# Most Suitable CHARSET and COLLATE for Dolibarr Database

**URL:** <https://www.dolibarr.org/forum/t/most-suitable-charset-and-collate-for-dolibarr-database/30589>\
**Category:** Installing my Dolibarr\
**Tags:** Guide\
**Created:** [August 24, 2025, 1:00am UTC](https://www.dolibarr.org/forum/t/most-suitable-charset-and-collate-for-dolibarr-database/30589 "2025-08-24T01:00:46Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![caos30](https://www.dolibarr.org/forum/user_avatar/www.dolibarr.org/caos30/32/6733_2.png) [@caos30](https://www.dolibarr.org/forum/u/caos30)\
**Post date:** [August 24, 2025, 1:00am UTC](https://www.dolibarr.org/forum/t/most-suitable-charset-and-collate-for-dolibarr-database/30589/1 "2025-08-24T01:00:47Z")

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I’ve been installing successive versions of Dolibarr for years (from version 5 to the current 22!) and it has always been a mystery to me—and I think to most of us—how to properly choose the right **CHARSET** and **COLLATE** when creating a new MySQL or MariaDB database for Dolibarr.

But now, thanks to the incredible AI-powered search engines we have today (I highly recommend trying Perplexity’s paid version if you haven’t), I finally decided to ask while setting up a fresh Dolibarr 22 installation.

#### **The Short Version**

The recommended command for database creation is:

```sql
CREATE DATABASE dolibarr22 
DEFAULT CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 
COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;

```

If you search this forum, you’ll find all kinds of answers because the “correct” one has evolved over time as hardware and software (MySQL, MariaDB) technologies have advanced.

#### **The Long Version**

Here’s the **SUPER-WELL-DOCUMENTED** answer from Perplexity, explaining in detail the consequences of use these u others CHARSETS & COLLATES:

🔗 [Link to Perplexity’s detailed response](https://www.perplexity.ai/search/soy-administrador-de-lamp-pero-19jnVKukSSOBALsEa8eznQ)

* * *

**Disclaimer:** I’m not part of Dolibarr’s official development team. If Eldy or anyone else thinks I’m wrong or that this needs correction, please feel free to chime in!