1193ERRORTier 2 — Caution✅ HIGH confidence

Unknown system variable

Category: ConfigurationVersions: All MariaDB / MySQL versions

What this means

Error 1193 (SQLSTATE HY000) is returned by SET when the variable name is not recognised. This can happen due to a typo, a version mismatch (setting added or removed), or a MySQL variable not available in MariaDB (or vice versa).

Why it happens

1Typographical error in variable name (e.g. SET innodb_buffer_pool_sizes instead of innodb_buffer_pool_size)
2Variable exists in MySQL but not in MariaDB, or was added in a later version
3Variable was renamed between server versions
4Missing GLOBAL or SESSION scope qualifier in some contexts

How to reproduce

Setting a variable name that does not exist.

trigger — this will ERROR

SET GLOBAL innodb_buffer_pool_sizes = 536870912;
-- Typo: should be innodb_buffer_pool_size

ERROR 1193 (HY000): Unknown system variable 'innodb_buffer_pool_sizes'

Fix 1: Check the correct variable name

Always — verify spelling and availability first.

fix

-- Search available variables:
SHOW VARIABLES LIKE '%buffer_pool%';

-- Then set the correct name:
SET GLOBAL innodb_buffer_pool_size = 536870912;

Why this works

SHOW VARIABLES with a LIKE pattern is the fastest way to discover available variables and their current values.

What not to do

✗

Copy SET statements from MySQL docs verbatim when using MariaDB

Why it's wrong: Some MySQL variables do not exist in MariaDB and vice versa; always verify against the server version in use.

Sources

📚 Official docs: https://mariadb.com/kb/en/server-system-variables/

🔧 Source ref: MariaDB Server error code 1193 / ER_UNKNOWN_SYSTEM_VARIABLE

📖 Further reading: MariaDB System Variables

Confidence assessment

✅ HIGH confidence

Stable.