How do I see the differences between 2 MySQL dumps?

Use a DIFF tool - here are some graphical ones (both are free):

  • KDIFF
  • winmerge

run mysqldump with "--skip-opt" to get the 2 dumps files i.e:

mysqldump --skip-opt -u $MY_USER -p$MY_PASS mydb1 > /tmp/dump1.sql

mysqldump --skip-opt -u $MY_USER -p$MY_PASS mydb2 > /tmp/dump2.sql

compare using these diff options:

diff -y --suppress-common-lines /tmp/dump1 /tmp/dump2

This tool is not available anymore, as the website is no longer functional.

Maybe you can give a tool called mysqldiff a go, I haven't tried it myself yet but it's been on my list for a while.

  • http://www.mysqldiff.org/