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    MySQL 8.0/8.4: MASTER/SLAVE → SOURCE/REPLICA Terminology

    MySQL introduced SOURCE/REPLICA replication syntax in 8.0.23 and completed the transition by 8.4; MariaDB has not. A real scripting/tooling compatibility gap.

    MySQL 8.0 → MySQL 8.4

    Quick answer

    MySQL 8.0.23+ added CHANGE REPLICATION SOURCE TO, SHOW REPLICA STATUS, START REPLICA, etc. alongside the old CHANGE MASTER TO / SHOW SLAVE STATUS / START SLAVE syntax. By 8.4 the old terminology is deprecated in favor of the new one. MariaDB has not adopted this renaming — its replication commands still use MASTER/SLAVE terminology.

    Why it matters

    Any replication management scripts, monitoring tools, or runbooks that parse the output of SHOW SLAVE STATUS (column names, command names) need updating for MySQL 8.4, but must keep the old syntax if the same tooling also manages MariaDB replicas — a real fork point between the two ecosystems that a shared "MySQL-compatible" script cannot paper over.

    What to do about it

    Migration steps

    • Update replication setup scripts to use CHANGE REPLICATION SOURCE TO / START REPLICA / SHOW REPLICA STATUS for MySQL 8.4 targets.
    • Keep a MariaDB-specific branch (or separate script) using the original MASTER/SLAVE commands for any MariaDB replicas — do not assume one script works for both going forward.

    References

    • MySQL 8.0 Reference Manual — Replication Terminology Changes (v8.0) — checked 2026-07-31
    • MariaDB Knowledge Base — Standard Replication — checked 2026-07-31

    Last verified 2026-07-31.