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Description

This error signifies that a user-related operation, such as creating, dropping, renaming, or altering a user account, could not be successfully completed by the MySQL server. It commonly occurs due to privilege issues, referencing non-existent users, or incorrect syntax in the SQL statement.

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Error Message

Operation %s failed for %s

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Known Causes

4 known causes

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Insufficient Privileges

The MySQL user attempting the operation lacks the necessary administrative privileges (e.g., CREATE USER, DROP USER) to perform the requested action.

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User Does Not Exist

The specified user account targeted by the operation (e.g., DROP USER, RENAME USER) does not exist on the MySQL server.

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Invalid SQL Syntax

The SQL statement for the user operation contains syntax errors, incorrect user specification, or malformed clauses.

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Reserved System User

An attempt was made to modify or delete a system-reserved user account, which is protected from direct manipulation.

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Solutions

3 solutions available

1. Verify User and Host Combination easy

Ensure the user and the host from which you're connecting are correctly registered in MySQL.

1

Connect to your MySQL server as a user with sufficient privileges (e.g., root).

mysql -u root -p

2

List all existing users and their hosts to identify the correct user and host combination.

SELECT user, host FROM mysql.user;

3

If the user/host combination you're trying to operate on doesn't exist or is misspelled, recreate or modify it. For example, to create a user 'myuser' on 'localhost':

CREATE USER 'myuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON mydatabase.* TO 'myuser'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

4

If the operation involves an existing user, ensure the `user` and `host` parts of the username are exactly correct. For example, 'myuser'@'%' is different from 'myuser'@'localhost'.

ALTER USER 'olduser'@'oldhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'newpassword'; -- Example of modifying an existing user

2. Check for Duplicate User Entries medium

MySQL can sometimes have duplicate user entries for the same user and host, causing operation failures.

1

Connect to your MySQL server with administrative privileges.

mysql -u root -p

2

Query the `mysql.user` table to find users with the same `user` and `host` combination.

SELECT user, host, COUNT(*) FROM mysql.user GROUP BY user, host HAVING COUNT(*) > 1;

3

If duplicates are found, you need to drop the duplicate entries. Be extremely careful and ensure you are dropping the correct ones. It's advisable to back up the `mysql.user` table first.

-- Example: Drop a specific duplicate entry (replace with your actual user and host)
-- First, identify the specific user_id if possible, or proceed with caution.
-- DO NOT RUN THIS BLINDLY. VERIFY EACH ENTRY BEFORE DROPPING.
-- DROP USER 'duplicateuser'@'duplicatehost'; -- This command might not work directly if there are multiple entries for the same user/host.
-- A more direct approach is to delete from the mysql.user table, but this is risky and requires thorough understanding.
-- For instance, to delete the second entry of 'user'@'host' if you identified it:
-- DELETE FROM mysql.user WHERE User = 'duplicateuser' AND Host = 'duplicatehost' LIMIT 1;

4

After cleaning up duplicates, flush privileges.

FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

3. Ensure Correct Operation Syntax and Object Existence easy

Verify that the command you are trying to execute is syntactically correct and that the object (user, role, etc.) you are referencing actually exists.

1

Review the MySQL documentation for the specific command you are attempting to run (e.g., `CREATE USER`, `DROP USER`, `GRANT`, `REVOKE`, `ALTER USER`). Pay close attention to the syntax for specifying users and hosts.

https://dev.mysql.com/doc/

2

Double-check the spelling of the username and the host part. Remember that `'user'@'localhost'` is different from `'user'@'%'` or `'user'@'192.168.1.100'`.

-- Example: Ensure 'myuser' and 'localhost' are spelled correctly
-- CREATE USER 'myuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'secure_password';

3

If the operation involves an existing user, confirm that the user actually exists using `SELECT user, host FROM mysql.user;` before attempting to modify or delete it.

SELECT user, host FROM mysql.user WHERE user = 'username_to_check' AND host = 'host_to_check';

4

If the operation is a `GRANT` or `REVOKE`, ensure the privileges and the object (database, table) exist and are correctly specified.

-- Example: Granting privileges to an existing user
-- GRANT SELECT, INSERT ON mydatabase.mytable TO 'myuser'@'localhost';

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Related Errors

5 related errors

MySQL Error 1396: User Operation Failed