Fixing Stuck Check-Ins in Koha

Koha Check-In Not Working? Here’s a Quick Database Fix

If your Koha library management system is showing issues during book check-ins—such as transactions getting stuck or error messages appearing—you might be dealing with a database auto increment problem. This is a known issue, especially on systems running MySQL or MariaDB, where Koha fails to assign new IDs properly due to duplicated or undeleted entries.

Until a permanent fix is available, follow this step-by-step guide to clean your database and resolve check-in failures.

Common Symptoms of Auto Increment Errors in Koha

• Book check-in fails or hangs.
• Repeated error messages on circulation screens.
• Duplicate entries in deletedbiblio, deleteditems, or old_issues.
• Incorrect sequence values in MySQL tables.

Step 1: Access the Database

Use a terminal to log into your Koha database:

sudo mysql -uroot -p

Then, select your Koha database:

USE koha_library;


(Replace koha_library with your actual Koha DB name.)

Step 2: Clean Faulty Entries

Delete specific problematic entries using SQL commands. Here’s how:

DELETE FROM old_issues WHERE issue_id IN (900,901,902);
DELETE FROM deletedbiblio WHERE biblionumber IN (1001,1002);
DELETE FROM deleteditems WHERE biblionumber IN (2001,2002);
DELETE FROM deletedborrowers WHERE borrowernumber IN (3001,3002);


Exit the session after cleanup:

exit;

Step 3: Configure the Init Script

Depending on your Linux distribution, open the relevant MySQL or MariaDB config file:

• Ubuntu 16.04: /etc/mysql/my.cnf
• Ubuntu 18.04+: /etc/mysql/mysql.conf.d/mysqld.cnf
• Debian 9/MariaDB: /etc/mysql/mariadb.conf.d/50-server.cnf

Under [mysqld], add:

init-file=/var/lib/mysql/init-file_koha_library.sql

Step 4: Create Auto Increment Reset Script

Create the file:

sudo leafpad /var/lib/mysql/init-file_koha_library.sql

Paste the following (change database name if needed):

USE koha_library;
SET @borrower = (SELECT GREATEST(IFNULL(MAX(borrowernumber),0), IFNULL((SELECT MAX(borrowernumber) FROM deletedborrowers),0)) + 1);
SET @sql = CONCAT('ALTER TABLE borrowers AUTO_INCREMENT=', @borrower);
PREPARE stmt FROM @sql; EXECUTE stmt;

-- Add similar blocks for biblio, items, issues, and reserves


Save and exit.

Step 5: Restart MySQL/MariaDB

To apply the changes:

sudo service mysql restart

Final Thoughts

This fix can resolve check-in failures caused by incorrect auto increment values in Koha’s backend. Always back up your database before executing deletion queries or modifying configurations. While temporary, this solution keeps your Koha system functional until a software update provides a permanent resolution.