.
- Process each record through the selected matching algorithm using concurrent workers for performance.
- Generate the match report with records sorted and grouped into clusters of matching entries.
A progress indicator is shown while the job runs. Processing time depends on the number of records. Most tables complete within seconds, while very large tables (up to 500,000 records) may take a minute or more.
7Interpret the Results
The match report appears in the results panel at the bottom of the screen. Records are organized into clusters, groups of records that the AI has determined to be matches. Each cluster is separated by a blank line for readability.
Example Output
For a company name match on a MySQL table with columns company, address, city, state and similarity keys enabled:
IBM Corporation,1 New Orchard Rd,Armonk,NY,d477E1d7sG6dja3hDNsk9P
I.B.M. Corp,1 New Orchard Road,Armonk,NY,d477E1d7sG6dja3hDNsk9P
Microsoft Inc.,1 Microsoft Way,Redmond,WA,k8Rp2mNx4wQjL9vB3cYh7T
Microsoft Corporation,One Microsoft Way,Redmond,WA,k8Rp2mNx4wQjL9vB3cYh7T
MSFT Corp,1 Microsoft Way,Redmond,WA,k8Rp2mNx4wQjL9vB3cYh7T
In this example, the first cluster contains two records identified as variations of IBM, and the second cluster contains three records identified as variations of Microsoft. The last column in each row is the similarity key. All records sharing the same key are considered matches.
8Save Your Results
Click the Save Results button above the results panel to download the match report as a CSV file. On supported browsers, a save dialog will appear allowing you to choose the file name and location. On other browsers, the file will download automatically.
The saved file is clean, delimited text that can be imported directly into spreadsheets, databases, or other data processing tools for further analysis.
The MySQL Data Matching Wizard makes it easy to discover hidden duplicates and matching records directly within your MySQL database. It delivers clean, actionable match reports that help you improve the quality, consistency, and value of your data assets, without ever exporting a file. If you have any questions or need assistance, don't hesitate to reach out to our support team.