MySQL Instant Add Column Cheat Sheet

Schema changes with minimal downtime

Last Updated: November 21, 2025

Focus Areas

Focus
Enable `ALGORITHM=INSTANT`
Ensure storage engine supports it

Commands & Queries

ALTER TABLE users ADD COLUMN bio TEXT ALGORITHM=INSTANT
Add column
SHOW PROCESSLIST
Watch
pt-archiver
Archive old rows

Summary

Instant adds reduce schema change headaches.

💡 Pro Tip: Monitor long-running DDL with `information_schema.processlist`.
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