How to Fix AWS Aurora MySQL Events Not Running on Schedule

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If you’re using Aurora MySQL and noticing that your scheduled events have suddenly changed from running every minute to once an hour, it can be confusing. Luckily, there’s a straightforward way to troubleshoot and fix this issue.

First, it’s important to check if the event scheduler is turned on. Aurora MySQL manages events with a special thread called the event scheduler. By default, this thread is turned off. To ensure your events run as scheduled, you need to enable it. You can do this by running the following command:

sql
SET GLOBAL event_scheduler = ON;

You might want to make this change persistent so it stays active even after restarts. Doing so usually involves editing your database configuration to include event_scheduler=ON.

Next, take a look at the event definitions to verify their schedules. You can do this by querying the INFORMATION_SCHEMA.EVENTS view:

sql
SELECT * FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.EVENTS WHERE EVENT_SCHEMA = ‘your_database_name’;

Check that the scheduled times are what you expect — for example, every minute (EVERY 1 MINUTE). Sometimes, schedules can be accidentally modified.

It’s also a good idea to review the error logs for any issues related to events. These logs can reveal errors that prevented events from running properly, helping you pinpoint problems.

Finally, consider resource use on your server. If the database is under heavy load or has limited resources, the event scheduler might be delayed, though it typically wouldn’t cause a complete change in the schedule from minutes to hours.

By verifying the event scheduler status, inspecting your event definitions, and reviewing error logs, you should be able to identify and resolve why your events aren’t running on their intended schedule. Keeping everything configured correctly ensures your automated tasks run smoothly, saving you time and effort.