I wanted a simple way to start and stop MySQL on my Mac laptop without having to go the command line and run mysql.server start all the time.

I found .command files. They are basically shell scripts starting with !#/bin/sh that you make executable and name ending in .command. Make a file with the contents of your script, then save it with a name like startmysql.command

!#/bin/sh<br \>/usr/local/bin/mysql.server start

Using Open with in the Get Info command you can tell Mac OS X to run the .command file within your favorite terminal program.

Now you have a file to start or stop your mysql server without typing the command each time.