EC
3212
MySQLERRORCommonInnoDB / StorageHIGH confidence

InnoDB tablespace (.ibd) file is missing

Production Risk

Critical — table is inaccessible until resolved.

Why it happens
  1. 1The .ibd file for an InnoDB table was deleted or moved outside of MySQL.
  2. 2Moving the data directory without copying all tablespace files.
  3. 3Accidental file system deletion.
How to reproduce
trigger — this will error
trigger — this will error
SELECT * FROM t1;

expected output

ERROR 3212 (HY000): Tablespace is missing for table 'db/t1'.

Fix 1

Restore from backup

Restore from backup
-- Restore the .ibd file from the most recent backup.

Why this works

Restoring the tablespace file allows InnoDB to reopen the table.

Fix 2

Discard and import tablespace

Discard and import tablespace
ALTER TABLE t1 DISCARD TABLESPACE; -- then copy backup .ibd -- ALTER TABLE t1 IMPORT TABLESPACE;

Why this works

Allows importing a clean .ibd file from backup.

Fix 3

Drop and recreate the table if data is expendable

Drop and recreate the table if data is expendable
DROP TABLE IF EXISTS t1; CREATE TABLE t1 (...);

Why this works

Only viable if data loss is acceptable.

What not to do

✕

Sources
Official documentation ↗

MySQL 8.0 — 3212 ER_MISSING_TABLESPACE_FILE

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