Error: Connection Lost in Node.js with MySQL

When working with Node.js and MySQL, encountering the “Error: Connection lost The server closed the connection” message is not uncommon. This error usually indicates a problem with the MySQL server or a timeout issue. In this article, we’ll explore common causes for this error and how to handle it in your Node.js application.

Understanding the Error

The “Error: Connection lost” error often occurs when there’s a long period of inactivity between the Node.js application and the MySQL server. MySQL connections have a timeout, and if a connection is idle for too long, the server may close it.

Handling the Error in Node.js

To handle this error, you can implement a connection pool and utilize the reconnect option provided by the mysql package. This ensures that if a connection is lost, the pool will attempt to reconnect automatically.

Let’s create a simple Node.js script to demonstrate handling this error:

// Install the mysql package using: npm install mysql
const mysql = require('mysql');

// Create a connection pool
const pool = mysql.createPool({
  connectionLimit: 10,
  host: 'localhost',
  user: 'your_username',
  password: 'your_password',
  database: 'your_database',
  reconnect: true, // Enable automatic reconnection
});

// Function to perform a sample query
function querySample() {
  pool.getConnection((err, connection) => {
    if (err) throw err;

    // Perform a sample query
    connection.query('SELECT 1 + 1 AS solution', (error, results, fields) => {
      connection.release(); // Release the connection to the pool

      if (error) throw error;

      console.log('The solution is: ', results[0].solution);
    });
  });
}

// Execute the sample query every 10 seconds
setInterval(querySample, 10000);

In this example:

• We create a connection pool using mysql.createPool.
• The reconnect option is set to true to enable automatic reconnection.
• We define a function querySample that performs a sample query and releases the connection back to the pool.
• The setInterval function is used to execute the querySample function every 10 seconds.

This script continuously performs a sample query, and if the connection is lost, the pool will attempt to reconnect automatically.

Handling the “Error: Connection lost” in Node.js with MySQL involves setting up a connection pool and enabling the reconnect option. This ensures that your application can gracefully handle lost connections and reconnect when necessary.

Note: Remember to replace the placeholder values in the connection configuration with your actual MySQL server details.