GUID Database Performance & Indexing Guide
Complete guide to GUID database performance, B-tree index behavior, fragmentation, storage optimization and database-specific considerations.
How to Generate UUIDs in MariaDB
Generate UUIDs in MariaDB with UUID() for UUID v1, and use UUID_v4() or UUID_v7() on MariaDB 11.7 and newer when you need random or time-ordered values.
Recommendation: on MariaDB 11.7 and newer, prefer
UUID_v7() for append-heavy tables and UUID_v4() when you need random identifiers without time ordering.How to generate UUID v1 in MariaDB
SELECT UUID() AS uuid_v1_value;MariaDB documents UUID() as a UUID v1 generator.
How to generate UUID v4 and UUID v7 in MariaDB
SELECT UUID_v4() AS uuid_v4_value,
UUID_v7() AS uuid_v7_value;UUID_v4() and UUID_v7() are available from MariaDB 11.7.
How to store UUIDs efficiently in MariaDB
CREATE TABLE events (
id BINARY(16) PRIMARY KEY,
event_name VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL
);
INSERT INTO events (id, event_name)
VALUES (UUID_TO_BIN(UUID_v7()), 'user.created');
SELECT BIN_TO_UUID(id) AS id, event_name
FROM events;Native support notes
UUID()generates UUID v1 values.UUID_v4()andUUID_v7()are available from MariaDB 11.7.UUID_TO_BIN()andBIN_TO_UUID()help with compact binary storage.- MariaDB and MySQL are not interchangeable here because their native UUID generation capabilities differ.
Practical notes
- Use UUID v7 for better insertion locality when your MariaDB version supports it.
- Keep UUID values in
BINARY(16)if you care about index size and storage overhead. - Read database performance guidance before choosing a primary key strategy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, from MariaDB 11.7 onward with
UUID_v7().They both expose
UUID() for UUID v1 generation, but MariaDB also adds native UUID_v4() and UUID_v7() support from version 11.7.Learn more
These articles expand on related concepts, formats and practical considerations.