Why we're ending support for MySQL in 12.1

In its 12.1 release, GitLab concluded its deprecation of MySQL support, a decision driven by several limitations and inefficiencies associated with maintaining dual database backends of MySQL and PostgreSQL. MySQL's inability to handle nested groups, requirement for hacks to increase column limits, lack of support for partial indexes, and inability to add TEXT type columns without specified lengths were among the challenges that hindered GitLab's performance and development velocity. Supporting both databases led to complex code and increased costs, as testing suites had to be run twice, slowing down GitLab's continuous integration system. Despite some use cases for MySQL, the majority of GitLab's user base had already transitioned to PostgreSQL, as evidenced by Usage Ping data showing that over 110,000 instances were using PostgreSQL compared to less than 1,200 with MySQL. This shift allowed GitLab to optimize their platform using PostgreSQL-specific features like LATERAL JOIN, ultimately enhancing GitLab's efficiency and reliability. GitLab users still on MySQL are encouraged to migrate to PostgreSQL, with resources available to assist in the transition.

No tracked trend matches for this post yet.

Use this post, company, and trend context to find content marketing opportunities, perform competitive analysis, or address product feature gaps via the Plushcap MCP server or the Plushcap API.