Can MySQL still be saved? Open letter to Oracle

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Nearly 200 developers, users, and companies from the MySQL ecosystem have urged Oracle in an open letter to reconsider the future governance of the open-source database. The letter was published after two MySQL Community Summits in San Francisco and Brussels in January and February 2026. The initiative is led by Percona, a company specializing in MySQL services, whose co-founder Vadim Tkachenko speaks for the initiators.

At its core, the community criticizes a lack of transparency, resource issues, and insufficient input in the further development of MySQL. "Development is happening behind closed doors," states a accompanying blog post from Percona. Private code drops without public discussion, opaque handling of security vulnerabilities, and a roughly 50 percent staff reduction in autumn 2025 have shaken trust. For months, there have been hardly any commits in the public mysql/mysql-server repository on GitHub.

The lack of transparency in security bug fixes is particularly problematic. Users cannot verify whether known vulnerabilities affect their installations. Furthermore, it is unclear how Oracle intends to allocate resources for MySQL in the future, especially after key developers have left the company. Oracle had increasingly shifted development resources to its proprietary cloud database, HeatWave. Frederic Descamps, long-time MySQL Community Manager at Oracle, also announced his move to the MariaDB Foundation.

Three governance models to choose from

The signatories propose three different governance models to Oracle. In the first, centralized model, Oracle would lead a foundation, similar to the OpenELA initiative, but distribute the operational burden to partners. In the second model, Oracle would join an industry-led consortium as a strategic partner. The third, fully autonomous model would involve an independent organization responsible for MySQL advocacy and verifying Oracle's adherence to its promises.

A decision on the governance model is expected by the end of March 2026, with the legal structure to be established in the second quarter and a foundation launched in the third quarter. Peter Zaitsev, co-founder of Percona, emphasizes the need for independent oversight: "We need someone who can speak with one voice and say: Oracle, you haven't delivered this, and that's not okay."

Oracle announces new era

Oracle already responded to the escalating criticism from the MySQL community on February 11, 2026, with a blog post titled "A New Era of Community Engagement for MySQL." Under the leadership of SVP Jason Wilcox, the company announced a three-pillar strategy: innovation in the Community Edition, expansion of the developer community, and increased transparency.

Specifically, Oracle promises vector functions for AI workloads for MySQL 9.7 LTS (expected in April 2026), a default-enabled Hypergraph Optimizer, full JSON Duality support with DML, and modernized foreign key constraints. For transparency, public discussions of proposals, better feedback on rejected patches, and the publication of security bugs after fixes are planned. Oracle also intends to publish a roadmap for the database's future development. The announcements thus address key points of criticism from the open letter.

Skepticism remains

Despite Oracle's announcements, the community remains skeptical. "We need verification by actions, not words," states the Percona blog post. Vadim Tkachenko criticizes: "The Oracle MySQL team is currently in chaos." Key questions about the necessary resources remain unanswered, and the appointment of a Vice President for MySQL development is still pending.

The open letter also reflects a larger problem: MySQL has been losing popularity for years to PostgreSQL, which has become the default choice for new projects. PostgreSQL has independent, decentralized governance through the PostgreSQL Global Development Group – precisely what the MySQL community hopes for from Oracle. The signatories argue that an independent foundation with transparent decision-making processes could make MySQL competitive again and improve its further development.

The historical development of MySQL, from its founding by Michael Widenius and David Axmark in 1995, through its acquisition by Sun Microsystems in 2008, to the Oracle takeover in 2009, shows that governance issues have always accompanied the database. A fork, MariaDB, was created under the leadership of MySQL founder Widenius shortly after the Oracle acquisition. Whether Oracle is prepared for substantial concessions this time, or whether a new fragmentation of the MySQL ecosystem looms, will become clear in the coming weeks.

(fo)