How to change the MySQL/MariaDB default charset from “utf8_unicode_ci” to “utf8mb4_unicode_ci” in MySQL in Plesk for Linux?

1. Connect to a Plesk server via SSH.

2. Create the file /root/dbscript.sh with the following content:

   #!/bin/sh

   db=${NEW_DATABASE_NAME}

   plesk db "ALTER DATABASE $db CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci"

3. Set the correct permissions:

   # chmod 0775 /root/dbscript.sh

4. In Plesk, go to Tools & Settings > Event Manager and click Add Event Handler.

5. Choose the event type to be Database created, put the following in the command section and press OK:

   /root/dbscript.sh

   

Warning: These changes affect in database creation that is done directly in MySQL/MariaDB and is not done via Plesk interaction.

1. Log into the server via SSH.

2. Open the /etc/my.cnf file with the vi text editor and add the following lines under the corresponding sections:

   Note: for example if the default-character-set line already specified replace its value with utf8mb4.

   [client]
   default-character-set = utf8mb4
   [mysql]
   default-character-set = utf8mb4
   [mysqld]
   character-set-server = utf8mb4
   collation-server = utf8mb4_unicode_ci
   

3. Restart the MariaDB service to apply the changes:

   # systemctl restart mariadb