MySQL Reference Manual :: 15.7.3 How an AUTO_INCREMENT Column Works in InnoDB

If you specify an AUTO_INCREMENT column for a table, the InnoDB table handle in the data dictionary contains a special counter called the auto-increment counter that is used in assigning new values for the column. The auto-increment counter is stored only in main memory, not on disk.

InnoDB uses the following algorithm to initialize the auto-increment counter for a table T that contains an AUTO_INCREMENT column named ai_col: After a server startup, when a user first does an insert to a table T, InnoDB executes the equivalent of this statement:

SELECT MAX(ai_col) FROM T FOR UPDATE;

The value retrieved by the statement is incremented by one and assigned to the column and the auto-increment counter of the table. If the table is empty, the value 1 is assigned. If the auto-increment counter is not initialized and the user invokes a SHOW TABLE STATUS statement that displays output for the table T, the counter is initialized (but not incremented) and stored for use by later inserts. Note that in this initialization we do a normal exclusive-locking read on the table and the lock lasts to the end of the transaction.

InnoDB follows the same procedure for initializing the auto-increment counter for a freshly created table.

Note that if the user specifies NULL or 0 for the AUTO_INCREMENT column in an INSERT, InnoDB treats the row as if the value had not been specified and generates a new value for it.

After the auto-increment counter has been initialized, if a user inserts a row that explicitly specifies the column value, and the value is bigger than the current counter value, the counter is set to the specified column value. If the user does not explicitly specify a value, InnoDB increments the counter by one and assigns the new value to the column.

When accessing the auto-increment counter, InnoDB uses a special table level AUTO-INC lock that it keeps to the end of the current SQL statement, not to the end of the transaction. The special lock release strategy was introduced to improve concurrency for inserts into a table containing an AUTO_INCREMENT column. Two transactions cannot have the AUTO-INC lock on the same table simultaneously.

Note that you may see gaps in the sequence of values assigned to the AUTO_INCREMENT column if you roll back transactions that have gotten numbers from the counter.

The behavior of the auto-increment mechanism is not defined if a user assigns a negative value to the column or if the value becomes bigger than the maximum integer that can be stored in the specified integer type.

Beginning with MySQL 5.0.3, InnoDB supports the AUTO_INCREMENT = n table option in CREATE TABLE and ALTER TABLE statements, to set the initial counter value or alter the current counter value. The effect of this option is canceled by a server restart, for reasons discussed earlier in this section.