MYSQLBINLOG(1)

NAME
mysqlbinlog - utility for processing binary log files

SYNOPSIS

mysqlbinlog [options] log_file ...

DESCRIPTION

The server's binary log consists of files containing “events” that describe modifications to database contents. The server writes these files in binary format. To display their contents in text format, use the mysqlbinlog utility. You can also use mysqlbinlog to display the contents of relay log files written by a slave server in a replication setup because relay logs have the same format as binary logs. The binary log and relay log are discussed further in Section 5.2.4, “The Binary Log”, and Section 16.2.2, “Replication Relay and Status Logs”.

Invoke mysqlbinlog like this:

    shell> mysqlbinlog [options] log_file ...

For example, to display the contents of the binary log file named binlog.000003, use this command:

    shell> mysqlbinlog binlog.0000003

The output includes events contained in binlog.000003. For statement-based logging, event information includes the SQL statement, the ID of the server on which it was executed, the timestamp when the statement was executed, how much time it took, and so forth. For row-based logging, the event indicates a row change rather than an SQL statement. See Section 16.1.2, “Replication Formats”, for information about logging modes.

Events are preceded by header comments that provide additional information. For example:

    # at 141
    #100309  9:28:36 server id 123  end_log_pos 245
      Query thread_id=3350  exec_time=11  error_code=0

In the first line, the number following at indicates the starting position of the event in the binary log file.

The second line starts with a date and time indicating when the statement started on the server where the event originated. For replication, this timestamp is propagated to slave servers. server id is the server_id value of the server where the event originated. end_log_pos indicates where the next event starts (that is, it is the end position of the current event + 1). thread_id indicates which thread executed the event. exec_time is the time spent executing the event, on a master server. On a slave, it is the difference of the end execution time on the slave minus the beginning execution time on the master. The difference serves as an indicator of how much replication lags behind the master. error_code indicates the result from executing the event. Zero means that no error occurred.

The output from mysqlbinlog can be re-executed (for example, by using it as input to mysql) to redo the statements in the log. This is useful for recovery operations after a server crash. For other usage examples, see the discussion later in this section and in Section 7.5, “Point-in-Time (Incremental) Recovery Using the Binary Log”.

Normally, you use mysqlbinlog to read binary log files directly and apply them to the local MySQL server. It is also possible to read binary logs from a remote server by using the --read-from-remote-server option. To read remote binary logs, the connection parameter options can be given to indicate how to connect to the server. These options are --host, --password, --port, --protocol, --socket, and --user; they are ignored except when you also use the --read-from-remote-server option.

mysqlbinlog supports the following options, which can be specified on the command line or in the [mysqlbinlog] and [client] groups of an option file. mysqlbinlog also supports the options for processing option files described at Section 4.2.3.4, “Command-Line Options that Affect Option-File Handling”.

    • --help, -?

    Display a help message and exit.

    • --base64-output=value

    This option determines when events should be displayed encoded as base-64 strings using BINLOG statements. The option has these permissible values (not case sensitive):

        • AUTO ("automatic") or UNSPEC ("unspecified") displays BINLOG statements automatically when necessary (that is, for format description events and row events). If no --base64-output option is given, the effect is the same as --base64-output=AUTO.

            Note
            Automatic BINLOG display is the only safe behavior if you intend to use the output of mysqlbinlog to re-execute binary log file contents. The other option values are intended only for debugging or testing purposes because they may produce output that does not include all events in executable form.

        • NEVER causes BINLOG statements not to be displayed. mysqlbinlog exits with an error if a row event is found that must be displayed using BINLOG.

        • DECODE-ROWS specifies to mysqlbinlog that you intend for row events to be decoded and displayed as commented SQL statements by also specifying the --verbose option. Like NEVER, DECODE-ROWS suppresses display of BINLOG statements, but unlike NEVER, it does not exit with an error if a row event is found.

    For examples that show the effect of --base64-output and --verbose on row event output, see the section called “MYSQLBINLOG ROW EVENT DISPLAY”.

    • --bind-address=ip_address

    On a computer having multiple network interfaces, this option can be used to select which interface is employed when connecting to the MySQL server.

    This option is supported beginning with MySQL 5.6.1.

    • --binlog-row-event-max-size=N
    Command-Line Format | --binlog-row-event-max-size=#
    Option-File Format | binlog-row-event-max-size
     | Permitted Values
     | Platform Bit Size | 64
     | Type | numeric
     | Default | 4294967040
     | Range | 256 .. 18446744073709547520

    Specify the maximum size of a row-based binary log event, in bytes. Rows are grouped into events smaller than this size if possible. The value should be a multiple of 256. The default is 4GB.

    • --character-sets-dir=path

    The directory where character sets are installed. See Section 10.5, “Character Set Configuration”.

    • --database=db_name, -d db_name

    This option causes mysqlbinlog to output entries from the binary log (local log only) that occur while db_name is been selected as the default database by USE.

    The --database option for mysqlbinlog is similar to the --binlog-do-db option for mysqld, but can be used to specify only one database. If --database is given multiple times, only the last instance is used.

    The effects of this option depend on whether the statement-based or row-based logging format is in use, in the same way that the effects of --binlog-do-db depend on whether statement-based or row-based logging is in use.

    Statement-based logging. The --database option works as follows:

        • While db_name is the default database, statements are output whether they modify tables in db_name or a different database.

        • Unless db_name is selected as the default database, statements are not output, even if they modify tables in db_name.

        • There is an exception for CREATE DATABASE, ALTER DATABASE, and DROP DATABASE. The database being created, altered, or dropped is considered to be the default database when determining whether to output the statement.

    Suppose that the binary log was created by executing these statements using statement-based-logging:

        INSERT INTO test.t1 (i) VALUES(100);
        INSERT INTO db2.t2 (j)  VALUES(200);
        USE test;
        INSERT INTO test.t1 (i) VALUES(101);
        INSERT INTO t1 (i)      VALUES(102);
        INSERT INTO db2.t2 (j)  VALUES(201);
        USE db2;
        INSERT INTO test.t1 (i) VALUES(103);
        INSERT INTO db2.t2 (j)  VALUES(202);
        INSERT INTO t2 (j)      VALUES(203);

    mysqlbinlog --database=test does not output the first two INSERT statements because there is no default database. It outputs the three INSERT statements following USE test, but not the three INSERT statements following USE db2.

    mysqlbinlog --database=db2 does not output the first two INSERT statements because there is no default database. It does not output the three INSERT statements following USE test, but does output the three INSERT statements following USE db2.

    Row-based logging. mysqlbinlog outputs only entries that change tables belonging to db_name. The default database has no effect on this. Suppose that the binary log just described was created using row-based logging rather than statement-based logging. mysqlbinlog --database=test outputs only those entries that modify t1 in the test database, regardless of whether USE was issued or what the default database is. If a server is running with binlog_format set to MIXED and you want it to be possible to use mysqlbinlog with the --database option, you must ensure that tables that are modified are in the database selected by USE. (In particular, no cross-database updates should be used.)

    Prior to MySQL 5.6.10, the --database option did not work correctly with a log written by a GTID-enabled MySQL server. (Bug #15912728)

    • --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,/tmp/mysqlbinlog.trace'.

    • --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=plugin

    The client-side authentication plugin to use. See Section 6.3.7, “Pluggable Authentication”.

    This option was added in MySQL 5.6.2.

    • --disable-log-bin, -D

    Disable binary logging. This is useful for avoiding an endless loop if you use the --to-last-log option and are sending the output to the same MySQL server. This option also is useful when restoring after a crash to avoid duplication of the statements you have logged.

    This option requires that you have the SUPER privilege. It causes mysqlbinlog to include a SET sql_log_bin = 0 statement in its output to disable binary logging of the remaining output. The SET statement is ineffective unless you have the SUPER privilege.

    • --exclude-gtids=gtid_set

    Do not display any of the groups listed in the gtid_set. Added in MySQL 5.6.5.

    • --force-if-open, -F

    Read binary log files even if they are open or were not closed properly.

    • --force-read, -f

    With this option, if mysqlbinlog reads a binary log event that it does not recognize, it prints a warning, ignores the event, and continues. Without this option, mysqlbinlog stops if it reads such an event.

    • --hexdump, -H

    Display a hex dump of the log in comments, as described in the section called “MYSQLBINLOG HEX DUMP FORMAT”. The hex output can be helpful for replication debugging.

    • --host=host_name, -h host_name

    Get the binary log from the MySQL server on the given host.

    • --include-gtids=gtid_set

    Display only the groups listed in the gtid_set. Added in MySQL 5.6.5.

    • --local-load=path, -l path

    Prepare local temporary files for LOAD DATA INFILE in the specified directory.

        Important
        These temporary files are not automatically removed by mysqlbinlog or any other MySQL program.

    • --offset=N, -o N

    Skip the first N entries in the log.

    • --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, mysqlbinlog prompts for one.

    Specifying a password on the command line should be considered insecure. See Section 6.1.2.1, “End-User Guidelines for Password Security”. You can use an option file to avoid giving the password on the command line.

    • --plugin-dir=path

    The directory in which to look for plugins. It may be necessary to specify this option if the --default-auth option is used to specify an authentication plugin but mysqlbinlog does not find it. See Section 6.3.7, “Pluggable Authentication”.

    This option was added in MySQL 5.6.2.

    • --port=port_num, -P port_num

    The TCP/IP port number to use for connecting to a remote server.

    • --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. For details on the permissible values, see Section 4.2.2, “Connecting to the MySQL Server”.

    • --raw

    By default, mysqlbinlog reads binary log files and writes events in text format. The --raw option tells mysqlbinlog to write them in their original binary format. Its use requires that --read-from-remote-server also be used because the files are requested from a server. mysqlbinlog writes one output file for each file read from the server. The --raw option can be used to make a backup of a server's binary log. With the --stop-never option, the backup is “live” because mysqlbinlog stays connected to the server. By default, output files are written in the current directory with the same names as the original log files. Output file names can be modified using the --result-file option. For more information, see the section called “USING MYSQLBINLOG TO BACK UP BINARY LOG FILES”.

    This option was added in MySQL 5.6.0.

    • --read-from-remote-master=type

    Read binary logs from a MySQL server with the COM_BINLOG_DUMP or COM_BINLOG_DUMP_GTID commands by setting the option value to either BINLOG-DUMP-NON-GTIDS or BINLOG-DUMP-GTIDS, respectively. If --read-from-remote-master=BINLOG-DUMP-GTIDS is combined with --exclude-gtids, transactions can be filtered out on the master, avoiding unnecessary network traffic.

    See also the description for --read-from-remote-server.

    This option was added in MySQL 5.6.5.

    • --read-from-remote-server, -R

    Read the binary log from a MySQL server rather than reading a local log file. Any connection parameter options are ignored unless this option is given as well. These options are --host, --password, --port, --protocol, --socket, and --user.

    This option requires that the remote server be running. It works only for binary log files on the remote server, not relay log files.

    As of MySQL 5.6.5, this option is like --read-from-remote-master=BINLOG-DUMP-NON-GTIDS.

    • --result-file=name, -r name

    Without the --raw option, this option indicates the file to which mysqlbinlog writes text output. With --raw, mysqlbinlog writes one binary output file for each log file transferred from the server, writing them by default in the current directory using the same names as the original log file. In this case, the --result-file option value is treated as a prefix that modifies output file names.

    • --server-id=id

    Display only those events created by the server having the given server ID.

    • --set-charset=charset_name

    Add a SET NAMES charset_name statement to the output to specify the character set to be used for processing log files.

    • --short-form, -s

    Display only the statements contained in the log, without any extra information or row-based events. This is for testing only, and should not be used in production systems.

    • --skip-gtids[=(true|false)]

    Do not display any GTIDs. Not recommended in production. Added in MySQL 5.6.5.

    • --socket=path, -S path

    For connections to localhost, the Unix socket file to use, or, on Windows, the name of the named pipe to use.

    • --start-datetime=datetime

    Start reading the binary log at the first event having a timestamp equal to or later than the datetime argument. The datetime value is relative to the local time zone on the machine where you run mysqlbinlog. The value should be in a format accepted for the DATETIME or TIMESTAMP data types. For example:

        shell> mysqlbinlog --start-datetime="2005-12-25 11:25:56" binlog.000003

    This option is useful for point-in-time recovery. See Section 7.3, “Example Backup and Recovery Strategy”.

    • --start-position=N, -j N

    Start reading the binary log at the first event having a position equal to or greater than N. This option applies to the first log file named on the command line.

    This option is useful for point-in-time recovery. See Section 7.3, “Example Backup and Recovery Strategy”.

    • --stop-datetime=datetime

    Stop reading the binary log at the first event having a timestamp equal to or later than the datetime argument. This option is useful for point-in-time recovery. See the description of the --start-datetime option for information about the datetime value.

    This option is useful for point-in-time recovery. See Section 7.3, “Example Backup and Recovery Strategy”.

    • --stop-never

    This option is used with --read-from-remote-server. It tells mysqlbinlog to remain connected to the server. Otherwise mysqlbinlog exits when the last log file has been transferred from the server. --stop-never implies --to-last-log, so only the first log file to transfer need be named on the command line.

    --stop-never is commonly used with --raw to make a live binary log backup, but also can be used without --raw to maintain a continuous text display of log events as the server generates them.

    This option was added in MySQL 5.6.0.

    • --stop-never-slave-server-id=id

    With --stop-never, mysqlbinlog reports a server ID of 65535 when it connects to the server. --stop-never-slave-server-id explicitly specifies the server ID to report. It can be used to avoid a conflict with the ID of a slave server or another mysqlbinlog process. See the section called “SPECIFYING THE MYSQLBINLOG SERVER ID”.

    This option was added in MySQL 5.6.0.

    • --stop-position=N

    Stop reading the binary log at the first event having a position equal to or greater than N. This option applies to the last log file named on the command line.

    This option is useful for point-in-time recovery. See Section 7.3, “Example Backup and Recovery Strategy”.

    • --to-last-log, -t

    Do not stop at the end of the requested binary log from a MySQL server, but rather continue printing until the end of the last binary log. If you send the output to the same MySQL server, this may lead to an endless loop. This option requires --read-from-remote-server.

    • --user=user_name, -u user_name

    The MySQL user name to use when connecting to a remote server.

    • --verbose, -v

    Reconstruct row events and display them as commented SQL statements. If this option is given twice, the output includes comments to indicate column data types and some metadata.

    For examples that show the effect of --base64-output and --verbose on row event output, see the section called “MYSQLBINLOG ROW EVENT DISPLAY”.

    • --verify-binlog-checksum, -c

    Verify checksums in binary log files. This option was added in MySQL 5.6.1.

    • --version, -V

    Display version information and exit.

    Prior to MySQL 5.6.11, the mysqlbinlog version number shown was 3.3. In MySQL 5.6.11 and later, this is 3.4. (Bug #15894381, Bug #67643)

You can also set the following variable by using --var_name=value syntax:

    • open_files_limit

    Specify the number of open file descriptors to reserve.

You can pipe the output of mysqlbinlog into the mysql client to execute the events contained in the binary log. This technique is used to recover from a crash when you have an old backup (see Section 7.5, “Point-in-Time (Incremental) Recovery Using the Binary Log”). For example:

    shell> mysqlbinlog binlog.000001 | mysql -u root -p

Or:

    shell> mysqlbinlog binlog.[0-9]* | mysql -u root -p

If the statements produced by mysqlbinlog may contain BLOB values, these may cause problems when mysql processes them. In this case, invoke mysql with the --binary-mode option.

You can also redirect the output of mysqlbinlog to a text file instead, if you need to modify the statement log first (for example, to remove statements that you do not want to execute for some reason). After editing the file, execute the statements that it contains by using it as input to the mysql program:

    shell> mysqlbinlog binlog.000001 > tmpfile
    shell> ... edit tmpfile ...
    shell> mysql -u root -p < tmpfile

When mysqlbinlog is invoked with the --start-position option, it displays only those events with an offset in the binary log greater than or equal to a given position (the given position must match the start of one event). It also has options to stop and start when it sees an event with a given date and time. This enables you to perform point-in-time recovery using the --stop-datetime option (to be able to say, for example, “roll forward my databases to how they were today at 10:30 a.m.”).

If you have more than one binary log to execute on the MySQL server, the safe method is to process them all using a single connection to the server. Here is an example that demonstrates what may be unsafe:

    shell> mysqlbinlog binlog.000001 | mysql -u root -p # DANGER!!
    shell> mysqlbinlog binlog.000002 | mysql -u root -p # DANGER!!

Processing binary logs this way using multiple connections to the server causes problems if the first log file contains a CREATE TEMPORARY TABLE statement and the second log contains a statement that uses the temporary table. When the first mysql process terminates, the server drops the temporary table. When the second mysql process attempts to use the table, the server reports “unknown table.”

To avoid problems like this, use a single mysql process to execute the contents of all binary logs that you want to process. Here is one way to do so:

    shell> mysqlbinlog binlog.000001 binlog.000002 | mysql -u root -p

Another approach is to write all the logs to a single file and then process the file:

    shell> mysqlbinlog binlog.000001 >  /tmp/statements.sql
    shell> mysqlbinlog binlog.000002 >> /tmp/statements.sql
    shell> mysql -u root -p -e "source /tmp/statements.sql"

mysqlbinlog can produce output that reproduces a LOAD DATA INFILE operation without the original data file. mysqlbinlog copies the data to a temporary file and writes a LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE statement that refers to the file. The default location of the directory where these files are written is system-specific. To specify a directory explicitly, use the --local-load option.

Because mysqlbinlog converts LOAD DATA INFILE statements to LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE statements (that is, it adds LOCAL), both the client and the server that you use to process the statements must be configured with the LOCAL capability enabled. See Section 6.1.6, “Security Issues with LOAD DATA LOCAL”.

    Warning

    The temporary files created for LOAD DATA LOCAL statements are not automatically deleted because they are needed until you actually execute those statements. You should delete the temporary files yourself after you no longer need the statement log. The files can be found in the temporary file directory and have names like original_file_name-#-#.

MYSQLBINLOG HEX DUMP FORMAT

The --hexdump option causes mysqlbinlog to produce a hex dump of the binary log contents:

    shell> mysqlbinlog --hexdump master-bin.000001

The hex output consists of comment lines beginning with #, so the output might look like this for the preceding command:

    /*!40019 SET @@session.max_insert_delayed_threads=0*/;
    /*!50003 SET @OLD_COMPLETION_TYPE=@@COMPLETION_TYPE,COMPLETION_TYPE=0*/;
    # at 4
    #051024 17:24:13 server id 1  end_log_pos 98
    # Position  Timestamp   Type   Master ID        Size      Master Pos    Flags
    # 00000004 9d fc 5c 43   0f   01 00 00 00   5e 00 00 00   62 00 00 00   00 00
    # 00000017 04 00 35 2e 30 2e 31 35  2d 64 65 62 75 67 2d 6c |..5.0.15.debug.l|
    # 00000027 6f 67 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |og..............|
    # 00000037 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
    # 00000047 00 00 00 00 9d fc 5c 43  13 38 0d 00 08 00 12 00 |.......C.8......|
    # 00000057 04 04 04 04 12 00 00 4b  00 04 1a                |.......K...|
    #       Start: binlog v 4, server v 5.0.15-debug-log created 051024 17:24:13
    #       at startup
    ROLLBACK;

Hex dump output currently contains the elements in the following list. This format is subject to change. (For more information about binary log format, see MySQL Internals: The Binary Log[1].

    • Position: The byte position within the log file.

    • Timestamp: The event timestamp. In the example shown, '9d fc 5c 43' is the representation of '051024 17:24:13' in hexadecimal.

    • Type: The event type code. In the example shown, '0f' indicates a FORMAT_DESCRIPTION_EVENT. The following table lists the possible type codes.
    Type | Name | Meaning
    00 | UNKNOWN_EVENT | This event should never be present in the log.
    01 | START_EVENT_V3 | This indicates the start of a log file written by MySQL 4 or earlier.
    02 | QUERY_EVENT | The most common type of events. These contain statements executed on the master.
    03 | STOP_EVENT | Indicates that master has stopped.
    04 | ROTATE_EVENT | Written when the master switches to a new log file.
    05 | INTVAR_EVENT | Used for AUTO_INCREMENT values or when the LAST_INSERT_ID() function is used in the statement.
    06 | LOAD_EVENT | Used for LOAD DATA INFILE in MySQL 3.23.
    07 | SLAVE_EVENT | Reserved for future use.
    08 | CREATE_FILE_EVENT | Used for LOAD DATA INFILE statements. This indicates the start of execution of such a statement. A temporary file is created on the slave. Used in MySQL 4 only.
    09 | APPEND_BLOCK_EVENT | Contains data for use in a LOAD DATA INFILE statement. The data is stored in the temporary file on the slave.
    0a | EXEC_LOAD_EVENT | Used for LOAD DATA INFILE statements. The contents of the temporary file is stored in the table on the slave. Used in MySQL 4 only.
    0b | DELETE_FILE_EVENT | Rollback of a LOAD DATA INFILE statement. The temporary file should be deleted on the slave.
    0c | NEW_LOAD_EVENT | Used for LOAD DATA INFILE in MySQL 4 and earlier.
    0d | RAND_EVENT | Used to send information about random values if the RAND() function is used in the statement.
    0e | USER_VAR_EVENT | Used to replicate user variables.
    0f | FORMAT_DESCRIPTION_EVENT | This indicates the start of a log file written by MySQL 5 or later.
    10 | XID_EVENT | Event indicating commit of an XA transaction.
    11 | BEGIN_LOAD_QUERY_EVENT | Used for LOAD DATA INFILE statements in MySQL 5 and later.
    12 | EXECUTE_LOAD_QUERY_EVENT | Used for LOAD DATA INFILE statements in MySQL 5 and later.
    13 | TABLE_MAP_EVENT | Information about a table definition. Used in MySQL 5.1.5 and later.
    14 | PRE_GA_WRITE_ROWS_EVENT | Row data for a single table that should be created. Used in MySQL 5.1.5 to 5.1.17.
    15 | PRE_GA_UPDATE_ROWS_EVENT | Row data for a single table that needs to be updated. Used in MySQL 5.1.5 to 5.1.17.
    16 | PRE_GA_DELETE_ROWS_EVENT | Row data for a single table that should be deleted. Used in MySQL 5.1.5 to 5.1.17.
    17 | WRITE_ROWS_EVENT | Row data for a single table that should be created. Used in MySQL 5.1.18 and later.
    18 | UPDATE_ROWS_EVENT | Row data for a single table that needs to be updated. Used in MySQL 5.1.18 and later.
    19 | DELETE_ROWS_EVENT | Row data for a single table that should be deleted. Used in MySQL 5.1.18 and later.
    1a | INCIDENT_EVENT | Something out of the ordinary happened. Added in MySQL 5.1.18.

    • Master ID: The server ID of the master that created the event.

    • Size: The size in bytes of the event.

    • Master Pos: The position of the next event in the original master log file.

    • Flags: 16 flags. Currently, the following flags are used. The others are reserved for future use.
    Flag | Name | Meaning
    01 | LOG_EVENT_BINLOG_IN_USE_F | Log file correctly closed. (Used only in FORMAT_DESCRIPTION_EVENT.) If this flag is set (if the flags are, for example, '01 00') in a FORMAT_DESCRIPTION_EVENT, the log file has not been properly closed. Most probably this is because of a master crash (for example, due to power failure).
    02 |  | Reserved for future use.
    04 | LOG_EVENT_THREAD_SPECIFIC_F | Set if the event is dependent on the connection it was executed in (for example, '04 00'), for example, if the event uses temporary tables.
    08 | LOG_EVENT_SUPPRESS_USE_F | Set in some circumstances when the event is not dependent on the default database.

MYSQLBINLOG ROW EVENT DISPLAY

The following examples illustrate how mysqlbinlog displays row events that specify data modifications. These correspond to events with the WRITE_ROWS_EVENT, UPDATE_ROWS_EVENT, and DELETE_ROWS_EVENT type codes. The --base64-output=DECODE-ROWS and --verbose options may be used to affect row event output.

Suppose that the server is using row-based binary logging and that you execute the following sequence of statements:

    CREATE TABLE t
    (
      id   INT NOT NULL,
      name VARCHAR(20) NOT NULL,
      date DATE NULL
    ) ENGINE = InnoDB;
    START TRANSACTION;
    INSERT INTO t VALUES(1, 'apple', NULL);
    UPDATE t SET name = 'pear', date = '2009-01-01' WHERE id = 1;
    DELETE FROM t WHERE id = 1;
    COMMIT;

By default, mysqlbinlog displays row events encoded as base-64 strings using BINLOG statements. Omitting extraneous lines, the output for the row events produced by the preceding statement sequence looks like this:

    shell> mysqlbinlog log_file
    ...
    # at 218
    #080828 15:03:08 server id 1  end_log_pos 258 	Write_rows: table id 17 flags: STMT_END_F
    BINLOG '
    fAS3SBMBAAAALAAAANoAAAAAABEAAAAAAAAABHRlc3QAAXQAAwMPCgIUAAQ=
    fAS3SBcBAAAAKAAAAAIBAAAQABEAAAAAAAEAA//8AQAAAAVhcHBsZQ==
    '/*!*/;
    ...
    # at 302
    #080828 15:03:08 server id 1  end_log_pos 356 	Update_rows: table id 17 flags: STMT_END_F
    BINLOG '
    fAS3SBMBAAAALAAAAC4BAAAAABEAAAAAAAAABHRlc3QAAXQAAwMPCgIUAAQ=
    fAS3SBgBAAAANgAAAGQBAAAQABEAAAAAAAEAA////AEAAAAFYXBwbGX4AQAAAARwZWFyIbIP
    '/*!*/;
    ...
    # at 400
    #080828 15:03:08 server id 1  end_log_pos 442 	Delete_rows: table id 17 flags: STMT_END_F
    BINLOG '
    fAS3SBMBAAAALAAAAJABAAAAABEAAAAAAAAABHRlc3QAAXQAAwMPCgIUAAQ=
    fAS3SBkBAAAAKgAAALoBAAAQABEAAAAAAAEAA//4AQAAAARwZWFyIbIP
    '/*!*/;

To see the row events as comments in the form of “pseudo-SQL” statements, run mysqlbinlog with the --verbose or -v option. The output will contain lines beginning with ###:

    shell> mysqlbinlog -v log_file
    ...
    # at 218
    #080828 15:03:08 server id 1  end_log_pos 258 	Write_rows: table id 17 flags: STMT_END_F
    BINLOG '
    fAS3SBMBAAAALAAAANoAAAAAABEAAAAAAAAABHRlc3QAAXQAAwMPCgIUAAQ=
    fAS3SBcBAAAAKAAAAAIBAAAQABEAAAAAAAEAA//8AQAAAAVhcHBsZQ==
    '/*!*/;
    ### INSERT INTO test.t
    ### SET
    ###   @1=1
    ###   @2='apple'
    ###   @3=NULL
    ...
    # at 302
    #080828 15:03:08 server id 1  end_log_pos 356 	Update_rows: table id 17 flags: STMT_END_F
    BINLOG '
    fAS3SBMBAAAALAAAAC4BAAAAABEAAAAAAAAABHRlc3QAAXQAAwMPCgIUAAQ=
    fAS3SBgBAAAANgAAAGQBAAAQABEAAAAAAAEAA////AEAAAAFYXBwbGX4AQAAAARwZWFyIbIP
    '/*!*/;
    ### UPDATE test.t
    ### WHERE
    ###   @1=1
    ###   @2='apple'
    ###   @3=NULL
    ### SET
    ###   @1=1
    ###   @2='pear'
    ###   @3='2009:01:01'
    ...
    # at 400
    #080828 15:03:08 server id 1  end_log_pos 442 	Delete_rows: table id 17 flags: STMT_END_F
    BINLOG '
    fAS3SBMBAAAALAAAAJABAAAAABEAAAAAAAAABHRlc3QAAXQAAwMPCgIUAAQ=
    fAS3SBkBAAAAKgAAALoBAAAQABEAAAAAAAEAA//4AQAAAARwZWFyIbIP
    '/*!*/;
    ### DELETE FROM test.t
    ### WHERE
    ###   @1=1
    ###   @2='pear'
    ###   @3='2009:01:01'

Specify --verbose or -v twice to also display data types and some metadata for each column. The output will contain an additional comment following each column change:

    shell> mysqlbinlog -vv log_file
    ...
    # at 218
    #080828 15:03:08 server id 1  end_log_pos 258 	Write_rows: table id 17 flags: STMT_END_F
    BINLOG '
    fAS3SBMBAAAALAAAANoAAAAAABEAAAAAAAAABHRlc3QAAXQAAwMPCgIUAAQ=
    fAS3SBcBAAAAKAAAAAIBAAAQABEAAAAAAAEAA//8AQAAAAVhcHBsZQ==
    '/*!*/;
    ### INSERT INTO test.t
    ### SET
    ###   @1=1 /* INT meta=0 nullable=0 is_null=0 */
    ###   @2='apple' /* VARSTRING(20) meta=20 nullable=0 is_null=0 */
    ###   @3=NULL /* VARSTRING(20) meta=0 nullable=1 is_null=1 */
    ...
    # at 302
    #080828 15:03:08 server id 1  end_log_pos 356 	Update_rows: table id 17 flags: STMT_END_F
    BINLOG '
    fAS3SBMBAAAALAAAAC4BAAAAABEAAAAAAAAABHRlc3QAAXQAAwMPCgIUAAQ=
    fAS3SBgBAAAANgAAAGQBAAAQABEAAAAAAAEAA////AEAAAAFYXBwbGX4AQAAAARwZWFyIbIP
    '/*!*/;
    ### UPDATE test.t
    ### WHERE
    ###   @1=1 /* INT meta=0 nullable=0 is_null=0 */
    ###   @2='apple' /* VARSTRING(20) meta=20 nullable=0 is_null=0 */
    ###   @3=NULL /* VARSTRING(20) meta=0 nullable=1 is_null=1 */
    ### SET
    ###   @1=1 /* INT meta=0 nullable=0 is_null=0 */
    ###   @2='pear' /* VARSTRING(20) meta=20 nullable=0 is_null=0 */
    ###   @3='2009:01:01' /* DATE meta=0 nullable=1 is_null=0 */
    ...
    # at 400
    #080828 15:03:08 server id 1  end_log_pos 442 	Delete_rows: table id 17 flags: STMT_END_F
    BINLOG '
    fAS3SBMBAAAALAAAAJABAAAAABEAAAAAAAAABHRlc3QAAXQAAwMPCgIUAAQ=
    fAS3SBkBAAAAKgAAALoBAAAQABEAAAAAAAEAA//4AQAAAARwZWFyIbIP
    '/*!*/;
    ### DELETE FROM test.t
    ### WHERE
    ###   @1=1 /* INT meta=0 nullable=0 is_null=0 */
    ###   @2='pear' /* VARSTRING(20) meta=20 nullable=0 is_null=0 */
    ###   @3='2009:01:01' /* DATE meta=0 nullable=1 is_null=0 */

You can tell mysqlbinlog to suppress the BINLOG statements for row events by using the --base64-output=DECODE-ROWS option. This is similar to --base64-output=NEVER but does not exit with an error if a row event is found. The combination of --base64-output=DECODE-ROWS and --verbose provides a convenient way to see row events only as SQL statements:

    shell> mysqlbinlog -v --base64-output=DECODE-ROWS log_file
    ...
    # at 218
    #080828 15:03:08 server id 1  end_log_pos 258 	Write_rows: table id 17 flags: STMT_END_F
    ### INSERT INTO test.t
    ### SET
    ###   @1=1
    ###   @2='apple'
    ###   @3=NULL
    ...
    # at 302
    #080828 15:03:08 server id 1  end_log_pos 356 	Update_rows: table id 17 flags: STMT_END_F
    ### UPDATE test.t
    ### WHERE
    ###   @1=1
    ###   @2='apple'
    ###   @3=NULL
    ### SET
    ###   @1=1
    ###   @2='pear'
    ###   @3='2009:01:01'
    ...
    # at 400
    #080828 15:03:08 server id 1  end_log_pos 442 	Delete_rows: table id 17 flags: STMT_END_F
    ### DELETE FROM test.t
    ### WHERE
    ###   @1=1
    ###   @2='pear'
    ###   @3='2009:01:01'

    Note

    You should not suppress BINLOG statements if you intend to re-execute mysqlbinlog output.

The SQL statements produced by --verbose for row events are much more readable than the corresponding BINLOG statements. However, they do not correspond exactly to the original SQL statements that generated the events. The following limitations apply:

    • The original column names are lost and replaced by @N, where N is a column number.

    • Character set information is not available in the binary log, which affects string column display:

        • There is no distinction made between corresponding binary and nonbinary string types (BINARY and CHAR, VARBINARY and VARCHAR, BLOB and TEXT). The output uses a data type of STRING for fixed-length strings and VARSTRING for variable-length strings.

        • For multi-byte character sets, the maximum number of bytes per character is not present in the binary log, so the length for string types is displayed in bytes rather than in characters. For example, STRING(4) will be used as the data type for values from either of these column types:

            CHAR(4) CHARACTER SET latin1
            CHAR(2) CHARACTER SET ucs2

        • Due to the storage format for events of type UPDATE_ROWS_EVENT, UPDATE statements are displayed with the WHERE clause preceding the SET clause.

Proper interpretation of row events requires the information from the format description event at the beginning of the binary log. Because mysqlbinlog does not know in advance whether the rest of the log contains row events, by default it displays the format description event using a BINLOG statement in the initial part of the output.

If the binary log is known not to contain any events requiring a BINLOG statement (that is, no row events), the --base64-output=NEVER option can be used to prevent this header from being written.

USING MYSQLBINLOG TO BACK UP BINARY LOG FILES

By default, mysqlbinlog reads binary log files and displays their contents in text format. This enables you to examine events within the files more easily or be re-execute them (for example, by using the output as input to mysql). mysqlbinlog can read log files directly from the local file system, or, with the --read-from-remote-server option, it can connect to a server and request binary log contents from that server. mysqlbinlog writes text output to its standard output, or to the file named as the value of the --result-file=file_name option if that option is given.

As of MySQL 5.6, mysqlbinlog can read binary log files and write new files containing the same content—that is, in binary format rather than text format. This capability enables you to easily back up a binary log in its original format. mysqlbinlog can make a static backup, backing up a set of log files and stopping when the end of the last file is reached. It can also make a continuous (“live”) backup, staying connected to the server when it reaches the end of the last log file and continuing to copy new events as they are generated. In continuous-backup operation, mysqlbinlog runs until the connection ends (for example, when the server exits) or mysqlbinlog is forcibly terminated. When the connection ends, mysqlbinlog does not wait and retry the connection, unlike a slave replication server. To continue a live backup after the server has been restarted, you must also restart mysqlbinlog.

Binary log backup requires that you invoke mysqlbinlog with two options at minimum:

    • The --read-from-remote-server (or -R) option tells mysqlbinlog to connect to a server and request its binary log. (This is similar to a slave replication server connecting to its master server.)

    • The --raw option tells mysqlbinlog to write raw (binary) output, not text output.

Along with --read-from-remote-server, it is common to specify other options: --host indicates where the server is running, and you may also need to specify connection options such as --user and --password.

Several other options are useful in conjunction with --raw:

    • --stop-never: Stay connected to the server after reaching the end of the last log file and continue to read new events.

    • --stop-never-slave-server-id=id: The server ID that mysqlbinlog reports to the server when --stop-never is used. The default is 65535. This can be used to avoid a conflict with the ID of a slave server or another mysqlbinlog process. See the section called “SPECIFYING THE MYSQLBINLOG SERVER ID”.

    • --result-file: A prefix for output file names, as described later.

To back up a server's binary log files with mysqlbinlog, you must specify file names that actually exist on the server. If you do not know the names, connect to the server and use the SHOW BINARY LOGS statement to see the current names. Suppose that the statement produces this output:

    mysql> SHOW BINARY LOGS;
    +---------------+-----------+
    | Log_name      | File_size |
    +---------------+-----------+
    | binlog.000130 |     27459 |
    | binlog.000131 |     13719 |
    | binlog.000132 |     43268 |
    +---------------+-----------+

With that information, you can use mysqlbinlog to back up the binary log to the current directory as follows (enter each command on a single line):

    • To make a static backup of binlog.000130 through binlog.000132, use either of these commands:

        mysqlbinlog --read-from-remote-server --host=host_name --raw
          binlog.000130 binlog.000131 binlog.000132
        mysqlbinlog --read-from-remote-server --host=host_name --raw
          --to-last-log binlog.000130

    The first command specifies every file name explicitly. The second names only the first file and uses --to-last-log to read through the last. A difference between these commands is that if the server happens to open binlog.000133 before mysqlbinlog reaches the end of binlog.000132, the first command will not read it, but the second command will.

    • To make a live backup in which mysqlbinlog starts with binlog.000130 to copy existing log files, then stays connected to copy new events as the server generates them:

        mysqlbinlog --read-from-remote-server --host=host_name --raw
          --stop-never binlog.000130

    With --stop-never, it is not necessary to specify --to-last-log to read to the last log file because that option is implied.
        Output File Naming

Without --raw, mysqlbinlog produces text output and the --result-file option, if given, specifies the name of the single file to which all output is written. With --raw, mysqlbinlog writes one binary output file for each log file transferred from the server. By default, mysqlbinlog writes the files in the current directory with the same names as the original log files. To modify the output file names, use the --result-file option. In conjunction with --raw, the --result-file option value is treated as a prefix that modifies the output file names.

Suppose that a server currently has binary log files named binlog.000999 and up. If you use mysqlbinlog --raw to back up the files, the --result-file option produces output file names as shown in the following table. You can write the files to a specific directory by beginning the --result-file value with the directory path. If the --result-file value consists only of a directory name, the value must end with the pathname separator character. Output files are overwritten if they exist.
--result-file Option | Output File Names
--result-file=x | xbinlog.000999 and up
--result-file=/tmp/ | /tmp/binlog.000999 and up
--result-file=/tmp/x | /tmp/xbinlog.000999 and up

        Example: mysqldump + mysqlbinlog for Backup and Restore

The following example describes a simple scenario that shows how to use mysqldump and mysqlbinlog together to back up a server's data and binary log, and how to use the backup to restore the server if data loss occurs. The example assumes that the server is running on host host_name and its first binary log file is named binlog.000999. Enter each command on a single line.

Use mysqlbinlog to make a continuous backup of the binary log:

    mysqlbinlog --read-from-remote-server --host=host_name --raw
      --stop-never binlog.000999

Use mysqldump to create a dump file as a snapshot of the server's data. Use --all-databases, --events, and --routines to back up all data, and --master-data=2 to include the current binary log coordinates in the dump file.

    mysqldump --host=host_name --all-databases --events --routines --master-data=2> dump_file

Execute the mysqldump command periodically to create newer snapshots as desired.

If data loss occurs (for example, if the server crashes), use the most recent dump file to restore the data:

    mysql --host=host_name -u root -p < dump_file

Then use the binary log backup to re-execute events that were written after the coordinates listed in the dump file. Suppose that the coordinates in the file look like this:

    -- CHANGE MASTER TO MASTER_LOG_FILE='binlog.001002', MASTER_LOG_POS=27284;

If the most recent backed-up log file is named binlog.001004, re-execute the log events like this:

    mysqlbinlog --start-position=27284 binlog.001002 binlog.001003 binlog.001004
      | mysql --host=host_name -u root -p

You might find it easier to copy the backup files (dump file and binary log files) to the server host to make it easier to perform the restore operation, or if MySQL does not allow remote root access.

SPECIFYING THE MYSQLBINLOG SERVER ID

When invoked with the --read-from-remote-server option, mysqlbinlog connects to a MySQL server, specifies a server ID to identify itself, and requests binary log files from the server. You can use mysqlbinlog to request log files from a server in several ways:

    • Specify an explicitly named set of files: For each file, mysqlbinlog connects and issues a Binlog dump command. The server sends the file and disconnects. There is one connection per file.

    • Specify the beginning file and --to-last-log: mysqlbinlog connects and issues a Binlog dump command for all files. The server sends all files and disconnects.

    • Specify the beginning file and --stop-never (which implies --to-last-log): mysqlbinlog connects and issues a Binlog dump command for all files. The server sends all files, but does not disconnect after sending the last one.

With --read-from-remote-server only, mysqlbinlog connects using a server ID of 0, which tells the server to disconnect after sending the last requested log file.

With --read-from-remote-server and --stop-never, mysqlbinlog connects using a nonzero server ID, so the server does not disconnect after sending the last log file. The server ID is 65535 by default, but this can be changed with --stop-never-slave-server-id.

Thus, for the first two ways of requesting files, the server disconnects because mysqlbinlog specifies a server ID of 0. It does not disconnect if --stop-never is given because mysqlbinlog specifies a nonzero server ID.

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NOTES

1.  MySQL Internals: The Binary Log
    http://dev.mysql.com/doc/internals/en/binary-log.html

SEE ALSO
For more information, please refer to the MySQL Reference Manual, which may already be installed locally and which is also available online at http://dev.mysql.com/doc/.

AUTHOR
Oracle Corporation (http://dev.mysql.com/).