phpMyAdmin remains one of the most widely deployed database management tools on shared hosting, and the CLI remains the tool every serious DBA eventually reaches for — each has a real place.
Where phpMyAdmin Wins
- Visual browsing of table structure and data without memorizing syntax
- Quick one-off edits to a single row without writing an UPDATE statement
- Exporting/importing via a GUI for less technical team members
Where the CLI Wins
- Scriptable, repeatable, version-controllable (a .sql file in a migration, not a manual click sequence)
- No web-accessible attack surface — phpMyAdmin installations are a recurring target for automated attacks when left exposed or outdated
- Works over a bare SSH connection with no extra software needed on the server
A reasonable pattern: use the CLI (or a local GUI client like TablePlus/DBeaver connecting over SSH tunnel) for real work, and keep phpMyAdmin, if you run it at all, behind strong authentication and never directly exposed to the public internet.