How can I tell how many queries per second mysql is handling?

Question

Is there a simple mysql command that can tell me how active our database is?

Answer 1

I like mytop for this (I keep several instances running in a screen all the time), and innotop is very helpful if you're using innodb tables.

Answer 2

I like mytop; it's a bit of a pain in the butt to use, but seems to work well enough for the simple stuff like this.

Answer 3

$ mysqladmin status

That'll do for one-off measurements. If you want a more long-term view of mysql's load, I'd recommend checking out Munin. Out of the box, it comes configured with a mysql queries per second graph.