MySQL Error 1065 occurs when an empty or null SQL statement is sent to the server. This typically happens due to programming errors in query construction, malformed dynamic queries, or accidental empty strings in application code.
MySQL Error 1065 (ER_EMPTY_QUERY) is raised when the MySQL server receives a query string that contains no valid SQL statement. The server expects at least one non-empty SQL command to execute, but instead gets an empty string, null value, or only whitespace characters. This is a validation error that prevents the server from attempting to parse and execute the invalid input. The error occurs at the protocol level before the parser even attempts to interpret the query. It indicates a problem with how the query was constructed or passed to the server, not with the SQL syntax itself.
Insert logging statements in your application to capture the exact query string being sent to MySQL.
PHP example:
$query = "SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = " . $userId;
error_log("About to execute: " . $query);
$result = mysqli_query($connection, $query);Node.js/JavaScript example:
const query = "SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = " . userId;
console.log("Query:", query);
db.query(query, (err, results) => { /* ... */ });Python example:
query = f"SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = {user_id}"
print(f"Executing query: {query}")
cursor.execute(query)Run your code and check the logs to see if the query string is actually empty.
Add validation checks to ensure your query is not null or empty before sending it to the database.
PHP:
$query = buildQuery();
if (empty(trim($query))) {
throw new Exception("Query cannot be empty");
}
mysqli_query($connection, $query);JavaScript:
const query = buildQuery();
if (!query || query.trim().length === 0) {
throw new Error("Query cannot be empty");
}
db.query(query);Python:
query = build_query()
if not query or not query.strip():
raise ValueError("Query cannot be empty")
cursor.execute(query)This fails fast and helps identify where the problem originates.
Review your query construction code to ensure all required SQL components are included. Look for conditional blocks that might remove all content.
Problem example:
// Bad: might result in empty WHERE clause
let query = "SELECT * FROM users";
if (hasFilter) {
query += " WHERE " + filterCondition;
}
// If hasFilter is false, query is fine
// But if filterCondition is empty, you get "SELECT * FROM users WHERE "Better approach:
// Good: only add WHERE if condition exists
let query = "SELECT * FROM users";
if (hasFilter && filterCondition) {
query += " WHERE " + filterCondition;
}Ensure that every variable used in query construction has a value before adding it to the query string.
If importing SQL from migration files or batch scripts, check for empty statements caused by double semicolons.
Problem in migration file:
CREATE TABLE users (id INT);;
CREATE TABLE posts (id INT);The double semicolon (;;) creates an empty statement between the two statements.
Fix:
CREATE TABLE users (id INT);
CREATE TABLE posts (id INT);Use search and replace to find and remove ;; patterns from your SQL files.
Verify that query preprocessing doesn't accidentally remove all content.
Problem example:
query = """
-- SELECT * FROM users
-- WHERE active = 1
"""
# If using comment-stripping, this becomes empty!Check for:
- SQL comment-only files
- Query builders that strip comments before validation
- Template engines that remove all content during processing
- String trim() operations that might leave nothing
Ensure that the query contains actual SQL code, not just comments or whitespace.
Switch to parameterized queries (prepared statements) which handle empty values more gracefully.
MySQL with prepared statements:
$stmt = $connection->prepare("SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = ?");
if (!$stmt) {
throw new Exception("Prepare failed: " . $connection->error);
}
$stmt->bind_param("i", $userId);
if (!$stmt->execute()) {
throw new Exception("Execute failed: " . $stmt->error);
}Using ORM (Eloquent for Laravel):
$user = User::find($userId);
// ORM handles query construction and validationParameterized queries prevent many types of errors and are more secure.
Error 1065 is a protocol-level error that occurs before the MySQL parser runs. Unlike syntax errors (which indicate a problem with SQL grammar), this error means the server never even attempts to parse the query.
In interactive MySQL clients (mysql command-line), pressing Enter with no text also triggers Error 1065, which is why it's commonly seen in script automation and batch operations.
Some database drivers (like the PHP mysqli extension) may wrap this error differently. Check your language's MySQL driver documentation to understand how empty queries are handled in your specific context.
For Node.js mysql library versions, ensure queries are passed correctly. The mysql2 package handles some edge cases better than the original mysql package.
EE_WRITE (3): Error writing file
How to fix "EE_WRITE (3): Error writing file" in MySQL
CR_PARAMS_NOT_BOUND (2031): No data supplied for parameters
How to fix "CR_PARAMS_NOT_BOUND (2031): No data supplied for parameters" in MySQL
CR_DNS_SRV_LOOKUP_FAILED (2070): DNS SRV lookup failed
How to fix "CR_DNS_SRV_LOOKUP_FAILED (2070): DNS SRV lookup failed" in MySQL
ERROR 1146: Table 'database.table' doesn't exist
How to fix "ERROR 1146: Table doesn't exist" in MySQL
ERROR 1040: Too many connections
How to fix "ERROR 1040: Too many connections" in MySQL