How to Migrate from MySQL to MariaDB

Are They Compatible?

MariaDB is a fork of MySQL and maintains high compatibility. Most MySQL applications work with MariaDB without changes. However, some advanced features differ.

Why Migrate?

• MariaDB is truly open-source (GPL)
• Better performance for many workloads
• Additional storage engines (Aria, ColumnStore)
• More active community development
• Thread pool included in community edition

Migration Steps

1. Backup Everything

mysqldump -u root -p --all-databases --routines --triggers --events > full_backup.sql

2. Remove MySQL

sudo systemctl stop mysql
sudo apt remove --purge mysql-server mysql-client mysql-common
sudo apt autoremove

3. Install MariaDB

sudo apt install -y mariadb-server mariadb-client

4. Restore Data

mysql -u root < full_backup.sql
sudo mysql_upgrade

5. Verify

mysql -u root -p -e "SELECT VERSION();"
# Should show MariaDB version

Compatibility Notes

Application Changes

For most applications, no code changes are needed. The MariaDB client libraries are compatible with MySQL client libraries. Update your connection string if it specifies mysql:// (usually works as-is with MariaDB).