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MariaDB

MariaDB is a free and open-source management system (RDBMS) forked from , designed as an enhanced that maintains full binary compatibility with MySQL while introducing additional features for improved performance, scalability, and reliability. Developed under the GNU General Public License version 2 (GPLv2), it supports standard SQL queries, transactions, and a pluggable for storage engines, making it suitable for a wide range of applications from web services to enterprise data management. The project originated in 2009 when Michael "Monty" Widenius, a co-founder of and one of MySQL's original developers, initiated the following the 2009 announcement of Oracle Corporation's acquisition of (which had acquired in 2008), amid concerns over the future openness of MySQL under Oracle's proprietary control. This move ensured the codebase remained fully open-source and community-driven, diverging from Oracle's MySQL while preserving core functionalities. MariaDB has since evolved independently, with regular releases incorporating innovations like advanced optimizer improvements and support for modern data types. Governed by the non-profit MariaDB Foundation established in 2012, development is collaborative, involving contributions from a global community of developers, companies, and users, with multiple stable branches maintained for long-term support (typically 3 years of active maintenance plus 2 years of security fixes). Key features include a rich ecosystem of storage engines—such as the default for transactional workloads, for crash-safe read-heavy operations, for non-transactional speed, and for temporary in-memory tables—along with built-in support for documents, full-text search, geospatial indexing (GIS), and temporal tables. These capabilities enable optimization for diverse workloads, from high-concurrency applications to and embedded systems. As of November 2025, MariaDB ranks 9th in popularity among relational DBMS according to the , with a score of 87.36 based on metrics like mentions, technical discussions, and job postings, placing it behind leaders like , , and but ahead of many other open-source alternatives. Widely adopted in production environments, it powers applications at organizations ranging from startups to companies, benefiting from its robustness and ongoing enhancements in areas like security and integration.

MariaDB Server

Licensing

MariaDB Server is released under the GNU General Public License version 2 (GPLv2), a that grants users the freedoms to run, study, share, and modify the software while requiring that any distributed derivatives remain under the same terms. This model ensures that contributions and modifications to the server are shared back with the community, promoting collaborative development and preventing the enclosure of the codebase in proprietary products. The adoption of GPLv2 traces back to MariaDB's origins in 2009 as a community-driven of , initiated by its original developers to preserve a fully open-source alternative amid concerns over MySQL's dual-licensing approach following Oracle's acquisition. By committing exclusively to GPLv2, MariaDB avoided the commercial licensing dependencies that characterized MySQL, reinforcing its dedication to principles from the outset. Under GPLv2's requirements, if users modify MariaDB Server and distribute the resulting binaries—such as in embedded applications or customized deployments—they must also provide the corresponding under GPLv2, ensuring ongoing openness and accessibility for all users. This mechanism protects the ecosystem by mandating reciprocity in modifications, though internal use or non-distributed changes within an organization face no such obligations. For enterprise scenarios, MariaDB offers dual-licensing options through the MariaDB Corporation, where commercial licenses permit proprietary extensions and integrations without invoking full restrictions, allowing businesses to combine the with closed-source components while complying with legal needs. These commercial licenses include clauses that explicitly authorize such extensions, provided the core remains GPLv2-compliant, balancing open-source ethos with enterprise flexibility.

Version History

MariaDB was initially released as version 5.1 on , 2009, serving as a community-developed of 5.1 to ensure continuity in open-source development following concerns over Oracle's acquisition of . The project quickly progressed through early versions, including MariaDB 5.2 (December 2009) and 5.3 (May 2010), which introduced initial enhancements like the storage for crash-safe operations. MariaDB 5.5, released in December 2012, marked the first (LTS) branch, providing five years of maintenance until its end-of-life in February 2020. In 2014, MariaDB adopted a new versioning scheme with the 10.0 series (October 2014), emphasizing improved performance and new storage engines such as ColumnStore for analytical workloads. Subsequent innovation releases included MariaDB 10.1 (November 2015), which added GIS improvements; 10.2 (May 2016), introducing native JSON support and window functions; and 10.3 (November 2017), enhancing system-versioned tables for temporal data handling. The 10.4 series (June 2019) built on temporal capabilities with full support for system-versioned tables, while 10.5 (June 2020) focused on query optimization refinements; both were short-term releases ending support in June 2024 and June 2025, respectively. MariaDB 10.6, released in July 2021 as an LTS version, introduced CTEs (Common Table Expressions) and roles for access management, with support extending until July 2026. More recent LTS branches include MariaDB 10.11 (February 2023 initial stable), supported until February 2028, featuring aggregated innovations like improved parallelism from prior short-term releases (10.7–10.10). MariaDB 11.4, achieving stable release in May 2024, incorporated enhanced features like improved plugins and defaults, with until May 2029. Starting in 2025, MariaDB adopted a yearly LTS release model with 3 years of support. MariaDB 11.8, released in June 2025 as the first under this model, integrates vector search for -driven applications and is supported until June 2028. MariaDB 11.5 (August 2024) was a , no longer maintained as of November 2025. The rolling 12.0 series, previewed in March 2025 with GA in August 2025, previews advancements in integrations and columnar optimizations, with the first LTS in the 12.x line (12.3) anticipated in 2026. Older branches, such as 10.1 (end-of-life October 2020), have been deprecated to focus resources on maintained versions.
Major VersionInitial Stable ReleaseSupport EndKey Innovations
5.1October 2009February 2015Fork from 5.1; Aria engine introduction
5.5December 2012February 2020First LTS; performance partitioning
10.0October 2014March 2019New versioning; ColumnStore engine
10.2May 2016May 2021 support; window functions
10.4June 2019June 2024Temporal tables
10.6July 2021July 2026CTEs; roles (LTS)
10.11February 2023February 2028Improved parallelism (LTS)
11.4May 2024May 2029Enhanced security (LTS)
11.8June 2025June 2028Vector search for (LTS)
12.0August 2025 (GA)Ongoing (rolling) integrations; columnar

Core Features and Architecture

MariaDB Server employs a client- architecture, where clients connect to the server over a network using protocols such as TCP/IP or Unix sockets to execute SQL queries and manage . The system features a pluggable storage engine design, allowing multiple engines to handle and retrieval tailored to different workloads, while maintaining a unified SQL interface. It adheres to SQL standards, including support for extensions like spatial types for (GIS) operations, enabling functions such as point, line, and manipulations across compatible storage engines. Key to its flexibility are the supported storage engines. serves as the default engine, providing full ACID-compliant transactional support with features like row-level locking, constraints, and crash recovery through redo and undo logs. acts as a crash-safe alternative to the non-transactional engine, offering table-level locking and dynamic row formats while ensuring data integrity during unexpected shutdowns; it has been compiled in by default since MariaDB 5.1. For analytical workloads, ColumnStore provides columnar storage optimized for high-performance queries on large datasets, supporting distributed processing across clusters to handle aggregations and scans efficiently, including parallel query execution on partitioned tables since MariaDB 10.0. The query optimizer in MariaDB incorporates enhancements for better plan selection. Histogram-based statistics capture data distribution in columns, aiding the optimizer in estimating selectivity for range predicates and non-indexed conditions, which was notably advanced with histograms in version 10.7. Join order optimizations include improved algorithms for evaluating execution paths, such as better handling of ORDER BY clauses and index hints to force specific join sequences, reducing query execution time in complex multi-table scenarios. Security is bolstered by (RBAC), introduced in the 10.0 series, which allows administrators to define roles with bundled privileges and assign them to users for simplified permission management without granting individual grants repeatedly. is handled via pluggable plugins, supporting methods like native password verification, PAM integration for system-level auth, and external systems such as LDAP or , enabling flexible and secure user validation. Performance optimizations include multi-threaded replication, which applies log events in on replicas using logical clocks to preserve commit order, significantly reducing lag in high-throughput environments.

Compatibility with MySQL

MariaDB is designed as a for , offering compatibility with most applications developed for MySQL versions 5.7 and 8.0. The client protocol in MariaDB is fully compatible with MySQL's, ensuring that all client APIs, structures, ports, and sockets remain identical, which allows seamless integration without modifications to application code. Data files from equivalent MySQL versions are generally compatible with MariaDB, facilitating direct upgrades or swaps in production environments for standard workloads. While maintaining broad compatibility, MariaDB introduces divergences from MySQL, particularly by removing or replacing Oracle-proprietary features with open-source alternatives. For instance, MariaDB provides its own implementation of (TDE) for and storage engines, supporting data-at-rest encryption without reliance on Oracle's proprietary extensions, and includes options for external systems. Additionally, MariaDB enforces a stricter SQL mode by default, including STRICT_TRANS_TABLES and strict mode, which controls handling of invalid or missing values more rigorously than in earlier MySQL configurations, promoting but potentially requiring adjustments for legacy applications. Migration from to MariaDB is supported through tools equivalent to MySQL's utilities, such as mariadb-upgrade, which checks and updates tables to the current MariaDB version, similar to mysql_upgrade. In MariaDB 10.x and later, deprecated MySQL syntax—such as certain ALTER TABLE options or packed support from MySQL 5.7—is handled with warnings or emulation modes to minimize disruptions, allowing gradual adaptation while preserving core functionality. Community testing and benchmarks as of 2025 demonstrate over 99% compatibility for standard workloads, with monthly code merges from ensuring ongoing alignment and minimal breakage for typical use cases like web applications and OLTP systems. These evaluations, conducted by the MariaDB Foundation and contributors, confirm that the vast majority of MySQL 5.7/8.0 queries and operations execute identically in MariaDB 11.x, with divergences limited to advanced or proprietary features.

Third-Party Integrations and Ecosystem

MariaDB provides official connectors to facilitate integration with popular programming languages, enabling developers to connect applications seamlessly to the database server. The MariaDB Connector/J serves as the official JDBC driver for Java applications, offering compatibility with both MariaDB and MySQL databases while supporting standard JDBC API features for query execution and connection management. For asynchronous operations in Java, the MariaDB Connector/R2DBC extends functionality with reactive, non-blocking capabilities, allowing integration into modern reactive frameworks like Spring WebFlux. In Python, the official MariaDB Connector/Python implements the Python DB API 2.0 (PEP 249), providing a pure Python interface for database access without external dependencies, suitable for scripting and application development. For PHP, while there is no dedicated official connector, MariaDB fully supports MySQL-compatible drivers such as mysqli and PDO, ensuring straightforward connectivity in web applications. Key tools in the MariaDB ecosystem enhance server management and scalability. MaxScale, introduced in 2014, functions as an intelligent database that supports load balancing, query , and features like detection, allowing administrators to optimize traffic across multiple MariaDB instances without application changes. For backups, mariadb-backup is the open-source utility provided by MariaDB for performing hot physical backups of , , and tables, supporting full and incremental operations to minimize downtime. As an alternative, Percona XtraBackup offers compatibility for hot backups in older MariaDB versions, though MariaDB recommends its native tool for broader support including encrypted tables. MariaDB integrates with clustering solutions to enable advanced replication topologies. Galera Cluster provides synchronous , allowing writes to any node in the cluster with automatic synchronization and conflict resolution, natively supported in MariaDB Server versions 10.1 and later for high-availability deployments. The ecosystem extends to and data processing tools; for instance, Tableau connects directly to MariaDB via JDBC for visualizing database contents in interactive dashboards. Similarly, supports ETL workflows by leveraging MariaDB's to ingest, transform, and route data from MariaDB sources into pipelines. Community-driven development is tracked through the MDEV ticket system on , where users report bugs, propose features, and contribute patches, fostering collaborative improvements to the and related tools. This open ecosystem encourages extensions and integrations, positioning MariaDB as a flexible foundation for diverse applications ranging from web services to analytics platforms.

Development and Community

Origins and Early History

The MariaDB project was initiated on April 20, 2009, by Michael "Monty" Widenius, the co-founder and original lead developer of , as a community-driven fork of the database . This initiative came in direct response to Oracle Corporation's $7.4 billion acquisition of , which had purchased in 2008, raising widespread concerns among developers about potential shifts toward proprietary features and reduced open-source commitments under Oracle's control. Widenius, who had left earlier that year, named the project after his younger daughter, Maria, to signal a fresh start while building on 's established . The primary goals of MariaDB from its inception were to safeguard the open-source ethos of , prevent through proprietary extensions, and foster broader community involvement in development. The project's first release, MariaDB 5.1.38, occurred on October 29, 2009, and immediately incorporated long-pending community patches that had accumulated during MySQL's commercial stewardship, such as improvements to the query optimizer and storage engines, demonstrating a commitment to integrating external contributions right from the outset. This approach aimed to create a more transparent and collaborative alternative, ensuring with MySQL while enhancing performance and reliability without introducing licensing restrictions. Early development progressed swiftly, with MariaDB 5.2 released on April 10, 2010, alongside other community-driven enhancements like improved microsecond-precision timestamps and extended capabilities. By 2011, the project had experienced significant community expansion, attracting dozens of active contributors who submitted patches for bug fixes, performance optimizations, and new features, reflecting growing adoption among open-source enthusiasts and enterprises wary of Oracle's influence. This momentum was bolstered by the formation of Monty Program Ab in , a company founded by Widenius to coordinate professional development and support for MariaDB, employing former team members to maintain rigorous code quality. A pivotal occurred in 2012 with the establishment of the MariaDB Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to overseeing the project's long-term sustainability amid its rising popularity, as evidenced by integrations into major distributions and adoption by high-profile users. This period marked MariaDB's transition from a reactive to a robust, independent open-source database ecosystem, driven by rather than corporate directives.

MariaDB Foundation

The MariaDB Foundation was established in December 2012 as a non-profit organization, MariaDB Foundation e.V., to protect and promote the open-source nature of the MariaDB database server. Founded by key figures including Michael "Monty" Widenius, David Axmark, and Allan Larsson—the original creators of —this initiative emerged in response to growing commercial interests, particularly following investments in SkySQL, the service provider formed by the same developers. The Foundation's creation aimed to ensure that MariaDB's development remained community-driven and free from proprietary constraints, providing a stable governance structure independent of any single corporate entity. The Foundation's mission centers on guaranteeing the perpetual availability of MariaDB as , funding its ongoing development, and fostering widespread adoption across diverse platforms and applications. By managing rights and coordinating contributions, it ensures that the database's core technology remains accessible and modifiable under licenses like the GNU General Public License. This includes promoting interoperability with other systems and advancing database standards to benefit the broader open-source ecosystem. The organization sustains its work through sponsorships from companies and individuals committed to open-source principles. Governance of the MariaDB Foundation is handled by a , which includes founder as an , along with representatives from contributing organizations and independent experts. The board oversees strategic direction, , and high-level decisions, while community input through mailing lists and discussions guides release planning and technical priorities to maintain the project's stability and innovation. This structure ensures that release decisions are merit-based, balancing community input with expert oversight to align with MariaDB's goals of performance and reliability. Among its key activities, the organizes to engage developers and drive innovation, such as the global MariaDB held in collaboration with groups in during September-October 2025, which featured a prize pool to encourage contributions to MariaDB's capabilities. It also allocates funding to prioritize improvements tracked in the MDEV , MariaDB's official issue tracker for bugs, features, and enhancements, enabling targeted development on critical areas like optimizations and . As of 2025, the coordinates a vibrant , with contributions from a growing number of active developers across various organizations.

Community Contributions and Governance

MariaDB's open-source development relies on a distributed contribution model centered around its Git-based repository hosted on , which became the primary platform for code management starting in May 2014. Developers submit code changes, bug fixes, and new features via pull requests to the core server repository at github.com/MariaDB/server, enabling collaborative review and integration by maintainers. This model supports contributions in various forms, including code enhancements, documentation updates, and testing improvements, with monthly statistics tracking commits from both internal teams and external participants. Feature requests, bug reports, and enhancement proposals are managed through the MDEV project on the official MariaDB instance, facilitating structured tracking and prioritization by the community. As of 2025, this system hosts over 10,000 tickets, reflecting the scale of ongoing community-driven improvements. of the project emphasizes consensus among contributors and oversight by the MariaDB Foundation, with release decisions driven by technical leads and community feedback. Releases follow a structured cadence, including quarterly rolling updates and annual (LTS) versions, coordinated through milestones and branches to ensure stability and innovation. Annual events, such as the MariaDB ServerFest, promote discussions and ; for example, the 2024 edition in gathered developers for sessions on server enhancements and ecosystem integration. The community actively pursues diversity initiatives to broaden participation, including outreach through hackathons and academic programs that encourage involvement from underrepresented groups in technology. Translation efforts extend accessibility, with error messages supported in over 20 languages such as Bulgarian, , Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, and Turkish, while documentation contributions in additional languages are welcomed via the knowledge base. Key metrics underscore the community's vibrancy: the project has amassed over 1 billion total downloads since , with recent indices showing steady annual growth exceeding tens of millions amid rising GitHub mentions and Docker pulls nearing 3 billion. Contribution data indicates hundreds of unique committers, with external inputs comprising a growing share of development activity in 2025.

Commercial Aspects

MariaDB Corporation

MariaDB Corporation Ab, the primary commercial entity supporting the MariaDB database ecosystem, was established in 2010 as SkySQL Ab in , , initially focusing on database services and support. In 2013, SkySQL merged with Monty Program Ab, the original developers of MariaDB, to bolster open-source database innovation. The company rebranded to MariaDB Corporation Ab in October 2014 to better align with its growing role in advancing the MariaDB project, reflecting the increasing adoption of the database worldwide. Headquartered originally in , the corporation has since expanded globally, with its current primary operations based in the United States. The corporation plays a central role in the dual of MariaDB, contributing significantly to the development of the open-source while also creating tools and solutions to enhance and . As of 2025, it employs over 200 professionals, including more than 100 engineers dedicated to database , ensuring ongoing enhancements to the . This balanced approach allows the company to sustain community-driven open-source progress alongside commercial offerings tailored for needs. Key milestones underscore the corporation's growth and resilience. In 2017, it completed a Series C funding round totaling $54 million, led by , which fueled expansions in cloud and enterprise capabilities. The company went public in December 2022 via a SPAC merger with Angel Pond Holdings Corporation, listing on the as MariaDB and achieving an initial valuation of approximately $672 million. Facing financial pressures in 2024, MariaDB pursued restructuring efforts, culminating in its acquisition by Investment Management in September 2024; this transaction delisted the company from the NYSE and installed new leadership, including CEO Rohit de Souza, positioning it for renewed stability and focus on core strengths. MariaDB Corporation collaborates closely with the non-profit MariaDB Foundation, sharing for the core server codebase to promote , while maintaining distinct operations for commercial development and . This ensures the database's long-term openness and accessibility, with the corporation providing engineering resources and funding to joint initiatives.

Enterprise Products and Services

MariaDB offers enterprise subscriptions for its MariaDB Enterprise Server, which includes a hardened version of the open-source server optimized for environments with enhanced features and capabilities. These subscriptions provide 24/7 with a 24-hour first response for standard priority issues, along with options for premium tiers featuring aggressive SLAs, real-time chat, and telephone . Extended (LTS) is available for customers, extending maintenance beyond the standard three-year LTS period to ensure stability for mission-critical deployments, with durations tailored to subscription levels. Key enterprise tools complement the server to enable and scalability in on-premises and hybrid setups. MariaDB MaxScale Enterprise serves as an advanced database that intelligently routes queries, balances loads, and provides capabilities to maintain uptime during maintenance or failures. For distributed clustering, MariaDB Enterprise Cluster, powered by Galera, delivers synchronous across nodes, supporting horizontal scaling for high-traffic applications while ensuring data consistency and automatic recovery. These tools integrate seamlessly with MariaDB Enterprise Server to abstract backend complexity, allowing organizations to handle increased workloads without downtime. Consulting services from MariaDB focus on optimizing enterprise deployments, including migrations from legacy systems like or to MariaDB, where experts assist in conversions, , and testing to minimize disruption. services involve in-depth audits of query optimization, indexing strategies, and resource allocation, often resulting in significant efficiency gains for high-volume transactional systems. For instance, consulting engagements have enabled scalability improvements in platforms processing millions of transactions daily, through customized high-availability configurations and bottleneck resolutions. As of 2025, MariaDB has integrated -driven enhancements into its Enterprise Platform, particularly with MariaDB Enterprise Server 11.4, which includes advanced monitoring tools leveraging histograms and detailed thread state tracking for proactive . These tools, part of the broader MariaDB suite, facilitate automated and optimization recommendations, aiding enterprises in managing complex workloads efficiently. This integration supports hybrid environments by providing actionable insights without requiring cloud dependencies.

SkySQL Cloud Platform

SkySQL Cloud Platform is a fully managed database-as-a-service (DBaaS) offering developed by MariaDB, providing scalable deployment of MariaDB and compatible databases across major cloud providers. Launched in March 2020, it enables users to provision databases instantly on (AWS), , and (GCP) without managing underlying infrastructure. The platform emphasizes automation for deployment, scaling, and administration, catering to transactional, analytical, and increasingly AI-driven workloads. Key features include auto-scaling capabilities that adjust resources dynamically based on demand, ensuring performance during peak loads while optimizing costs. is supported through integration with Galera Cluster, acquired by MariaDB in May 2025, which provides synchronous for fault-tolerant setups. For analytics, SkySQL incorporates MariaDB ColumnStore, a columnar storage engine that enables efficient querying on large datasets stored in . Serverless options were introduced in November 2024, allowing instant launches, scaling to zero during idle periods, and cold restarts for cost-effective, event-driven applications. SkySQL employs a pay-per-use pricing model, charging based on compute, storage, and data transfer, with a forever-free tier available for experimentation and development using the serverless configuration. It integrates with Kubernetes through advanced operators that facilitate self-healing, resiliency, and declarative management in containerized environments. In 2025, following MariaDB's reacquisition of SkySQL in August, updates enhanced AI support with integrated vector search capabilities, enabling similarity-based queries for machine learning and generative AI applications. These advancements position SkySQL as a flexible platform for hybrid cloud deployments, serving diverse enterprise needs.

Financial History and Investors

MariaDB Corporation, originally formed as SkySQL in and rebranded in following a merger with the creators of the MariaDB database, began securing venture funding to support its commercial development of open-source database solutions. In , SkySQL raised $4 million in a led by Finnish Industry Investment (Tesi), with participation from Spintop Ventures and Open Ocean Capital, aimed at expanding database services for and MariaDB. Later that year, the company secured additional funding exceeding €4 million from sources including Tekes (the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation), OnCorps Ventures, , Spintop Ventures, and others, bringing early-stage capital to approximately $8 million overall to fuel product development and market entry. By October 2013, SkySQL closed a $20 million Series B round led by , with contributions from California Technology Ventures, Runa Capital, and Finnish Industry Investment, to accelerate support for the MariaDB and enterprise adoption. Following the rebranding to , the company continued raising to its enterprise offerings. In 2017, MariaDB completed a Series C round totaling $54 million, including a $27 million tranche led by in November, with participation from , California Technology Ventures, Tesi, SmartFin Capital, and Open Ocean, to enhance capabilities and global expansion. Subsequent rounds included a $25 million extension in 2020 from and others, bringing total pre-IPO funding to over $125 million by mid-2020. In February 2022, MariaDB announced a business combination with special purpose acquisition company (APHC), valuing the enterprise at approximately $672 million and providing up to $69 million in gross proceeds for growth initiatives. The merger closed in December 2022, listing MariaDB plc (NYSE: MRDB) on the , though shares debuted at $11.55 and closed the first day at $6.70 amid market volatility. Post-IPO, MariaDB faced significant financial headwinds, including revenue shortfalls and mounting debt pressures. In October 2023, the company announced a major restructuring, eliminating 28% of its workforce (about 76 employees) and discontinuing non-core products like MaxScale and X-Pand to focus on its Enterprise Server database, amid challenges from a €25 million European Investment Bank loan maturing without repayment capacity. By early 2024, ongoing cash shortages and a going concern warning in financial filings highlighted distress, with considerations of Chapter 11 bankruptcy or Irish examinership to restructure €42 million in debt, though these were ultimately avoided. Instead, in April 2024, K1 Investment Management launched a recommended cash offer for all shares at $0.55 each (a 189% premium to the closing share price of $0.19 on February 5, 2024), leading to MariaDB going private via acquisition by K1 affiliate Meridian Bidco LLC, completed in September 2024 with debt restructuring and a new CEO appointment to prioritize profitability. As of 2025, MariaDB's key investors include long-standing backers , , and Tesi, alongside the controlling stake held by K1 Investment Management following the . The post-acquisition structure emphasizes operational efficiency and sustained in the open-source MariaDB , ensuring continuity in community-driven development despite prior turbulence, with no interruptions to core engineering contributions.

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