How to Increase MySQL max_allowed_packet

The max_allowed_packet variable sets the maximum size of a single query packet that MySQL can process.

If you encounter "Packet too large" errors, increasing max_allowed_packet may help resolve the issue.

Ensure you set this value appropriately based on workload requirements. Setting it too high can lead to excessive memory usage.

The default value for this setting is 64MB in MySQL 8.0. If you experience issues, try increasing it to 128MB or higher based on your needs.

Change the MySQL `max_allowed_packet` setting:

This procedure requires restarting the MySQL database, which will cause some downtime.

Create file:

/etc/mysql/conf.d/max_allowed_packet.cnf

with contents (e.g., increasing the default 64MB to 128MB):

[mysqld]
max_allowed_packet = 128M

You can run the following command as "root" to create the configuration file shown above:

echo -e '[mysqld]\n''max_allowed_packet = 128M' > /etc/mysql/conf.d/max_allowed_packet.cnf

Restart MySQL:

sudo service mysql restart

Check the new value of the variable with:

sudo mysql -e "SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'max_allowed_packet';"

Last updated: February 3, 2025