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Description

This error indicates that the MariaDB server was unable to create a new database as requested. It typically occurs due to issues with permissions, system resources, or configuration on the server where MariaDB is running, preventing the successful allocation or initialization of the database files.

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Error Message

Can't create database '%s' (errno: %d)

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Known Causes

4 known causes

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Insufficient User Permissions

The MariaDB user attempting to create the database lacks the necessary `CREATE` privileges for the specified database or schema.

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Disk Space or Quota Exceeded

The server's disk where MariaDB stores its data is full, or the user's disk quota has been reached, preventing new files from being written.

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Invalid Database Name

The chosen database name contains unsupported characters, is a reserved keyword, or violates MariaDB's naming conventions.

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Data Directory Issues

The MariaDB data directory is inaccessible, does not exist, or has incorrect permissions, preventing the server from creating database subdirectories.

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Solutions

4 solutions available

1. Grant CREATE Privilege easy

Give the user permission to create databases

1

Connect as root or admin user

mysql -u root -p

2

Grant CREATE privilege to the user

GRANT CREATE ON *.* TO 'username'@'host';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

3

Verify the privilege was granted

SHOW GRANTS FOR 'username'@'host';

2. Free Up Disk Space easy

Clear space on the data directory partition

1

Check available disk space

df -h /var/lib/mysql

2

Find and remove old binary logs

PURGE BINARY LOGS BEFORE DATE(NOW() - INTERVAL 3 DAY);

3

Clean up unused databases

SHOW DATABASES;
DROP DATABASE unused_database_name;

4

Optimize large tables to reclaim space

OPTIMIZE TABLE database_name.table_name;

3. Fix Data Directory Permissions medium

Ensure MariaDB can write to data directory

1

Check current ownership of data directory

ls -la /var/lib/mysql/

2

Fix ownership to mysql user

sudo chown -R mysql:mysql /var/lib/mysql
sudo chmod 750 /var/lib/mysql

3

Verify SELinux isn't blocking (RHEL/CentOS)

sudo sestatus
sudo ls -laZ /var/lib/mysql/

4

If SELinux is blocking, restore context

sudo restorecon -Rv /var/lib/mysql/

4. Use Valid Database Name easy

Ensure database name follows MariaDB naming rules

1

Check MariaDB identifier rules and create with valid name

-- Valid names: letters, numbers, underscores
CREATE DATABASE my_database_123;

-- For special characters, use backticks
CREATE DATABASE `my-database`;

2

Avoid reserved words or quote them

-- These are reserved words - use backticks
CREATE DATABASE `database`;
CREATE DATABASE `select`;

3

Check maximum name length (64 characters)

-- This will fail - name too long
CREATE DATABASE this_is_a_very_long_database_name_that_exceeds_the_sixty_four_character_limit;

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Related Errors

5 related errors

MariaDB Error 1006: Database Creation Failed