MySQL throws error 1333 (ER_SP_DUP_CURS) when a stored program declares two cursors with the same name within the same scope.
MySQL Error 1333: ER_SP_DUP_CURS appears when you declare a duplicate cursor name inside a stored procedure, function, or trigger. Rename or drop the duplicate cursor to clear the error.
Duplicate cursor: %s
The server raises error 1333 with message "Duplicate cursor: %s" when a stored routine tries to declare two cursors using the same identifier in the same scope. MySQL requires every cursor name to be unique within the block where it is declared.
The error triggers at routine compilation time, not at runtime. It appears immediately after the second DECLARE CURSOR statement is parsed, so the procedure is not created or altered until the name conflict is resolved.
Failing to address duplicate cursors blocks procedure creation, stops deployments, and can break CI pipelines. Eliminating name clashes ensures reliable builds and prevents downtime in production migrations.
Declaring two cursors that share a name inside the same BEGIN...END block is the primary cause. Using the same name for a cursor and another local variable or parameter can also trigger the conflict.
Identify the duplicate CURSOR declaration, choose a unique identifier, and re-run the CREATE or ALTER statement. Dropping older versions of the routine or refactoring nested blocks also resolves the issue.
1) Copy-pasted procedures that already contain a cursor named cur. Rename one cursor to cur_orders.
2) Conditional compilation where a cursor is declared in both IF branches. Move the declaration outside the IF block.
Adopt a naming convention such as cur_tableaction, lint stored routines during code review, and enable CI checks that parse DECLARE statements for duplicates. Galaxy’s editor highlights duplicate identifiers in real-time, preventing commits that break.
Error 1334 ER_SP_DUP_HANDLER (Duplicate handler) surfaces when two HANDLERs share a name. Error 1327 ER_DUP_HANDLER also involves naming collisions. Fix them by renaming or removing duplicates.
Two DECLARE CURSOR statements share the exact identifier inside one BEGIN...END block.
Developers copy code from another routine without renaming the original cursor.
A cursor is declared with a name already assigned to a local variable or parameter.
Multiple conditional branches each declare a cursor with the same name, causing duplication when compiled.
Raised when two exception handlers share the same name in a routine.
Occurs for duplicate HANDLER or CURSOR across scopes in older versions.
Appears when a RETURN statement is misplaced inside stored procedures rather than functions.
No. MySQL treats nested BEGIN...END blocks as the same declare scope inside a routine, so cursor names must remain unique throughout.
Yes. All cursors declared in a procedure close automatically at the end of the call, but their names must still be unique at compile time.
No. The delimiter only separates statements for the client parser. Duplicate cursor detection occurs inside the server parser regardless of delimiter.
Galaxy’s real-time syntax checker underlines identifier collisions, offers AI-generated unique names, and blocks saving routines that fail compilation.
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