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MySQL 8.0 Reference Manual  /  ...  /  The utf8 Character Set (Deprecated alias for utf8mb3)

12.9.3 The utf8 Character Set (Deprecated alias for utf8mb3)

utf8 has been used by MySQL in the past as an alias for the utf8mb3 character set, but this usage is now deprecated; in MySQL 8.0, SHOW statements and columns of INFORMATION_SCHEMA tables display utf8mb3 instead. For more information, see Section 12.9.2, “The utf8mb3 Character Set (3-Byte UTF-8 Unicode Encoding)”.

Note

The recommended character set for MySQL is utf8mb4. All new applications should use utf8mb4.

The utf8mb3 character set is deprecated. utf8mb3 remains supported for the lifetimes of the MySQL 8.0.x and following LTS release series, as well as in MySQL 8.0.

Expect utf8mb3 to be removed in a future major release of MySQL.

Since changing character sets can be a complex and time-consuming task, you should begin to prepare for this change now by using utf8mb4 for new applications. For guidance in converting existing applications which use utfmb3, see Section 12.9.8, “Converting Between 3-Byte and 4-Byte Unicode Character Sets”.