Database Migration Patterns

Safe, reversible database schema changes for production systems.

When to Activate

• Creating or altering database tables
• Adding/removing columns or indexes
• Running data migrations (backfill, transform)
• Planning zero-downtime schema changes
• Setting up migration tooling for a new project
• Renaming a column or table in a live system without dropping application availability
• Troubleshooting a migration that ran fine on staging but causes a lock on production data

Core Principles