States ON / OFF / DISABLED — what's the difference?

ON: scheduler running, executes events on schedule. OFF: not running but can be turned on with SET GLOBAL. DISABLED: scheduler explicitly compiled-out or marked broken; can't be enabled without MySQL restart + config change. Most servers default OFF; rare to see DISABLED.

PROCESSLIST shows scheduler thread — confirms running?

Yes. `SHOW PROCESSLIST;` — look for the `event_scheduler` user. If present, scheduler thread is active. If absent, even though SHOW VARIABLES says ON, scheduler hasn't started — possibly slow startup after enable.

SET GLOBAL fails — permission?

MySQL 8: needs SYSTEM_VARIABLES_ADMIN. Older MySQL: SUPER. Without either: Error 1227. See the 1227-event-scheduler guide for exact GRANT syntax. Shared hosting often won't grant either — must request from hosting provider or use cron alternative.

Restarting after enable — needed?

No for SET GLOBAL — takes effect immediately, no restart. Restart only needed if you want the change to persist across restarts (which requires my.cnf change, not just SET GLOBAL). Temporary enable + my.cnf change + restart is the canonical permanent-enable sequence.

Check MySQL Event Scheduler Status & Enable It Temporarily

2 min read

19.06.2025

The MySQL Event Scheduler is responsible for executing scheduled events (tasks) in the database. You can check its status and enable it temporarily if needed.

For closely related event scheduler topics, see MySQL Error #1227 — Event Scheduler, Enabling Permanently, Check Status & Enable Temporarily, and MySQL Event Scheduler — Complete Guide.

Check MySQL Event Scheduler Status

Run the following SQL query:

SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'event_scheduler';

Possible Outputs

Value	Meaning
ON	Event Scheduler is enabled and running.
OFF	Event Scheduler is disabled.

Enable Event Scheduler Temporarily (Until Restart)

To enable the Event Scheduler for the current session (without restarting MySQL):

SET GLOBAL event_scheduler = ON;

This will only last until MySQL restarts.
Requires SUPER or SET USER privileges.

Verify If It Is Enabled

Run the status check again:

SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'event_scheduler';

Expected output:

+-----------------+-------+

| Variable_name   | Value |

+-----------------+-------+

| event_scheduler | ON    |

+-----------------+-------+

If You Get an Access Denied Error

If you see:

#1227 - Access denied; you need (at least one of) the SUPER, SET USER privilege(s) for this operation.

You have two options:

Ask the Database Administrator to enable it for you:

GRANT SUPER, SET USER ON *.* TO 'your_user'@'your_host';

FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

Enable the Event Scheduler Permanently (if you have root access):
- Modify MySQL configuration file (my.cnf or my.ini).
- Add:
```
[mysqld]

event_scheduler=ON
```
- Restart MySQL:
```
sudo systemctl restart mysql
```

To check status > SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'event_scheduler';
To enable temporarily > SET GLOBAL event_scheduler = ON;
To enable permanently > Modify my.cnf/my.ini and restart MySQL.

Check MySQL Event Scheduler Status & Enable It Temporarily

Check MySQL Event Scheduler Status

Possible Outputs

Enable Event Scheduler Temporarily (Until Restart)

Verify If It Is Enabled

If You Get an Access Denied Error

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Check MySQL Event Scheduler Status & Enable It Temporarily

Check MySQL Event Scheduler Status

Possible Outputs

Enable Event Scheduler Temporarily (Until Restart)

Verify If It Is Enabled

If You Get an Access Denied Error

Hosting

Cloud Solutions

For You

VDS

Website Builders

Our services

Client Area

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