MariaDB System-Versioned Tables

Last updated: 2026-06-04

System-versioned tables automatically record the full history of every row change — no triggers, no application logic, no separate audit tables. MariaDB tracks what the data looked like at any point in the past, built directly into the storage engine.

This feature is unique to MariaDB among MySQL-compatible databases. MySQL has no equivalent.

Available since: MariaDB 10.3. Transaction-precise history (InnoDB only): 10.3. Auto-partition creation: 10.9. --dump-history for backups: 10.11. Implicit-to-explicit row_start/row_end conversion: 11.7. Extended TIMESTAMP range (to 2106-02-07 UTC) for ROW_END: 11.5 on 64-bit platforms.

Default context: Assume MariaDB 11.8 LTS (GA May 2025) unless the user states another version. Version notes in this skill are minimum releases for each capability.

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