The MySQL client cannot allocate enough memory to complete the requested operation, causing Error 2008 (CR_OUT_OF_MEMORY).
MySQL Error 2008: CR_OUT_OF_MEMORY occurs when the MySQL client exhausts available memory while preparing or retrieving query results. Free up system RAM, reduce result-set size, or increase client memory limits to resolve the issue.
MySQL client ran out of memory
Error 2008, condition CR_OUT_OF_MEMORY, signals that the MySQL client process has exhausted its memory while trying to execute or fetch a query. The server connection usually remains intact, but the client cannot continue until memory is freed or the workload is reduced.
The issue appears most often during bulk exports, large SELECT statements, or when the client buffers massive result sets into RAM.
Addressing it quickly is crucial because repeated failures can stall applications, break ETL pipelines, and corrupt user sessions.
.
Insufficient RAM on the client host is the primary cause. When MySQL buffers rows locally, it allocates memory proportional to the result size. If available memory drops below the demand, the client raises CR_OUT_OF_MEMORY.
Other triggers include 32-bit client binaries hitting their 2–4 GB address ceiling, unbounded client-side caches, memory leaks in long-running scripts, and OS limits like ulimit or cgroup quotas that cap process RAM.
Quick relief comes from freeing RAM: close other applications, stop unnecessary services, and purge temporary variables in your script. For repeatable stability, paginate queries, stream results, or use server-side cursors to avoid loading entire datasets into memory.
On Linux servers, raise process limits with ulimit -v or adjust cgroup memory.max. Recompile or reinstall a 64-bit MySQL client when the current binary is 32-bit.
ETL jobs exporting huge CSVs fail midway. Switch to mysqldump --quick or SELECT ... INTO OUTFILE to stream rows directly from the server disk.
Analytics queries in BI tools crash the desktop client. Limit GROUP BY scopes, apply LIMIT, or offload aggregation to the server with summary tables.
Always paginate API responses and GUI grid views. Enable mysql_use_result() in C APIs or the --quick flag in mysql CLI to stream rows.
Monitor memory with top or ps, set alerts in Prometheus, and profile scripts for leaks. In Galaxy, the lightweight client streams results by default, drastically lowering client RAM usage.
MySQL Error 2006 (CR_SERVER_GONE_ERROR) occurs when the server drops the connection, often mistaken for 2008. Unlike 2008, it requires investigating network timeouts and server logs.
MySQL Error 2013 (CR_SERVER_LOST) surfaces when the client times out. Tuning net_read_timeout or net_write_timeout and optimizing long queries resolves it.
Queries that return millions of rows are buffered client-side, quickly consuming all available RAM.
Older 32-bit MySQL clients cannot address memory beyond 4 GB, hitting an artificial ceiling even on machines with more RAM.
Linux cgroups, Docker memory limits, or restrictive ulimit settings can truncate the memory space available to the client process.
Long-running scripts that store intermediate query results or cache objects without cleanup eventually exhaust memory.
.
No. The message refers to the client process on your machine. The server can be healthy while the client runs out of RAM.
Restarting the server rarely helps. Free memory on the client or reduce result size for a real fix.
Galaxy streams query results and shows partial previews, so large datasets never fully load into RAM, reducing CR_OUT_OF_MEMORY incidents.
If your workload needs more than 4 GB RAM, switching to a 64-bit MySQL client is the safest long-term solution.
.avif)
.avif){kind=logo}
