DB Migration

Activepieces DB Migration

Create TypeORM database migrations for schema changes in the Activepieces server API.

Workflow

Step 1: DETERMINE THE CHANGE

Before generating, identify:

• Which table(s) are affected
• What SQL is needed (ADD COLUMN, CREATE TABLE, CREATE INDEX, etc.)
• Whether the migration is breaking (drops columns/tables, transforms data irreversibly — cannot be rolled back safely)
• The current release version (check root package.json → version)

Step 2: UPDATE THE ENTITY

Update the TypeORM entity file in packages/server/api/src/app/ to reflect the new schema. This ensures the CLI generation command can diff against the current state.

Array columns always use this pattern:

columnName: {
    type: String,
    array: true,
    nullable: false,
}

Step 3: GENERATE THE MIGRATION USING THE CLI

Run from packages/server/api/:

npm run db-migration -- src/app/database/migration/postgres/MigrationName

This diffs the current entity state against the database and generates the migration file with correct SQL and timestamp.

Step 4: PATCH THE GENERATED FILE

The CLI generates a file using MigrationInterface. You must patch it to use the project's Migration interface and add required fields:

1. Replace import { MigrationInterface, QueryRunner } from "typeorm" with import { QueryRunner } from 'typeorm' and add import { Migration } from '../../migration'
2. Replace implements MigrationInterface with implements Migration
3. Add breaking = false (or true if destructive)
4. Add release = '<version>' matching the upcoming release version from root package.json
5. Verify down() correctly reverses up()

Example result:

import { QueryRunner } from 'typeorm'
import { Migration } from '../../migration'

export class AddMyColumn1234567890 implements Migration {
    name = 'AddMyColumn1234567890'
    breaking = false 
    release = '0.78.0'

    public async up(queryRunner: QueryRunner): Promise<void> {
        await queryRunner.query(`ALTER TABLE "project" ADD COLUMN "description" text`)
    }

    public async down(queryRunner: QueryRunner): Promise<void> {
        await queryRunner.query(`ALTER TABLE "project" DROP COLUMN "description"`)
    }
}

Required fields:

• breaking = false — set to true only if rolling back is destructive
• release = '<version>' — the upcoming release version from root package.json
• down() — must reverse up() (required)

CI fails if any of these are missing.

Step 5: REGISTER THE MIGRATION

Open packages/server/api/src/app/database/postgres-connection.ts and add the new migration class to the getMigrations() array (at the end, in chronological order):

import { AddMyColumn1234567890 } from './migration/postgres/1234567890-AddMyColumn'

// Inside getMigrations():
return [
    // ... existing migrations ...
    AddMyColumn1234567890,
]

Step 6: UPDATE TYPES AND SERVICE CODE

After the migration is generated and registered, update any TypeScript types, service files, or other code that references the changed columns to stay in sync with the new schema.

Note:

Always try to create non-breaking migrations if possible to allow safe rollbacks

Zero errors required before the task is complete.

PGlite Compatibility

PGlite does not support CONCURRENTLY (it is a single-connection embedded database). When creating or dropping indexes with CONCURRENTLY, add a PGlite check:

import { QueryRunner } from 'typeorm'
import { Migration } from '../../migration'
import { system } from '../../../helper/system/system'
import { AppSystemProp } from '../../../helper/system/system-props'
import { DatabaseType } from '../../database-type'

const isPGlite = system.get(AppSystemProp.DB_TYPE) === DatabaseType.PGLITE

export class AddMyIndex1234567890 implements Migration {
    name = 'AddMyIndex1234567890'
    breaking = false
    release = '0.78.0'
    transaction = false  // Required when using CONCURRENTLY

    public async up(queryRunner: QueryRunner): Promise<void> {
        if (isPGlite) {
            await queryRunner.query(`CREATE INDEX "idx_name" ON "table" ("column")`)
        } else {
            await queryRunner.query(`CREATE INDEX CONCURRENTLY "idx_name" ON "table" ("column")`)
        }
    }

    public async down(queryRunner: QueryRunner): Promise<void> {
        if (isPGlite) {
            await queryRunner.query(`DROP INDEX "idx_name"`)
        } else {
            await queryRunner.query(`DROP INDEX CONCURRENTLY "idx_name"`)
        }
    }
}

Set transaction = false whenever using CONCURRENTLY — PostgreSQL requires it.

Quick Reference

Critical Reminders

1. Always generate via CLI — never write migration SQL by hand; use npm run db-migration to generate from the entity diff
2. Never use MigrationInterface — always patch the generated file to use Migration from ../../migration
3. breaking, release, and down() are mandatory — CI will reject the migration without them
4. Register in postgres-connection.ts — migration won't run without this
5. PGlite + CONCURRENTLY — always guard with isPGlite and set transaction = false