<p>Error 1700 appears when a GRANT statement with IDENTIFIED WITH tries to create a plugin-authenticated user that already exists.</p>
<p>MySQL Error 1700 (ER_GRANT_PLUGIN_USER_EXISTS) signals that the GRANT ... IDENTIFIED WITH statement failed because the specified user already exists. Fix it by dropping or altering the user first, or omit IDENTIFIED WITH when merely granting privileges.</p>
GRANT with IDENTIFIED WITH is illegal because the user
Error 1700 is raised when a GRANT statement that includes the IDENTIFIED WITH clause attempts to create a user whose name already exists in the mysql.user table. MySQL blocks the operation to prevent conflicting authentication plugins or credentials.
The error returns SQLSTATE HY000 and stops the script at the first conflicting user, so subsequent statements in the batch are not executed until the conflict is resolved.
The primary trigger is running GRANT ... IDENTIFIED WITH on a user that was previously created with CREATE USER or GRANT. MySQL interprets the statement as an implicit CREATE USER attempt, detects the duplicate, and throws error 1700.
Misplaced automation, migration scripts, or copy-pasted examples often repeat the same GRANT line across environments, unknowingly colliding with existing users.
First confirm the user’s presence with SELECT User, Host FROM mysql.user WHERE User='app_user'. If the user exists, decide whether to drop, alter, or simply grant new privileges without IDENTIFIED WITH.
Apply one of the SQL remedies below, then rerun the intended GRANT statement or replace it with a plain GRANT.
CI/CD pipelines that rebuild databases often hit this error when the pipeline replays seed scripts. Adding IF EXISTS checks or separating CREATE USER from GRANT resolves the issue.
Manual privilege tweaks in production may also clash with scripted deployments. Maintaining a single source-of-truth privilege script in a tool like Galaxy avoids drift.
Always run CREATE USER IF NOT EXISTS or DROP USER IF EXISTS before using GRANT ... IDENTIFIED WITH in automated scripts. Keep user creation isolated from privilege assignment when possible.
Version and audit all privilege scripts in Galaxy so teams can review changes, prevent duplicates, and roll back safely.
Error 1396 (Operation CREATE USER failed) occurs when you try to create a user that already exists. Error 1133 (user does not exist) is the opposite case. Both are resolved by synchronizing user existence checks with privilege statements.
The mysql.user table already contains the same user and host combination.
Automation replays GRANT statements with IDENTIFIED WITH on every run.
Tutorial scripts blindly create the same demo user in multiple environments.
Using GRANT for both creation and permissions instead of separating CREATE USER and GRANT.
Thrown when CREATE USER tries to insert a duplicate user; fix by dropping or checking first.
Raised when GRANT or DROP USER references a non-existent account.
Occurs when the session lacks the required privileges to run GRANT ... IDENTIFIED WITH.
Query mysql.user and inspect the plugin column to see the current authentication method.
Yes, use ALTER USER 'name'@'host' IDENTIFIED WITH plugin to change the authentication plugin in place.
No. Use IDENTIFIED WITH only when creating a new user during GRANT; omit it when modifying privileges.
Galaxy versions your privilege scripts, flags duplicate CREATE and GRANT blocks during code review, and lets teams run conditional statements confidently.
.avif)
.avif){kind=logo}
