MariaDB started as a community-driven fork of MySQL with a focus on open development and long-term compatibility for Linux operators. Created by the original developers of MySQL after concerns about Oracle’s acquisition in 2010, it has evolved significantly over the years.
- Founded by Michael Widenius (Monty), original MySQL creator
- Initial release focused on maintaining MySQL compatibility
- Emphasis on open-source governance and community involvement
- MariaDB Foundation established to ensure independence
- Introduction of new storage engines (Aria, Spider)
- Performance improvements and new features added
- Long-term support (LTS) releases introduced
- Enhanced security features
- Growing adoption in enterprise environments
- MariaDB 10.5 (2020): Significant performance improvements
- MariaDB 10.6 (2021): LTS release, maintained until July 2026
- MariaDB 10.11 (2022): Previous LTS series, maintained until February 2028
- MariaDB 11.4 (2024-2026): Current LTS series, maintained until May 2029
- Enhanced security by default (SSL enabled automatically)
- Major optimizer improvements
- Online schema changes with concurrent DML support
MariaDB continues to expand with performance and clustering options while keeping familiar SQL workflows and operational patterns. The project emphasizes:
- Open-source governance and community involvement
- Enhanced security features (SSL by default in 11.4+)
- Performance improvements and new optimizer features
- Long-term support releases with extended maintenance windows
Today MariaDB remains widely used for web and transactional services, especially where teams prefer open-source governance and distro integration.
- MariaDB 11.4.x: Current LTS series (maintained until May 2029)
- MariaDB 10.11.x: Previous LTS series (maintained until February 2028)
- MariaDB 10.6.x: Legacy LTS series (maintained until July 2026)