Database Migration Helper

This skill helps you create database migration files that follow your project's ORM conventions and naming patterns.

When to Use This Skill

• User requests to create a database migration
• Adding new tables or columns to the database
• Modifying existing database schema
• Creating indexes, constraints, or relationships
• User mentions "migration", "schema change", or "database update"

Instructions

1. Detect the ORM/Migration Tool

First, identify which ORM or migration tool the project uses:

• Prisma: Look for prisma/schema.prisma or @prisma/client in package.json
• Sequelize: Look for .sequelizerc or sequelize-cli in package.json
• Knex: Look for knexfile.js or knex in package.json
• TypeORM: Look for ormconfig.json or typeorm in package.json
• Alembic (Python): Look for alembic.ini or alembic/ directory
• Django: Look for manage.py and Django migrations in */migrations/
• Active Record (Rails): Look for db/migrate/ directory
• Flyway: Look for flyway.conf or db/migration/
• Liquibase: Look for liquibase.properties or changelog files

Use Glob to search for these indicator files.

2. Examine Existing Migrations

Read existing migration files to understand:

• Naming conventions (timestamp format, description format)
• Directory structure
• Migration file format (SQL, JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, etc.)
• Coding patterns (up/down functions, forwards/rollback, etc.)

Use Grep to find recent migrations: look in common directories like:

• prisma/migrations/
• db/migrate/
• migrations/ or database/migrations/
• alembic/versions/

3. Generate Migration File

Based on the detected ORM, create an appropriate migration file:

Prisma

• Run npx prisma migrate dev --name <description> OR
• Manually create migration SQL in prisma/migrations/<timestamp>_<name>/migration.sql

Sequelize

• Generate: npx sequelize-cli migration:generate --name <description>
• Then fill in the up/down functions with the schema changes

Knex

• Generate: npx knex migrate:make <description>
• Fill in exports.up and exports.down functions

TypeORM

• Generate: npm run typeorm migration:create src/migrations/<Name>
• Implement up() and down() methods

Alembic

• Generate: alembic revision -m "<description>"
• Fill in upgrade() and downgrade() functions

Django

• Run: python manage.py makemigrations
• Or manually create migration in <app>/migrations/

Rails

• Generate: rails generate migration <ClassName>
• Fill in the change method (or up/down for complex migrations)

4. Follow Naming Conventions

Use consistent, descriptive names:

• Good: add_user_email_index, create_products_table, add_payment_status_to_orders
• Bad: migration1, update, fix

Format based on project patterns:

• Timestamp prefix: 20231215120000_add_email_to_users
• Sequential: 001_create_users, 002_add_indexes

5. Include Both Up and Down/Rollback

Always provide both directions when supported:

• Up/Upgrade/Forward: Apply the schema change
• Down/Downgrade/Rollback: Revert the schema change

For ORMs that use reversible operations (Rails, some Sequelize), a single change method may be sufficient.

6. Migration Content Guidelines

Creating Tables:

• Define all columns with appropriate types
• Set NOT NULL constraints where appropriate
• Add primary keys
• Include timestamps (created_at, updated_at) if project uses them
• Add foreign keys and indexes in the same migration or separate if project prefers

Altering Tables:

• Be specific: ADD COLUMN, DROP COLUMN, MODIFY COLUMN
• Handle existing data appropriately (defaults, backfills)
• Consider backwards compatibility

Adding Indexes:

• Name indexes clearly: idx_users_email, idx_orders_user_id_created_at
• Use appropriate index types (B-tree, Hash, GIN, etc.)
• Consider partial indexes for large tables

Data Migrations:

• Separate schema migrations from data migrations if possible
• Be cautious with large datasets (batch operations)
• Test rollback with realistic data volumes

7. Validate Migration Safety

Before finalizing, check:

• Reversibility: Can the migration be rolled back?
• Data loss: Will any data be lost? Warn the user!
• Downtime: Will this lock tables? Consider online migrations for large tables
• Dependencies: Are there dependent migrations that must run first?

8. Testing Recommendations

Suggest to the user:

• Run migration on a development database first
• Test rollback functionality
• For production: test on a staging environment
• Review generated SQL (for ORMs that auto-generate)

ORM-Specific Templates

Reference the templates in templates/ directory:

• prisma-migration.sql - Prisma migration example
• sequelize-migration.js - Sequelize migration example
• knex-migration.js - Knex migration example
• typeorm-migration.ts - TypeORM migration example
• alembic-migration.py - Alembic migration example
• rails-migration.rb - Rails migration example

Best Practices

1. One purpose per migration: Don't mix unrelated changes
2. Descriptive names: Names should explain what the migration does
3. Timestamps: Use the ORM's timestamp format for ordering
4. Idempotent when possible: Safe to run multiple times
5. Test rollbacks: Ensure down/rollback works correctly
6. Document complex logic: Add comments for non-obvious operations
7. Batch large operations: For data migrations affecting many rows
8. Use transactions: Wrap operations in transactions when supported

Supporting Files

• templates/: Migration templates for various ORMs
• reference.md: Naming conventions and migration patterns