MySQL / MariaDB

MySQL is the world's most popular open-source relational database, powering applications from small web apps to large-scale internet services. This skill covers MySQL 8.0+ (and MariaDB where noted).

Quick Reference

Connection Patterns

# Python (PyMySQL) -- always parameterized, always utf8mb4
import pymysql

conn = pymysql.connect(
    host="localhost",
    user="app_user",
    password="secret",
    database="mydb",
    charset="utf8mb4",
    cursorclass=pymysql.cursors.DictCursor,
)

with conn:
    with conn.cursor() as cursor:
        cursor.execute("SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = %s", (42,))
        user = cursor.fetchone()
    conn.commit()

Key SQL Patterns

-- CTE (8.0+)
WITH active_users AS (
    SELECT id, name FROM users WHERE status = 'active'
)
SELECT au.name, COUNT(o.id) AS order_count
  FROM active_users au
  JOIN orders o ON o.user_id = au.id
 GROUP BY au.name;

-- Window function
SELECT customer_id, order_date, total,
       ROW_NUMBER() OVER (PARTITION BY customer_id ORDER BY order_date DESC) AS rn
  FROM orders;

-- Upsert
INSERT INTO counters (key_name, value)
VALUES ('page_views', 1)
ON DUPLICATE KEY UPDATE value = value + VALUES(value);

InnoDB Essentials

• Clustered index -- the primary key IS the table; rows stored in PK order.
• Secondary index lookup -- two B+tree traversals (secondary -> PK -> row).
• Sequential PKs (AUTO_INCREMENT) are fast; random PKs (UUIDs) cause page splits.
• UUID workaround -- use UUID_TO_BIN(UUID(), 1) for ordered UUIDs in MySQL 8.0+.
• Row format -- DYNAMIC (default in 8.0+) is the best general-purpose choice.
• Buffer pool -- size to ~70-80% of available RAM on dedicated servers.

<workflow>

Workflow

Step 1: Schema Design

Choose InnoDB (always). Use AUTO_INCREMENT integer PKs unless UUIDs are required (then use ordered UUID v7). Set CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci at the database and table level.

Step 2: Write Queries

Use parameterized queries in application code -- never string interpolation. Use CTEs for readability. Use window functions instead of self-joins for ranking/running totals.

Step 3: Index Strategy

Create indexes to support WHERE, JOIN, and ORDER BY clauses. Use composite indexes following the leftmost-prefix rule. Check coverage with EXPLAIN.

Step 4: Performance Tuning

Run EXPLAIN ANALYZE on slow queries. Check the slow query log (long_query_time = 1). Tune buffer pool size, redo log size, and innodb_flush_log_at_trx_commit for the workload.

Step 5: Validate

Confirm query plans use indexes (no unexpected full table scans). Verify utf8mb4 encoding. Test with realistic data volumes.

</workflow> <guardrails>

Guardrails

• Always use parameterized queries -- never concatenate user input into SQL strings. Use %s placeholders (Python) or ? (Node/Java).
• InnoDB by default -- never use MyISAM for new tables. InnoDB provides transactions, row-level locking, and crash recovery.
• utf8mb4 encoding -- always specify charset=utf8mb4 in connections and CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 in DDL. Plain utf8 is a 3-byte subset that cannot store emoji or some CJK characters.
• Avoid SELECT * -- name columns explicitly to prevent breakage when schema changes and to enable covering indexes.
• AUTO_INCREMENT for PKs -- avoids clustered index fragmentation. If UUIDs are required, use UUID_TO_BIN(UUID(), 1) for ordered storage.
• Test with EXPLAIN before deploying -- verify index usage and join strategies on production-like data.

</guardrails> <validation>

Validation Checkpoint

Before delivering MySQL code, verify:

• All queries use parameterized placeholders (no string interpolation)
• Tables use InnoDB engine
• Character set is utf8mb4 (not utf8 or latin1)
• Primary keys are defined (AUTO_INCREMENT or ordered UUID)
• Indexes exist for WHERE/JOIN/ORDER BY columns
• EXPLAIN output shows index usage for critical queries

</validation> <example>

Example

Task: Parameterized query with index creation for an orders lookup.

-- Create table with proper encoding and engine
CREATE TABLE orders (
    id BIGINT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
    user_id BIGINT NOT NULL,
    status ENUM('pending', 'shipped', 'delivered', 'cancelled') NOT NULL DEFAULT 'pending',
    total DECIMAL(10, 2) NOT NULL,
    created_at TIMESTAMP NOT NULL DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
    INDEX idx_orders_user_status (user_id, status),
    INDEX idx_orders_created (created_at)
) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4 COLLATE=utf8mb4_unicode_ci;

-- Verify index usage
EXPLAIN SELECT id, total, created_at
  FROM orders
 WHERE user_id = 42
   AND status = 'shipped'
 ORDER BY created_at DESC
 LIMIT 20;

# Application code -- parameterized query
async def get_user_orders(conn, user_id: int, status: str) -> list[dict]:
    async with conn.cursor() as cursor:
        await cursor.execute(
            "SELECT id, total, created_at FROM orders "
            "WHERE user_id = %s AND status = %s "
            "ORDER BY created_at DESC LIMIT 20",
            (user_id, status),
        )
        return await cursor.fetchall()

</example>

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References Index

For detailed guides and code examples, refer to the following documents in references/:

• SQL Patterns -- Window functions, CTEs, recursive queries, JSON_TABLE, upserts, generated columns.
• Stored Procedures & Functions -- CREATE PROCEDURE/FUNCTION, control flow, cursors, error handling, triggers.
• Performance Tuning -- EXPLAIN/EXPLAIN ANALYZE, index strategies, slow query log, buffer pool tuning.
• Connection Patterns -- Python, Node.js, Java, Go connectors; connection pooling; SSL/TLS.
• JSON in MySQL -- JSON data type, extraction operators, JSON_TABLE, multi-valued indexes.
• InnoDB Internals -- Clustered index, row formats, buffer pool, redo log, MVCC, deadlock detection.
• Security -- User/role management, authentication plugins, SSL/TLS, encryption at rest.
• Administration -- Backups (mysqldump, XtraBackup), binary logs, PITR, table maintenance, upgrades.
• Replication & HA -- Binary log replication, GTID, Group Replication, InnoDB Cluster.
• MySQL CLI & Tools -- mysql client, mycli, MySQL Shell, Percona Toolkit, gh-ost.

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Official References

• MySQL 8.0 Reference Manual: https://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/8.0/en/
• MySQL 8.4 Reference Manual: https://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/8.4/en/
• MariaDB Knowledge Base: https://mariadb.com/kb/en/
• MySQL Shell User Guide: https://dev.mysql.com/doc/mysql-shell/8.0/en/
• Percona Toolkit: https://docs.percona.com/percona-toolkit/

Shared Styleguide Baseline

• Use shared styleguides for generic language/framework rules to reduce duplication in this skill.
• General Principles
• MySQL/MariaDB
• Keep this skill focused on tool-specific workflows, edge cases, and integration details.