# Mariadb Lock Tables > Explains MariaDB explicit table locking (LOCK TABLES/UNLOCK TABLES) and named user-level locks (GET_LOCK family), covering alias traps, implicit commits, and multi-lock semantics for writing or reviewing locking code. - Skill: `mariadb-corporation/mariadb-lock-tables` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds add mariadb-corporation/mariadb-lock-tables` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/mariadb-corporation/mariadb-lock-tables/raw - Safety review: PASS (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS) - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools, Data & Analytics, SQL & Databases - Tags: Advisory Locks, Database Locking, Get Lock, Lock Tables, Mariadb, Sql - Author: mariadb-corporation (https://skillmd.com/u/mariadb-corporation) - Updated: 2026-08-22 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/mariadb-corporation/mariadb-lock-tables --- # Explicit Locking in MariaDB *Last updated: 2026-07-20* This skill covers the **delta between what an LLM tends to assume about locking and MariaDB's actual behavior**: the `LOCK TABLES` / `UNLOCK TABLES` statements and the `GET_LOCK()` family of named user-level locks. It assumes the agent already knows that databases have locks; it does not re-explain locking in general. > **Default context:** Assume MariaDB **11.8 LTS** unless the user states another version. Anything in current LTS branches (10.6, 10.11, 11.4, 11.8) is shown without a "since" annotation; only newer-than-10.6 features carry one. ## What LLMs Often Miss | If the agent writes / suggests… | …prefer the MariaDB reality | |---|---| | `LOCK TABLES t1 WRITE;` then later `SELECT * FROM t1 AS a` | Any alias used in a later statement must **also appear in the `LOCK TABLES` clause**, or you get `ERROR 1100 (HY000): Table 'a' was not locked with LOCK TABLES`. Lock the alias you intend to query with: `LOCK TABLE t1 AS a WRITE;` | | `LOCK TABLES t1 WRITE;` then querying `t2` for a lookup, or relying on triggers touching other tables | You must lock **every** table you will reference in the session, not just the one you intend to write. Touching an unlocked table errors with `ERROR 1100`. Tables used by triggers on a locked table are locked implicitly, but tables read in application code are not — list them all | | `START TRANSACTION; LOCK TABLES t1 WRITE; ... COMMIT;` as a "belt and suspenders" pattern | `LOCK TABLES` **implicitly commits** any active transaction before acquiring the locks, and starting a new transaction releases all `LOCK TABLES` locks. You cannot hold table locks and an open transaction at the same time (autocommit-mode statements are the only exception). Don't mix the two locking models — pick one | | Reaching for `LOCK TABLES` to serialize access to a row/counter inside a transactional workflow | Use row locking (`SELECT ... FOR UPDATE`, see `mariadb-select`) or `GET_LOCK()` instead — both compose with transactions. `LOCK TABLES` does not | | `GET_LOCK('mylock', 5)` and assuming a second `GET_LOCK('other', 5)` in the same session fails because "you can only hold one lock" | Since MariaDB 10.0.2 (MDEV-3917) a connection can hold **multiple named locks simultaneously** — `GET_LOCK()` no longer releases previously-held locks on the same connection. All current LTS versions have this | | `SELECT RELEASE_LOCK('a'); SELECT RELEASE_LOCK('b'); ...` one call per lock name to clean up | `RELEASE_ALL_LOCKS()` releases every named lock the session holds in one call and returns the count released | | Treating `GET_LOCK()` as transactional (expecting `COMMIT`/`ROLLBACK` to release it) | Named locks are **independent of transactions**. Locks are released only by `RELEASE_LOCK()`, `RELEASE_ALL_LOCKS()`, or the connection closing (normally or abnormally) — never by `COMMIT` or `ROLLBACK` | | `LOCK TABLES` inside a stored procedure/function | Not allowed — errors at creation time with `ERROR 1314 (0A000): LOCK is not allowed in stored procedures`. Use `GET_LOCK()` there instead | | Using `GET_LOCK`/`LOCK TABLES` output/timing to synchronize statement-based replicas | Neither is safe for statement-based replication — the lock functions and `LOCK TABLES` don't reproduce identically on a replica applying via SBR. Prefer row-based replication (the modern default) or application-level coordination outside SQL | ## `LOCK TABLES` / `UNLOCK TABLES` ```sql LOCK TABLE[S] tbl_name [[AS] alias] lock_type [, tbl_name [[AS] alias] lock_type] ... [WAIT n | NOWAIT] lock_type: READ [LOCAL] | [LOW_PRIORITY] WRITE | WRITE CONCURRENT UNLOCK TABLES ``` | `lock_type` | Effect | |---|---| | `READ` | Read lock; no writes from any connection allowed | | `READ LOCAL` | Read lock, but permits concurrent inserts from other connections | | `WRITE` | Exclusive; no other connection can read or write the table | | `LOW_PRIORITY WRITE` | Exclusive write lock, but lets new read-lock requests jump ahead while waiting for the write lock | | `WRITE CONCURRENT` | Exclusive write lock that still permits other connections' `READ LOCAL` locks | Requires the `LOCK TABLES` privilege plus `SELECT` on every table locked. Locking a view locks its underlying base tables automatically. `UNLOCK TABLES` releases everything the session holds — including the global read lock from `FLUSH TABLES WITH READ LOCK`. Key mechanics to get right: - **Alias discipline.** The alias in `LOCK TABLES` must match the alias used by subsequent statements referencing that table in the same session — lock `t1 AS a` if you plan to `SELECT ... FROM t1 AS a`; locking the bare table name does not cover a later aliased reference, and vice versa. - **Implicit commit.** `LOCK TABLES` unconditionally ends any active transaction first (equivalent to a `COMMIT`), then acquires the locks. Starting a new transaction (outside autocommit) releases all `LOCK TABLES` locks. Table locks and an open (non-autocommit) transaction cannot coexist. - **Lock everything you touch.** While locks are held, referencing any table not in the lock set errors with `ERROR 1100`; writing to a table locked only `READ` errors with `ERROR 1099`. - **InnoDB needs `innodb_table_locks=1`** (the default) for `LOCK TABLES` to actually block InnoDB-level access; with it off, no error is raised but the lock has no InnoDB-side effect. - **Not usable in stored routines** and **not supported on Galera cluster nodes** (may crash or deadlock the cluster). - `TEMPORARY` tables are always locked `WRITE`, regardless of the requested `lock_type`. ### `WAIT` / `NOWAIT` ```sql LOCK TABLE t1 WRITE WAIT 5; -- wait up to 5s, then error LOCK TABLE t1 WRITE NOWAIT; -- fail immediately if unavailable ``` `WAIT n` bounds the wait (seconds) before erroring with a lock-wait-timeout; `NOWAIT` fails immediately (`WAIT 0` is equivalent). The same `WAIT`/`NOWAIT` clause is accepted by `ALTER TABLE`, `CREATE/DROP INDEX`, `DROP TABLE`, `OPTIMIZE TABLE`, `RENAME TABLE`, `TRUNCATE TABLE`, and `SELECT ... FOR UPDATE`/`LOCK IN SHARE MODE` — it's a general DDL/lock-wait control, not specific to `LOCK TABLES`. ## Metadata Locking (brief) Every transactional or DDL statement takes an implicit **metadata lock (MDL)** on the objects it touches for the duration of the transaction/statement, independent of `LOCK TABLES`. This is what makes a concurrent `ALTER TABLE` wait behind an open transaction on that table, bounded by `lock_wait_timeout` (default 1 year — effectively unbounded unless overridden). `LOCK TABLES ... WRITE` also queues behind existing metadata locks. Full model, `metadata_locks` Performance Schema table: see the `metadata-locking` reference page. Row-level locking (`SELECT ... FOR UPDATE`) is covered in the `mariadb-select` skill, not here. ## Named Locks — `GET_LOCK()` and Friends ```sql GET_LOCK(str, timeout) -- 1 = acquired, 0 = timed out, NULL = error RELEASE_LOCK(str) -- 1 = released, 0 = held by someone else, NULL = didn't exist RELEASE_ALL_LOCKS() -- count of locks released by this session IS_FREE_LOCK(str) -- 1 = free, 0 = in use, NULL = bad argument IS_USED_LOCK(str) -- connection ID holding it, or NULL if free ``` These are **application/advisory locks**, keyed by an arbitrary string name, scoped server-wide (not per-database) — any two sessions that agree on a name cooperate, but any other session can also grab or squat on that name, deliberately or not. Namespace defensively: `db_name.lock_name` or `app_name.lock_name`. - **Multiple simultaneous locks per connection** *(since 10.0.2, MDEV-3917)* — a session can hold any number of distinct named locks at once; acquiring a new one does not release previously held ones. - **Recursive re-acquisition**: calling `GET_LOCK()` again on a name the same connection already holds increments a reference count instead of blocking; it must be released the same number of times. - **Independent of transactions** — `COMMIT`/`ROLLBACK` never release a named lock. Release happens only via `RELEASE_LOCK()`, `RELEASE_ALL_LOCKS()` *(since 10.5.2)*, or the connection ending (cleanly or not). - **`timeout`** is in seconds but supports fractional/microsecond precision; a negative or `NULL` timeout makes `GET_LOCK()` return `NULL` (with a warning) rather than blocking or erroring outright. - `str` empty or `NULL` → `GET_LOCK()`/`RELEASE_LOCK()`/etc. all return `NULL` and do nothing; name matching is case-insensitive. - Deadlocks between named locks are detected automatically — the losing connection gets `ERROR 1213 (40001): Deadlock found when trying to get lock; try restarting transaction`. - **Not safe for statement-based replication**; and on a replica applying via SQL thread, `GET_LOCK()` is a no-op that always returns `1` — it never actually blocks, since replication is already serialized. - With the `metadata_lock_info` plugin (or the `METADATA_LOCK_INFO`/`performance_schema.metadata_locks` tables) installed, named locks are visible alongside regular MDL entries as `LOCK_TYPE = User lock`. ## See Also - **`mariadb-select`** — row-level locking (`SELECT ... FOR UPDATE`, `LOCK IN SHARE MODE`, `SKIP LOCKED`) - **`mariadb-transactions`** — implicit commit, autocommit, and how `LOCK TABLES` interacts with transactions - Canonical references on `mariadb.com/docs`: - - - - - - - - - _This page is: Copyright © 2026 MariaDB. All rights reserved._