With `mysql 5.5.30-7` in [extra], all packages depending on it have been rebuilt against MariaDB counterparts. MariaDB is [almost](https://kb.askmonty.org/en/mariadb-vs-mysql-compatibility/) a drop-in replacement, but not automatic one. Users may need to manually install `mariadb`, `libmariadbclient` or `mariadb-clients` and execute `mysql_uprade` in order to migrate their systems. Additionally, there is another MySQL fork available in [community], `percona-server`, which should be closer to Oracle MySQL Enterprise in exchange for new features provided by MariaDB. More background information can be found on [mailing list](https://mailman.archlinux.org/pipermail/arch-dev-public/2013-February/024478...). MySQL will be dropped from repositories in a month. Migration example # systemctl stop mysqld # pacman -S mariadb libmariadbclient mariadb-clients # systemctl start mariadb # mysql_upgrade -p -- Bartłomiej Piotrowski http://bpiotrowski.pl/