How to fix MySQL / MariaDB Start Issue on macOS

November 29th, 2024

TL;DR:

To resolve MySQL/MariaDB startup errors on macOS, simply delete the tc.log file:

rm /opt/homebrew/var/mysql/tc.log

Stuck with MySQL/MariaDB Startup Errors on macOS? Here’s the Fix! 🚀

Have you ever encountered an error while trying to start MySQL or MariaDB on your Mac? It might look something like this:

mysql.server start
/opt/homebrew/Cellar/mariadb/11.6.2/bin/mysql.server: line 264: kill: (12262) - No such process ERROR!

Frustrating, right?

I dealt with this issue for months. Since PostgreSQL has become my go-to database, I kept postponing the fix. But recently, I had to dust off an old project that still relies on MySQL/MariaDB, so I decided to tackle the problem once and for all.

The Fix 🛠️

After digging through articles and gists, I discovered the solution was surprisingly simple. All I had to do was delete the tc.log file located at: /opt/homebrew/var/mysql/tc.log

Here’s the command to do it:

rm /opt/homebrew/var/mysql/tc.log

That’s it! Once the file was removed, MySQL/MariaDB started up without a hitch.

Why Does This Work? 🤔

The tc.log file is part of MySQL’s transaction coordinator logging mechanism. If it becomes corrupted or out of sync, MySQL/MariaDB might fail to start. Deleting the file forces the server to regenerate a clean version the next time it starts.