diff --git a/env/mysql.nix b/env/mysql.nix
index e7adb56..0ed93fb 100644
--- a/env/mysql.nix
+++ b/env/mysql.nix
@@ -12,9 +12,12 @@ in mkShell {
 
   shellHook = ''
     trap "kill 0" EXIT
-    [ -d ${data_dir} ] || mkdir ${data_dir}
 
-    mysqld --datadir="${data_dir}" --socket="${socket}" --initialize-insecure
+
+    if [ ! -d ${data_dir} ]; then
+      mysqld --datadir="${data_dir}" --socket="${socket}" --initialize-insecure
+    fi
+
     mysqld --datadir="${data_dir}" --socket="${socket}" --skip-networking --skip-mysqlx &
     sleep 1