You can set these variables in your my.cnf file (under [mysqld] ) or dynamically via SQL commands.
By default, the plugin starts logging immediately. However, you usually need to fine-tune what gets logged to avoid performance hits or massive log files. percona audit plugin
[mysqld] plugin-load = audit_log.so audit_log_format = JSON audit_log_policy = ALL audit_log_exclude_accounts = root@localhost audit_log_rotate_on_size = 1G audit_log_rotations = 5 You can set these variables in your my
| Strategy | Description | Impact | |----------|-------------|--------| | ASYNCHRONOUS | Default. Buffered + background thread | Minimal (2–5% overhead on write-heavy) | | PERFORMANCE | Aggregates many events, less granular | ~1% overhead | | SEMISYNCHRONOUS | Flush on each event | High (15–30%+) – not recommended | [mysqld] plugin-load = audit_log
MySQL Client Query ↓ Parser / Optimizer ↓ Audit Plugin Hook (internal) ↓ Ring Buffer (in memory) ↓ Background Flush Thread ↓ Audit Log File / Syslog