13.7.2.1 ANALYZE TABLE Statement

ANALYZE [NO_WRITE_TO_BINLOG | LOCAL]
    TABLE tbl_name [, tbl_name] ...

ANALYZE TABLE performs a key distribution analysis and stores the distribution for the named table or tables. For MyISAM tables, this statement is equivalent to using myisamchk --analyze.

This statement requires SELECT and INSERT privileges for the table.

ANALYZE TABLE works with InnoDB, NDB, and MyISAM tables. It does not work with views.

ANALYZE TABLE is supported for partitioned tables, and you can use ALTER TABLE ... ANALYZE PARTITION to analyze one or more partitions; for more information, see Section 13.1.8, “ALTER TABLE Statement”, and Section 22.3.4, “Maintenance of Partitions”.

During the analysis, the table is locked with a read lock for InnoDB and MyISAM.

ANALYZE TABLE removes the table from the table definition cache, which requires a flush lock. If there are long running statements or transactions still using the table, subsequent statements and transactions must wait for those operations to finish before the flush lock is released. Because ANALYZE TABLE itself typically finishes quickly, it may not be apparent that delayed transactions or statements involving the same table are due to the remaining flush lock.

By default, the server writes ANALYZE TABLE statements to the binary log so that they replicate to replicas. To suppress logging, specify the optional NO_WRITE_TO_BINLOG keyword or its alias LOCAL.

ANALYZE TABLE Output

ANALYZE TABLE returns a result set with the columns shown in the following table.

Column Value
Table The table name
Op Always analyze
Msg_type status, error, info, note, or warning
Msg_text An informational message
Key Distribution Analysis

If the table has not changed since the last key distribution analysis, the table is not analyzed again.

MySQL uses the stored key distribution to decide the table join order for joins on something other than a constant. In addition, key distributions can be used when deciding which indexes to use for a specific table within a query.

To check the stored key distribution cardinality, use the SHOW INDEX statement or the INFORMATION_SCHEMA STATISTICS table. See Section 13.7.5.22, “SHOW INDEX Statement”, and Section 24.24, “The INFORMATION_SCHEMA STATISTICS Table”.

For InnoDB tables, ANALYZE TABLE determines index cardinality by performing random dives on each of the index trees and updating index cardinality estimates accordingly. Because these are only estimates, repeated runs of ANALYZE TABLE could produce different numbers. This makes ANALYZE TABLE fast on InnoDB tables but not 100% accurate because it does not take all rows into account.

You can make the statistics collected by ANALYZE TABLE more precise and more stable by enabling innodb_stats_persistent, as explained in Section 14.8.11.1, “Configuring Persistent Optimizer Statistics Parameters”. When innodb_stats_persistent is enabled, it is important to run ANALYZE TABLE after major changes to index column data, as statistics are not recalculated periodically (such as after a server restart).

If innodb_stats_persistent is enabled, you can change the number of random dives by modifying the innodb_stats_persistent_sample_pages system variable. If innodb_stats_persistent is disabled, modify innodb_stats_transient_sample_pages instead.

For more information about key distribution analysis in InnoDB, see Section 14.8.11.1, “Configuring Persistent Optimizer Statistics Parameters”, and Section 14.8.11.3, “Estimating ANALYZE TABLE Complexity for InnoDB Tables”.

MySQL uses index cardinality estimates in join optimization. If a join is not optimized in the right way, try running ANALYZE TABLE. In the few cases that ANALYZE TABLE does not produce values good enough for your particular tables, you can use FORCE INDEX with your queries to force the use of a particular index, or set the max_seeks_for_key system variable to ensure that MySQL prefers index lookups over table scans. See Section B.4.5, “Optimizer-Related Issues”.

Other Considerations

ANALYZE TABLE clears table statistics from the INFORMATION_SCHEMA.INNODB_SYS_TABLESTATS table and sets the STATS_INITIALIZED column to Uninitialized. Statistics are collected again the next time the table is accessed.