Last checked and updated on 05 Jun 2026
What Is New in MariaDB 11.8
MariaDB 11.8 is a long-term support (LTS) release of MariaDB Community Server. It will be maintained until June 2028 and is ideal for production environments that need stability along with modern features.
The standout addition in this release is native vector support, which enables efficient similarity search and AI-powered applications directly inside the database. Other major improvements include faster data loading and restore operations, better query optimization, an extended TIMESTAMP range, and enhanced observability.
Vector Search Capabilities
MariaDB 11.8 introduces full native vector data type and indexing, making it much easier to build semantic search, recommendation engines, and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) systems.
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
VECTOR Data Type |
Native storage for vector embeddings used in AI and machine learning workloads. |
| Vector Indexing | Specialized indexes optimized for fast nearest-neighbor similarity searches. |
VEC_DISTANCE |
Automatically chooses Euclidean or Cosine distance based on the index type. |
VEC_DISTANCE_COSINE |
Calculates cosine distance between two vectors. |
VEC_DISTANCE_EUCLIDEAN |
Calculates Euclidean distance between two vectors. |
VEC_FromText / VEC_ToText |
Converts vectors between human-readable text format and binary storage. |
Vector indexes take advantage of SIMD instructions on x86_64 (AVX2, AVX512), aarch64 (NEON), and PowerPC64 (AltiVec) for significantly faster performance on supported hardware.
Performance and Data Loading Improvements
Several changes make importing and exporting large amounts of data noticeably faster.
mariadb-dumpnow uses--no-autocommitby default, which allows InnoDB to use a single undo log and dramatically speeds up restores.mariadb-importadds a new--innodb-optimize-keysoption (enabled by default) that delays creation of secondary indexes until after all data is loaded.- Both tools now support parallel operations using the
--diroption for multiple databases or tables. - New filtering options in
mariadb-importsuch as--database,--ignore-database,--table, and--ignore-table.
Optimizer improvements include better subquery strategy selection, charset narrowing (now default), support for SUBSTR(col, 1, n) = const_str, basic virtual column support, and index condition pushdown for partitioned tables.
New Functions and Data Type Changes
MariaDB 11.8 adds several useful functions and important data type updates.
| Area | Feature | Benefit |
|---|---|---|
| UUID | UUID_v4() and UUID_v7() |
Generate version 4 (random) and version 7 (timestamp-based) UUIDs. |
| Utility | FORMAT_BYTES() |
Converts a byte value into a human-readable string with units (e.g., 1.5 GiB). |
| Character Set | Default changed to utf8mb4 with collation uca1400_ai_ci |
Better support for emojis and modern Unicode characters. |
| TIMESTAMP | Extended range up to year 2106 | Supported on 64-bit platforms (note: may require time to update system-versioned tables). |
Observability and Security Enhancements
Improved visibility into database activity and user management.
- New
INFORMATION_SCHEMA.USERStable showing user details, password expiry, and failed login limits. - Additional statistics columns in
TABLE_STATISTICS,USER_STATISTICS,CLIENT_STATISTICS, andINDEX_STATISTICS. - New
INFORMATION_SCHEMA.SEQUENCEStable with expanded sequence options. - New
log_slow_always_query_timevariable to log queries above a threshold regardless of other settings. - Stored functions sharing names with built-in functions no longer produce unwanted warnings.
Other Notable Changes
Additional improvements include better replication behavior for large transactions, automatic SST user management in Galera Cluster, support for ROW return types in stored functions, column-specific update triggers, and various internal scalability fixes (such as the InnoDB adaptive hash index under high concurrency).
FAQ
What is the main new feature in MariaDB 11.8?
The biggest addition is native VECTOR data type and vector indexing with distance functions, enabling efficient AI and similarity search workloads.
Is MariaDB 11.8 a long-term support release?
Yes. It is an LTS version supported until June 2028, making it suitable for long-running production systems.
Does MariaDB 11.8 support vector search?
Yes. It provides the VECTOR type, vector indexes, and functions including VEC_DISTANCE, VEC_DISTANCE_COSINE, and VEC_DISTANCE_EUCLIDEAN.
Will my existing applications work after upgrading to MariaDB 11.8?
Most applications will continue to work with minimal changes. The default character set is now utf8mb4, and the TIMESTAMP range has been extended.
Are there any important considerations when upgrading system-versioned tables?
Yes. The extended TIMESTAMP range requires updating all rows in system-versioned tables, which can take significant time on large tables.