# How to Enable the Slow Query Log in MySQL® or MariaDB

https://www.hostcarts.qa/knowledgebase/article/how-to-enable-the-slow-query-log-in-mysql-or-mariadb

## Overview

Enabling the Slow Query Log for MySQL® or MariaDB can be a useful tool to diagnose performance and efficiency issues affecting your server. By identifying queries that are particularly slow in their execution, you can address them by restructuring the application that triggers your queries. You can also rebuild the queries themselves to ensure that they are constructed as efficiently as possible.

For more information about the MySQL slow query log, read the [MySQL 5.7 Reference Manual: The Slow Query Log](https://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.7/en/slow-query-log.html) documentation.

## Enable the Slow Query Log

To enable the Slow Query Log for MySQL or MariaDB:

1. Log in to your server as the `root` user via SSH.
2. Open the `my.cnf` file with a text editor and add the following block of code under the `mysqld` section: `slow_query_log = 1 slow-query_log_file = /var/log/mysql-slow.log long_query_time = 2` Note: In MySQL 5.6 and older, use the `log-slow-queries` variable instead of the `slow-query_log_file` variable.
3. Create the `/var/log/mysql-slow.log` file and set its user as the `mysql` user. To do this, run the following commands: `touch /var/log/mysql-slow.log chown mysql:mysql /var/log/mysql-slow.log`
4. Restart MySQL or MariaDB. To do this, run the following command: `/usr/local/cpanel/scripts/restartsrv_mysql`
5. Start monitoring the slow query logfile. To analyze and print the file’s summary, run the `mysqldumpslow` command. For example, to print all slow queries that the system previously recorded, run the following command: `mysqldumpslow -a /var/log/mysql-slow.log`