MySQL End of Life - Dates and Lifecycle

MySQL is the world's most widely deployed open-source relational database, powering everything from small web applications to some of the largest sites on the internet, and it remains the default database choice behind a huge share of WordPress, PHP, and general web application stacks.

MySQL Lifecycle Explained

Oracle supports each MySQL major version through three phases. Premier Support, generally the first several years, includes new features, bug fixes, and security patches. Extended Support narrows that down to security-critical patches only. After Extended Support ends, a version moves to Sustaining Support indefinitely, but that tier includes no new patches at all, just continued access to existing releases and documentation.

Starting with MySQL 8.4 in 2024, Oracle formalized a two-track release model. Innovation releases ship roughly every quarter, each superseded by the next with no extended lifespan, useful for teams that want the newest features quickly. LTS (Long Term Support) releases, roughly one a year, get the full multi-year Premier and Extended Support treatment. MySQL 8.0 is a notable exception to this timeline: it predates the Innovation/LTS model entirely, but was retroactively designated LTS in 2023 once the new model was introduced, giving it the extended support treatment despite having launched years before the policy existed.

AWS RDS and Aurora Have a Separate Timeline

If you run MySQL through Amazon RDS or Aurora, Oracle's own community end of life dates above don't directly apply to you. AWS runs its own end of support schedule for managed MySQL, and it can differ significantly from Oracle's. For MySQL 5.7 specifically, RDS standard support ended February 29, 2024, and Aurora MySQL version 2's standard support ended October 31, 2024, both automatically enrolling customers into paid RDS Extended Support at that point. As of August 2026, AWS extended that Extended Support window for MySQL 5.7 all the way to June 30, 2029, pushed out from a previously announced end date of February 28, 2027, giving RDS and Aurora customers meaningfully more runway than Oracle's own community timeline offers. Always check AWS's own RDS and Aurora release calendars for the specific version you're running rather than assuming Oracle's community dates apply to a managed instance.