I've searched high and low...

[adam_uk]

on how i can get the size of a mysql database in megabytes (or kilobytes)but i cant find it anywhere

anyone got any tips or advice?

 

[IndigoPixel]

Use SHOW TABLE STATUS;

This will give you a result set row (for all the tables in the database, if you don't specify which one with a FROM clause) with a whole bunch of columns:

Name
Type
Row_format
Rows
Avg_row_length
Data_length
Max_data_length
Index_length
Data_free
Auto_increment
Create_time
Update_time
Charset in MySQL 4.1+
Check_time
Create_options
Comment

Data_length is the size (in bytes) of the table data file.

 

[Brak]

Also might care to look at the source of phpMyAdmin, I know when you view structure of a database you get a total size in kilobytes at the bottom right cell.