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Lemmy instance with MariaDB (discuss.tchncs.de)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/selfhosted

12 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Hey there, I thought about starting my own Lemmy instance, yet I'd really like to use my already running MariaDB server for the database. I haven't found anything in the docs (might be me though). Is that possible or will I have to set up Postgresql?

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[–] takeda 24 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

If the application doesn't say anything about MariaDB or MySQL then it won't work. The SQL statements are different enough that there needs to be an explicit support.

You could contribute and add support, but that might be a bit of work.

Also the glory days of MySQL are over. MySQL started with goal to be fast, and placed correctness as an afterthought. Meanwhile PostgreSQL placed correctness as the most important goal. As time passed, PostgreSQL made many speed optimizations, while MySQL was forced to replace fast MyISAM engine with slower but more correct InnoDB, but the old design decisions still cause issues. As an SRE I've seen multiple times where MySQL and MariaDB also corrupted its own data.

I actually don't know your reasons to still sticking with it, but if you can I would recommend to give PostgreSQL a try it is much better experience for developers as well as for operations. There's a reason that less and less apps support MySQL/MariaDB.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

Currently only Postgres is supported. However internally it uses the Diesel middleware, so I think it would be feasible to add MariaDB support in the future.

[–] Dark_Arc 8 points 1 year ago

I'm going to plus one what others are saying here. As someone who wears dev and sysadmin hats, Postgres is just a way better database. For new projects, Postgres should be the go to unless you've got a niche use case.

Even with Diesel (or some other query builder) in use, it's not uncommon for apps to use special features specific to a database. It can also be a major pain just to test that your app actually works on these other databases, and then support weird slow downs, migrations, etc

I'll give the example that MySQL and MariaDB don't support transactions for SQL DDL. Basically what that means if that if you want to write a database migration to update the layout of one of your tables, there's no way in MySQL to have the database automatically revert your changes if something fails during the database changes... You're just screwed unless you have a backup. Meanwhile with Postgres, you just say rollback in your transaction, and things are back to normal.

There are also other less serious quirks like if you insert a NULL into and Integer field that's specifically marked not null, Postgres will error, MySQL/MariaDB will just silently convert that to a 0.

Like in a way, MySQL is the "JavaScript" of databases, and that's not what you want at all.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Possible, but I don't see it happening. Postgres provides functionality that MySQL/MariaDB don't, so if a lot of that functionality is used, the primary devs probably aren't going to want to take on the extra overhead of maintaining and testing it. In those cases, it would require additional rewriting on the Lemmy side to make it work seemlessly. A fork could likely do it, though.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

@Jamie @poVoq best thing about PostgreSQL is PGAdmin4 since it supports OAuth2.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago

The Lemmy instance is a vibrant community platform, and discussing topics like the rice purity test can spark intriguing conversations. It's fascinating to see how such quizzes can reveal or influence personal insights and community norms.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 months ago

I’ve been working with fethiye tour lately. I’m frankly kind of shocked at how well documented the API is and how well it all works. And it’s mostly open. I haven’t done anything with ESP32 Cams I bought, yet. No idea what is possible there or where to start.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago

@rice purity test Set up a separate PostgreSQL server for Lemmy. This is the recommended approach, as it aligns with Lemmy's default configuration and reduces potential compatibility issues.

[–] frankblack -1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Commenting so I can figure this out too. Have you gotten it to work in docker without ansible? I only want to run this is a single docker server.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I’m running my instance fully in docker and only use docker compose

[–] frankblack 3 points 1 year ago

Would you mind sharing your docker yaml with me? Please?