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.

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:

  1. Ask the Database Administrator to enable it for you:
    2. GRANT SUPER, SET USER ON *.* TO 'your_user'@'your_host';
    FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
  2. 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.