mariadb-binlog

Read and replay MariaDB binary log files

TLDR

Display events from a binary log file

$ mariadb-binlog /var/lib/mysql/mariadb-bin.000003

Filter events for one database

$ mariadb-binlog -d mydb /var/lib/mysql/mariadb-bin.000003

Show events between two timestamps

$ mariadb-binlog --start-datetime='2026-01-01 00:00:00' --stop-datetime='2026-02-01 00:00:00' /var/lib/mysql/mariadb-bin.000003

Show events between byte positions

$ mariadb-binlog -j 100 --stop-position 200 /var/lib/mysql/mariadb-bin.000003

Replay log output into MariaDB

$ mariadb-binlog mariadb-bin.000001 | mariadb -u root -p

SYNOPSIS

mariadb-binlog [options] logfile_ ...

mariadb-binlog is a MariaDB client utility for reading binary log files. The server writes these logs in a compact binary format; mariadb-binlog converts the events into human-readable SQL or metadata so DBAs can audit changes, debug replication, and perform point-in-time recovery.Each event is preceded by a header comment with the byte position, timestamp, server ID, and execution time. For statement-based logging, the output shows the original SQL. For row-based logging, use --verbose to reconstruct the affected rows as SQL comments.The utility can read local log files or stream logs from a remote server. Its output can be piped into mariadb to replay statements, edited first for selective recovery, or saved to a text file for later inspection.Relay logs on replication replicas use the same format, so mariadb-binlog can inspect them as well.

PARAMETERS

-d dbname, **--database** dbname

Output only events that modify tables in dbname_

-j N, --start-position N

Start at the first event at or after byte position N

--stop-position N

Stop at the first event at or after byte position N

--start-datetime datetime

Start at the first event at or after datetime

--stop-datetime datetime

Stop at the first event at or after datetime

-h host, --host host

Read the binary log from a remote MariaDB server (with --read-from-remote-server)

-R, --read-from-remote-server

Fetch logs from a server instead of local files

-v, --verbose

Decode row events as commented SQL statements

-H, --hexdump

Include a hex dump of each event in the output

-s, --short-form

Print only SQL statements, without extra metadata

-r file, --result-file file

Write output to file instead of stdout

--help, -?

Show help and exit

--version, -V

Show version and exit

INSTALL

sudo apt install mariadb-client

sudo dnf install mariadb

sudo pacman -S mariadb

sudo apk add mariadb

sudo zypper install mariadb-client

brew install mariadb

nix profile install nixpkgs#mariadb

CAVEATS

Replaying multiple log files through separate mariadb connections can break statements that rely on temporary tables created in an earlier file. Pipe all required logs through a single mariadb process instead.When using --database, filtering behavior differs between statement-based and row-based logging. With row-based logs, only events that modify tables in the selected database are shown.Remote log reading requires a running server and appropriate privileges.