Unable to restore database: Row size too large

Symptoms

When importing a database using the command line or phpMyAdmin, you receive an error similar to the following.

ERROR 1118 (42000) at line 25: Row size too large (> 8126). Changing some columns to TEXT or BLOB may help. In current row format, BLOB prefix of 0 bytes is stored inline.

Description

This import error occurs when the database has a large row and Innodb strict mode enabled, or a table has over 600 fields.

Workaround

1. Access the server's command line as the 'root' user via SSH or "Terminal" in WHM.
2. Open /etc/my.cnf in your preferred text editor.
3. Check the [MariaDB]/[mysqld] section for the innodb_strict_mode entry.
4. Disable strict mode.
   • If the innodb_strict_mode entry is present, set the value to OFF.
   • If the innodb_strict_mode entry is not present, add the following line to the [MariaDB]/[mysqld] section.

     innodb_strict_mode=OFF

5. Save the changes and exit the text editor.
6. Restart the mysqld service.

   /usr/local/cpanel/scripts/restartsrv_mysql

Additional resources

InnoDB Strict Mode: Row Size Too Larg