mariadb-core-architecture

name	mariadb-core-architecture
description	Use when explaining MariaDB process model, threading, the query execution pipeline, plug-in architecture, in-memory caches, or when reasoning about why a query behaves as it does at the engine layer. Prevents the mistake of treating MariaDB as a black box ; surfaces the buffer-pool, log-buffer, thread-pool, and storage-engine boundaries that drive performance. Covers mysqld process model, connection threads vs thread-pool plug-in, parser-optimizer-executor stages, storage-engine plug-in API, buffer pool, redo log, undo log, binlog, query cache history, MariaDB vs MySQL optimizer divergence. Keywords: mariadb architecture, mysqld process, thread pool, buffer pool, query execution pipeline, storage engine plug-in, why is my query slow, what does mariadb do internally, how does mariadb work, redo log, undo log, binlog, mariadb internals, mariadb architecture diagram, innodb buffer pool, optimizer switch, handler interface, connection lifecycle
license	MIT
compatibility	Designed for Claude Code. Requires MariaDB 10.6-LTS, 10.11-LTS, 11.x, 12.x.
metadata	{"author":"OpenAEC-Foundation","version":"1.0"}

MariaDB Core Architecture

How mysqld accepts a connection, parses a query, picks a plan, and reads pages from disk. Read this skill before tuning, before diagnosing slow queries, and before assuming MySQL behavior applies to MariaDB.