MySQL raises ER_USER_ALREADY_EXISTS when a CREATE USER statement attempts to define an account that is already present.
ER_USER_ALREADY_EXISTS (MySQL error 3163) occurs when a CREATE USER statement tries to add an account that already exists; fix it by using CREATE USER IF NOT EXISTS or ALTER USER instead.
ER_USER_ALREADY_EXISTS
MySQL returns ER_USER_ALREADY_EXISTS (error 3163, SQLSTATE HY000) when a CREATE USER or similar statement defines a user account that is already present in the mysql.user system table.
The error stops the statement to prevent duplicate accounts and ambiguous privilege evaluation, so you must choose a different user name or modify the existing account instead of recreating it.
The most common trigger is running CREATE USER 'name'@'host' after the account was previously created by another migration script or manually in an earlier session.
Automated CI deployments that run the same bootstrap script on every build also cause the conflict if IF NOT EXISTS is missing.
RESTORE operations from dumps that already contain the account definition will raise the error when replayed on a database where the user exists.
Use CREATE USER IF NOT EXISTS to make the operation idempotent.
CREATE USER IF NOT EXISTS 'app_user'@'%' IDENTIFIED BY 'secret';
Alternatively use ALTER USER to update credentials or DROP USER before re-creating.
ALTER USER 'app_user'@'%' IDENTIFIED BY 'new_secret';
During application install scripts, wrap user creation in IF NOT EXISTS and follow with GRANT to ensure privileges are assigned whether the user was created now or earlier.
In Terraform or Ansible, declare the user resource as present so the tool runs ALTER USER instead of CREATE USER every run.
Adopt idempotent SQL using IF NOT EXISTS and include user management in version-controlled migrations so the state is predictable.
Monitor error logs for error code 3163 to detect accidental duplicate user creation attempts.
When collaborating in Galaxy, team members can endorse a migration that uses IF NOT EXISTS, preventing this error from resurfacing in downstream environments.
ER_CANNOT_USER (1396) appears when you attempt to GRANT or ALTER a non-existent user and is the inverse of ER_USER_ALREADY_EXISTS.
ER_PASSWORD_NO_MATCH (1133) occurs on ALTER USER if password format is invalid.
ER_SPECIFIC_ACCESS_DENIED_ERROR (1227) appears when the session lacks CREATE USER privilege.
A script runs CREATE USER for an account that is already present without using IF NOT EXISTS.
Importing a backup that contains user definitions into an environment where the users exist.
CI pipelines rerun bootstrap SQL on every deployment, generating conflicts.
Raised when GRANT or ALTER references a user that does not exist.
Occurs on DROP USER when the account is missing.
Appears when passwords expire for anonymous user accounts.
No, ignoring leaves privileges unchanged. Use IF NOT EXISTS or ALTER USER instead.
No, the code was introduced in 5.7.8. Earlier versions allow silent overwrite.
Yes, Aurora MySQL 5.7 and 8.0 branches support the syntax.
Galaxy's AI copilot autocompletes CREATE USER IF NOT EXISTS, and endorsed migrations prevent duplicate user creation in shared repositories.
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