MARIADB-CHECK(1)

👑 MARIADB-CHECK 💅

ok so welcome to MARIADB-CHECK(1) from the MariaDB Database System fam — this is the table-maintenance one and she is lowkey the MVP of keeping your tables from falling apart ✨

🌸 NAME 🌸

mariadb-check — a table maintenance program (and yes, mariadb-check is now a symlink to mariadb-check, the manpage literally says that, we don't question it, we just accept it 🫶)

🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

mariadb-check [options] [db_name [tbl_name ...]]

✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

So. The mariadb-check client does table maintenance — like, she checks, repairs, optimizes, or analyzes your tables. That's the whole gig. Iconic behavior honestly.

Every table gets locked, which means it's unavailable to other sessions while it's being processed — except for check operations, where the table is locked with a READ lock only. And bestie, table maintenance can be time-consuming, especially on big tables. If you go use --databases or --all-databases to process all the tables in one or more databases, a single mariadb-check invocation might take a genuinely long time. (Same deal with mariadb-upgrade btw, because that program invokes mariadb-check to check all tables and repair them if necessary 💀)

mariadb-check is similar in function to myisamchk, but she works differently. The main operational difference: mariadb-check must be used when the mariadbd server is running, whereas myisamchk should be used when it is not. The whole benefit of mariadb-check is that you do not have to stop the server to perform table maintenance. main character energy tbh 👑

How does she do it? mariadb-check uses the SQL statements CHECK TABLE, REPAIR TABLE, ANALYZE TABLE, and OPTIMIZE TABLE in a convenient way for the user. She figures out which statements to use for the operation you want, then sends them to the server to be executed. That's it. That's the vibe.

The MyISAM storage engine supports all four maintenance operations, so mariadb-check can perform any of them on MyISAM tables. Other storage engines do not necessarily support all operations — and in such cases, an error message is displayed. Example: if test.t is a MEMORY table, an attempt to check it produces this result:

shell> mariadb-check test t
test.t
note     : The storage engine for the table doesn't support check

If mariadb-check is unable to repair a table, see the MariaDB Documentation for manual table repair strategies. This will be the case, for example, for InnoDB tables, which can be checked with CHECK TABLE, but not repaired with REPAIR TABLE. So like... know your engine, bestie 🧚

The use of mariadb-check with partitioned tables is not supported. fr fr, don't do it 🙈

Caution — It is best to make a backup of a table before performing a table repair operation; under some circumstances the operation might cause data loss 😭 Possible causes include but are not limited to file system errors. Please back up. Please. I'm begging.

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There are three general ways to invoke mariadb-check:

shell> mariadb-check [options] db_name [tbl_name ...]
shell> mariadb-check [options] --databases db_name ...
shell> mariadb-check [options] --all-databases

If you do not name any tables following db_name, or if you use the --databases or --all-databases option, entire databases are checked 👀

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🎀 the rename trick (she's got a special feature) 🎀

mariadb-check has a special feature compared to other client programs. The default behavior of checking tables (--check) can be changed by renaming the binary. So if you want a tool that repairs tables by default, just make a copy of mariadb-check named mariadb-repair, or make a symbolic link to mariadb-check named mariadb-repair. If you invoke mariadb-repair, it repairs tables. Literally that easy ✨

The following names can be used to change mariadb-check default behavior:

• mariadb-repair — The default option is --repair
• mysqlanalyze — The default option is --analyze
• mysqloptimize — The default option is --optimize

💜 OPTIONS 💜

mariadb-check supports the following options, which can be specified on the command line or in the [mariadb-check] and [client] option file groups. And heads up: the -c, -r, -a and -o options are exclusive to each other — pick one, she's not doing all four 🌈

• --help, -? — Display a help message and exit. polite queen 🫶
• --all-databases, -A — Check all tables in all databases. This is the same as using the --databases option and naming all the databases on the command line. go big or go home.
• --all-in-1, -1 — Instead of issuing a statement for each table, execute a single statement for each database that names all the tables from that database to be processed. efficiency slay.
• --analyze, -a — Analyze the tables.
• --auto-repair — If a checked table is corrupted, automatically fix it. Any necessary repairs are done after all tables have been checked.
• --character-sets-dir=path — The directory where character sets are installed.
• --check, -c — Check the tables for errors. This is the default operation. the classic 💅
• --check-only-changed, -C — Check only tables that have changed since the last check or that have not been closed properly.
• --check-upgrade, -g — Invoke CHECK TABLE with the FOR UPGRADE option to check tables for incompatibilities with the current version of the server. This option automatically enables the --fix-db-names and --fix-table-names options.
• --compress — Compress all information sent between the client and the server if both support compression.
• --databases, -B — Process all tables in the named databases. Normally, mariadb-check treats the first name argument on the command line as a database name and following names as table names. With this option, it treats all name arguments as database names.
• --debug[=debug_options], -# [debug_options] — Write a debugging log. A typical debug_options string is 'd:t:o,file_name'. The default is 'd:t:o'.
• --debug-check — Print some debugging information when the program exits.
• --debug-info — Print debugging information and memory and CPU usage statistics when the program exits.
• --default-auth=name — Default authentication client-side plugin to use.
• --default-character-set=charset_name — Use charset_name as the default character set.
• --defaults-extra-file=filename — Set filename as the file to read default options from after the global defaults files has been read. Must be given as first option. ⚠️
• --defaults-file=filename — Set filename as the file to read default options from, override global defaults files. Must be given as first option. ⚠️
• --extended, -e — If you're using this option to check tables, it ensures that they are 100% consistent but takes a long time 😭 If you're using this option to repair tables, it will force using the old, slow, repair with keycache method, instead of the much faster repair by sorting. (so... slow but thorough, iykyk)
• --fast, -F — Check only tables that have not been closed properly.
• --fix-db-names — Convert database names to the format used since MySQL 5.1. Only database names that contain special characters are affected.
• --fix-table-names — Convert table names (including views) to the format used since MySQL 5.1. Only table names that contain special characters are affected.
• --flush — Flush each table after check. This is useful if you don't want to have the checked tables take up space in the caches after the check. self-care for your cache 🧹
• --force, -f — Continue even if an SQL error occurs. stubborn. love her.
• --host=host_name, -h host_name — Connect to the MariaDB server on the given host.
• --medium-check, -m — Do a check that is faster than an --extended operation. This finds only 99.99% of all errors, which should be good enough in most cases. (99.99% is basically 100% and we're not doing the math 🌸)
• --no-defaults — Do not read default options from any option file. This must be given as the first argument. ⚠️
• --optimize, -o — Optimize the tables.
• --password[=password], -p[password] — The password to use when connecting to the server. If you use the short option form (-p), you cannot have a space between the option and the password. If you omit the password value following the --password or -p option on the command line, mariadb-check prompts for one.

Specifying a password on the command line should be considered insecure. You can use an option file to avoid giving the password on the command line. protect ur secrets bestie 🔐

• --persistent, -Z — Used with ANALYZE TABLE to append the option PERSISENT FOR ALL. (yes that spelling is what the page says, don't come for me 💀)
• --pipe, -W — On Windows, connect to the server via a named pipe. This option applies only if the server supports named-pipe connections.
• --plugin-dir=name — Directory for client-side plugins.
• --port=port_num, -P port_num — The TCP/IP port number to use for the connection. Forces --protocol=tcp when specified on the command line without other connection properties.
• --print-defaults — Print the program argument list and exit. This must be given as the first argument. ⚠️
• --process-tables — Perform the requested operation on tables. Defaults to on; use --skip-process-tables to disable.
• --process-views=val — Perform the requested operation (only CHECK VIEW or REPAIR VIEW). Possible values are NO, YES (correct the checksum, if necessary, add the mariadb-version field), UPGRADE_FROM_MYSQL (same as YES and toggle the algorithm MERGE<->TEMPTABLE).
• --protocol={TCP|SOCKET|PIPE|MEMORY} — The connection protocol to use for connecting to the server. It is useful when the other connection parameters normally would cause a protocol to be used other than the one you want.
• --quick, -q — If you're using this option to check tables, it prevents the check from scanning the rows to check for incorrect links. This is the fastest check method. ⚡ If you're using this option to repair tables, it tries to repair only the index tree. This is the fastest repair method.
• --repair, -r — Perform a repair that can fix almost anything except unique keys that are not unique.
• --silent, -s — Silent mode. Print only error messages. 🤫
• --skip-database=db_name — Don't process the database (case-sensitive) specified as argument.
• --socket=path, -S path

…and that's the whole --socket vibe, bestie: for connections to localhost it's the Unix socket file to use, or, on Windows, the name of the named pipe to use. Lowkey iconic detail — it forces --protocol=socket when you specify it on the command line without other connection properties; and on Windows, it forces --protocol=pipe. 🧚

• --ssl — turns on SSL for the connection (it's automatically enabled with other flags too). Wanna turn it off? --skip-ssl. 💅
• --ssl-ca=name — the CA file in PEM format (go check the OpenSSL docs, and yeah it implies --ssl).
• --ssl-capath=name — the CA directory (again, OpenSSL docs are your bestie here, and it implies --ssl).
• --ssl-cert=name — the X509 cert in PEM format (OpenSSL docs, implies --ssl).
• --ssl-cipher=name — which SSL cipher to use (OpenSSL docs, implies --ssl).
• --ssl-key=name — the X509 key in PEM format (OpenSSL docs, implies --ssl).
• --ssl-crl=name — the certificate revocation list (OpenSSL docs, implies --ssl).
• --ssl-crlpath=name — the certificate revocation list path (OpenSSL docs, implies --ssl).
• --ssl-verify-server-cert — verifies the server's "Common Name" in its cert against the hostname used when connecting. Heads up, this one is disabled by default — so like, opt in, bestie. 🫶
• --tables — overrides the --databases or -B option. Every name argument that follows this option gets treated as a table name instead. Not me switching the whole meaning of your args mid-command 💀
• --use-frm — for repair operations on MyISAM tables, this grabs the table structure from the .frm file so the table can still be repaired even if the .MYI header is corrupted. Genuinely saving the day tbh. 🔥
• --user=user_name, -u user_name — the MariaDB user name to use when connecting to the server.
• --verbose, -v — verbose mode, aka the "tell me everything" era. Prints info about the various stages of program operation. One --verbose option gives you more information about what mariadb-check is doing. Two --verbose options also give you connection information. Use it 3 times and it prints out all CHECK, RENAME and ALTER TABLE during the check phase. The way it just keeps escalating 😭
• --version, -V — display version information and exit. Short and sweet, periodt.
• --write-binlog — this one is enabled by default, so that ANALYZE TABLE, OPTIMIZE TABLE, and REPAIR TABLE statements generated by mariadb-check are written to the binary log. Use --skip-write-binlog to cause NO_WRITE_TO_BINLOG to be added to the statements so they aren't logged. Reach for --skip-write-binlog when these statements should not be sent to replication slaves, or shouldn't run when you're using the binary logs for recovery from backup. Important stuff, no cap. ⭐

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👑 COPYRIGHT 👑

Copyright 2007-2008 MySQL AB, 2008-2010 Sun Microsystems, Inc., 2010-2025 MariaDB Foundation

This documentation is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it only under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; version 2 of the License.

This documentation is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with the program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1335 USA or see http://www.gnu.org/licenses/.

Legal text stays legal text, bestie — I'm not paraphrasing a license, that's not the move. 💖

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🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

For more information, please refer to the MariaDB Documentation, available online at https://mariadb.com/docs/

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🦋 AUTHOR 🦋

MariaDB Foundation (http://www.mariadb.org/).

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That's the whole page, babes — go check some tables. This icon of a manpage is MariaDB 11.8, dated 5 March 2025, and it ate, fr fr. 💜🎀