<p>MySQL raises error 1848 when an ALTER TABLE includes ALGORITHM, LOCK or similar clauses on a partitioned table, which those versions cannot execute.</p>
<p>MySQL Error 1848: ER_ALTER_OPERATION_NOT_SUPPORTED_REASON_PARTITION occurs when ALTER TABLE uses ALGORITHM, LOCK or other unsupported clauses against a partitioned table. Remove the clause, drop partitioning temporarily, or upgrade to MySQL 8.0 to resolve the issue.</p>
Partition specific operations do not yet support
MySQL raises error 1848 when an ALTER TABLE statement includes clauses that are not yet compatible with partitioned tables. In versions 5.7.1 and later, options such as ALGORITHM, LOCK or secondary storage directives are rejected for partitioned tables, and the server aborts the DDL with SQLSTATE HY000.
This limitation exists because the internal metadata and lock handling for partitions differs from regular tables. MySQL protects data integrity by blocking operations it cannot guarantee, so you must change the statement or table design before the alteration will succeed.
The error appears immediately after sending an ALTER TABLE that attempts to combine partition maintenance with advanced DDL clauses. Typical triggers include changing a column definition while specifying ALGORITHM=INPLACE, or adding an index with LOCK=NONE on a HASH or RANGE partitioned table.
It can also surface during automated migrations generated by ORMs or schema-comparison tools that unconditionally add ALGORITHM or LOCK hints to every DDL statement.
Left unresolved, the DDL will not run, blocking deployments, CI pipelines and application releases. Repeated failures may leave metadata out of sync between environments, increasing the risk of data loss and operational downtime.
Understanding the limitation lets you craft safe migrations, choose the right MySQL version or redesign partitions to keep development velocity high.
Specifying ALGORITHM=INPLACE or COPY on a partitioned table triggers the error because partition DDL only supports the default algorithm.
Using LOCK=NONE or LOCK=SHARED fails on partitioned tables; MySQL currently requires the default lock for such DDL.
Some storage-engine or tablespace directives combined with partitions are blocked, producing the same error code.
Frameworks that always append ALGORITHM and LOCK hints hit the limitation when your schema uses partitioning.
General variant triggered when an ALTER TABLE uses any unsupported combination of clauses or storage engines.
Raised when the specific reason does not fit another detailed code.
Foreign key addition failures can occur after partition changes because the engine restricts keys referencing partitioned tables.
No. The alteration was not applied. You must rewrite the statement or change table design.
The code appears from MySQL 5.7.1 upward. MySQL 8.0 removes many restrictions but older versions still raise the error.
No. The limitation is partition specific and applies to InnoDB tables.
Galaxy's SQL editor highlights unsupported ALTER clauses on partitioned tables and suggests compliant alternatives before execution.
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