DB Referential Integrity

db-referential-integrity (M3)

Foreign keys are the database enforcing that a reference points at something real — the cheapest, most durable guarantee against orphan data. Missing them pushes integrity into application code, where it silently rots. This module is both-axis: integrity on design, and join/planning behaviour on performance. It applies to FK-supporting relational engines only; the document/KV profiles drop it entirely (no false penalty).

What it checks

• Missing FK: a column named/typed as a reference (*_id matching another table's PK) with no FOREIGN KEY constraint. On financial or auth tables (orders, payments, sessions, memberships) an orphan-enabling missing FK is the severity-5 cap case.
• ON DELETE / ON UPDATE action: FK with no explicit referential action where the default (NO ACTION/RESTRICT) is wrong for the relationship, or a dangerous CASCADE that can mass-delete (e.g. deleting a user cascades to invoices). Each action must be intentional.
• Reference cycles: FK cycles (A→B→C→A) that block ordered insert/delete and complicate migrations — severity 4.
• Composite FK mismatch: multi-column FK whose column set/order does not match the referenced unique key, or partial composite references.
• Untrusted/NOT VALID FK left unvalidated after a backfill (Postgres NOT VALID).

Axis & severity

• Missing FK enabling orphan financial/auth rows: severity 5, fail, axis both, confidence established (caps).
• FK cycle: severity 4, warn, axis both.
• Missing/over-broad ON DELETE (silent RESTRICT blocking, or unintended CASCADE): severity 3–4, warn, axis design.
• Composite-FK order mismatch: severity 3, warn.
• Note: FK columns lacking a supporting index are owned by M11 (indexing), not here — cross-reference, do not double-count.

Tier-0 static check

Parse DDL via scripts/parse-schema.mjs: for each *_id-style column, check whether a matching FOREIGN KEY/REFERENCES clause exists; enumerate declared FKs and flag those without an explicit ON DELETE/ON UPDATE action; build the FK graph and detect cycles. Directional ORM-source parses never raise the sev-5 orphan cap.

Tier-1 verification query

List FK constraints and their actions (confirms missing/dangerous actions):

-- $DATABASE_URL, read-only
SELECT conrelid::regclass AS child, confrelid::regclass AS parent,
       confdeltype AS on_delete, confupdtype AS on_update, convalidated AS validated
FROM pg_constraint WHERE contype = 'f';

Confirm real orphans exist for a suspected missing FK:

SELECT count(*) AS orphans FROM child c
LEFT JOIN parent p ON c.parent_id = p.id WHERE p.id IS NULL AND c.parent_id IS NOT NULL;

No live DB → needs_api for the orphan count, never a silent pass.

Findings

Emit per schema/finding.schema.json. Examples:

• M3.payments.user_id_no_fk — user_id references no table; orphan payments possible (severity 5, fail, axis both, confidence established).
• M3.invoices.fk_cascade_deletes_financial — ON DELETE CASCADE from users mass-deletes invoices (severity 4, warn, axis design, fixable: proposed).
• M3.graph.fk_cycle_a_b_c — reference cycle blocks ordered load (severity 4, warn, axis both). Each finding: evidence.observed quotes the FK/column DDL or catalog row verbatim; verification.reproduce is a runnable query above (method: ddl_parse / constraint_check / query_stat); expected_impact banded + confidence-tagged.

Honesty

• A missing FK only caps when the orphan risk is real (financial/auth integrity); a missing FK on a low-stakes lookup is at most a warn.
• App-level integrity (validation, soft FKs) is a mitigation, not a substitute — note it, but the DB-level guarantee is absent. Do not claim app code "fixes" it.
• Never assert orphan rows exist without a Tier-1 count; static, it is directional.