MySQL 5.1.37 works on Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard. Install MySQL 5.1 Download MySQL Mac OS X 10.5 (x86_64) Install mysql-5.1.37-osx10.5-x86_64.pkg Install MySQLStartupItem.pkg Copy MySQL.prefPane to OSX/Library/PreferencePanes Upgrade MySQL 5.0 to 5.1 sudo cp -pR /usr/local/mysql-5.0.67-osx10.5-x86_64/data /usr/local/mysql sudo mysql/bin/mysql_upgrade Using Socket File Connection sudo mkdir /var/mysql sudo ln -s /tmp/mysql.sock /var/mysql/mysql.sock