MySQL / MariaDB Config Tuner

Use this tool to instantly calculate the mathematically optimal memory settings for your MySQL or MariaDB database server. Simply input your server's total RAM, and the tool will generate a perfectly tuned my.cnf configuration block.

Out of the box, MySQL is configured for extremely low-end legacy hardware (to ensure it runs on literally anything). If you install MySQL on a modern 16GB VPS without modifying the configuration, it will only use a tiny fraction of the available memory, resulting in terrible performance and high disk I/O bottlenecks.

How it works

Database performance is entirely dictated by how much data can be kept in ultra-fast RAM rather than being read from a slow SSD or hard drive.

InnoDB Buffer Pool: The most critical setting in MySQL is the innodb_buffer_pool_size. This dictates how much RAM is dedicated to caching database tables and indexes. A widely accepted best practice is to allocate roughly 50% to 70% of your total server RAM to this pool (assuming it is a dedicated database server). If you also run a web server (like Apache or Nginx) on the exact same machine, you must lower this to 20%-30% to prevent the server from crashing due to Out Of Memory (OOM) errors.

Thread Caching & Connections: The tool also calculates optimal connection limits (max_connections) and thread cache sizes based on your total memory, ensuring that traffic spikes do not overwhelm the server's CPU.

Deployment: Once generated, you should paste these settings under the [mysqld] block in your configuration file (usually located at /etc/mysql/my.cnf or /etc/my.cnf) and restart the database service.

Frequently asked questions