Frequently Asked Questions

VillageSQL is the innovation platform for MySQL and a new path for MySQL in the agentic AI era. VillageSQL's mission is to empower the MySQL community by enabling permissionless innovation.

VillageSQL Server for MySQL is an open-source, drop-in replacement, and extensible tracking fork of MySQL. It introduces a robust extension framework that includes custom data types, custom indexes, and custom functions. We believe this extension framework will accelerate innovation in MySQL and allow developers building AI, agentic, and enterprise applications to choose MySQL without waiting for a central entity to build and release new features and functionality or pay for premium service tiers.

VillageSQL is a drop-in replacement for MySQL and adds a powerful extension framework (similar to PostgreSQL but idiomatic to MySQL). You can install extensions to add AI capabilities, custom data types, advanced cryptographic functions, and more - all without modifying the core database. It's MySQL + extensions for the agentic AI era.

Yes, VillageSQL is completely free and open source. It's released under the GPL v2 license, the same license as MySQL. You can use it for any purpose, including commercial applications, without any licensing fees.

Yes! VillageSQL is a drop-in replacement for MySQL, so you can migrate existing MySQL databases without changing your application code. Simply dump your MySQL data and import it into VillageSQL. All standard MySQL features, queries, and tools work as expected.

VillageSQL is a tracking fork of MySQL 8.4 which gives you access to all the latest MySQL features. VillageSQL has a deep commitment to maintaining parity with current and future versions of MySQL.

In this initial alpha release, VillageSQL Server supports custom types and custom functions. We are publishing 5 extensions - complex, uuid, crypto, network addresses, and ai. This release is intended to give developers code to start experimenting with and giving feedback on. This release is not meant for production. We'll follow this quickly with a beta release that will support custom indexes and vector support (storing vectors and searching vectors). At general availability later this year, the database will be production ready. We are also working on a managed cloud service, so stay tuned for more information on that.

VillageSQL is currently in Alpha and requires building from source. Download the source code from our GitHub releases page and follow the build instructions included in the repository.

Visit our installation documentation page for detailed step-by-step instructions.

Absolutely! VillageSQL is wire-compatible with MySQL, so all MySQL clients, drivers, and tools work seamlessly.

Extensions are packages that add new functionality to VillageSQL without modifying the core database. They can add custom data types, functions, operators, and more. Extensions are inspired by PostgreSQL's extension system but designed specifically for MySQL compatibility.

Installing extensions is simple. Download the extension package and use the INSTALL EXTENSION command:

INSTALL EXTENSION vsql_ai;

For detailed instructions, check the documentation for each specific extension.

We currently offer several extensions built and maintained by VillageSQL:

• AI Extension - Call AI models and generate embeddings directly from SQL
• UUID Extension - Custom UUID type and generation functions
• Network Address Extension - IPv6 and MAC address types
• Crypto Extension - Advanced cryptographic hashing functions
• Complex - Provides support for the Complex data type

More extensions are in development, and you can build your own!

Yes! VillageSQL provides a comprehensive SDK for building custom extensions. You can create extensions in C/C++ to add any functionality your application needs. Check out the extension development guide to get started.

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We offer several support channels:

• Documentation - Comprehensive guides and references
• Discord - Chat with the community and team
• GitHub Discussions - Ask questions and share ideas
• GitHub Issues - Report bugs

We welcome contributions! You can contribute by:

• Submitting bug reports and feature requests
• Contributing code through pull requests
• Building and sharing extensions
• Improving documentation
• Helping others in the community

Visit our GitHub repository to get started. Please see the CONTRIBUTING file in the Github repo. You will be required to sign a Contributor Licensing Agreement (CLA) but it only gives a license to your work for distribution. You get to keep your copyright.

If you discover a security vulnerability, please do not open a public issue. Instead, email us at security@villagesql.com with details. We take security seriously and will respond promptly to all reports.