Migration Patterns

Migration Patterns

Safe, reversible PostgreSQL schema migrations are fundamental to maintaining database integrity and enabling continuous deployment. This skill covers production-grade migration patterns that minimize downtime, prevent data loss, and ensure rollback capability. Every migration should be tested on a replica, have a documented rollback path, and consider the impact on running applications.

Existing Repository Compatibility

When working with existing PostgreSQL deployments, always respect the current migration framework and patterns before applying these recommendations.

• Follow existing conventions: If the project uses a specific migration tool (Alembic, Flyway, golang-migrate, etc.), follow that tool's conventions for file naming, directory structure, and migration format.
• Numbering schemes: Respect the existing numbering or timestamping convention. Do not mix sequential numbers with timestamps.
• Transaction handling: Some tools wrap migrations in transactions automatically. Understand your tool's behavior before adding explicit BEGIN/COMMIT.
• Down migrations: If the project maintains down migrations, always include them. If the project does not use down migrations, follow the established pattern.
• Testing requirements: Follow existing testing requirements for migrations (staging deployment, replica testing, backup verification, etc.).

These patterns apply primarily to new migrations. For modifying existing migrations, coordinate with the team and understand the deployment state across all environments.

Up/Down Migration Pairs

Every migration must have a corresponding down migration that reverses the changes. This enables safe rollbacks during deployment failures or when bugs are discovered in production.

Reversible Migration Example

-- Up Migration: 20260209_01_add_user_status.sql
ALTER TABLE users ADD COLUMN status text NOT NULL DEFAULT 'active';

CREATE INDEX CONCURRENTLY idx_users_status ON users (status);

-- Down Migration: 20260209_01_add_user_status_down.sql
DROP INDEX CONCURRENTLY IF EXISTS idx_users_status;

ALTER TABLE users DROP COLUMN status;

Irreversible Migrations

Some migrations cannot be fully reversed without data loss. These must be clearly documented.

-- Up Migration: 20260209_02_remove_legacy_column.sql
-- WARNING: This migration is IRREVERSIBLE
-- The 'legacy_notes' column data will be permanently deleted
-- Backup taken: prod_backup_20260209_083000.sql.gz
-- Rollback plan: Restore column from backup if needed within 24h window

ALTER TABLE users DROP COLUMN legacy_notes;

-- Down Migration: 20260209_02_remove_legacy_column_down.sql
-- PARTIAL ROLLBACK: Re-creates column structure but data is lost
-- To restore data, use backup: prod_backup_20260209_083000.sql.gz

ALTER TABLE users ADD COLUMN legacy_notes text;
-- Data must be restored from backup separately

Documenting Irreversible Operations

Every irreversible migration must include:

1. WARNING comment at the top of the file
2. Backup reference: When and where the backup was taken
3. Rollback plan: Steps to recover if the migration causes issues
4. Data retention window: How long backup data is available

-- Migration: 20260209_03_truncate_old_logs.sql
-- ============================================================
-- WARNING: IRREVERSIBLE MIGRATION
-- ============================================================
-- Action: Truncate event_log entries older than 2 years
-- Affected rows (estimated): ~50M
-- Backup: s3://backups/event_log_pre_truncate_20260209.dump.gz
-- Rollback: Restore from backup within 30-day retention window
-- Approved by: DBA Team (ticket INFRA-1234)
-- ============================================================

DELETE FROM event_log
WHERE created_at < now() - interval '2 years';

-- Run VACUUM after large deletes to reclaim space
-- VACUUM (VERBOSE) event_log;  -- Run separately, not in migration transaction

Expand-Contract Pattern

The expand-contract pattern enables zero-downtime schema changes by splitting migrations into multiple steps with application code changes between them.

Phase 1: Expand (Add New Structure)

Add the new column, table, or constraint without removing the old one. Both old and new application code must work.

-- Migration: 20260209_10_expand_add_email_verified.sql
-- Phase 1 of 3: Add new column alongside old one
-- Old column: email_confirmed (integer 0/1)
-- New column: email_verified (boolean)

ALTER TABLE users ADD COLUMN email_verified boolean;

-- Backfill new column from old column (in batches for large tables)
-- Do this in application code or a separate migration for large tables
UPDATE users SET email_verified = (email_confirmed = 1)
WHERE email_verified IS NULL;

Phase 2: Migrate (Update Application Code)

Deploy application code that writes to both old and new columns and reads from the new column. This is not a SQL migration but an application deployment step.

Phase 3: Contract (Remove Old Structure)

After all application instances use the new column and sufficient time has passed, remove the old column.

-- Migration: 20260209_11_contract_remove_email_confirmed.sql
-- Phase 3 of 3: Remove old column
-- Prerequisite: All application code uses email_verified (deployed 2026-02-05)
-- Verification: No queries reference email_confirmed in pg_stat_statements

-- Add NOT NULL constraint now that all rows have values
ALTER TABLE users ALTER COLUMN email_verified SET NOT NULL;
ALTER TABLE users ALTER COLUMN email_verified SET DEFAULT false;

-- Drop old column
ALTER TABLE users DROP COLUMN email_confirmed;

Expand-Contract for Table Renames

-- Phase 1: Create new table, set up sync
-- Migration: 20260209_20_expand_rename_orders.sql
CREATE TABLE customer_orders (LIKE orders INCLUDING ALL);

-- Create trigger to sync inserts/updates from old to new table
CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION sync_orders_to_customer_orders()
RETURNS trigger AS $$
BEGIN
    INSERT INTO customer_orders
    SELECT NEW.*
    ON CONFLICT (id) DO UPDATE SET
        customer_id = EXCLUDED.customer_id,
        total = EXCLUDED.total,
        status = EXCLUDED.status,
        updated_at = EXCLUDED.updated_at;
    RETURN NEW;
END;
$$ LANGUAGE plpgsql;

CREATE TRIGGER trg_sync_orders
    AFTER INSERT OR UPDATE ON orders
    FOR EACH ROW
    EXECUTE FUNCTION sync_orders_to_customer_orders();

-- Backfill existing data
INSERT INTO customer_orders SELECT * FROM orders
ON CONFLICT (id) DO NOTHING;

-- Phase 3: Drop old table after application migration
-- Migration: 20260209_21_contract_drop_orders.sql
-- Prerequisite: All code reads/writes customer_orders (deployed 2026-02-07)

DROP TRIGGER trg_sync_orders ON orders;
DROP FUNCTION sync_orders_to_customer_orders();
DROP TABLE orders;

CREATE INDEX CONCURRENTLY

Standard CREATE INDEX acquires a lock that blocks writes on the table for the duration of index creation. For any table with traffic, always use CREATE INDEX CONCURRENTLY.

Standard vs Concurrent Index Creation

-- WRONG: Blocks writes for the entire duration of index build
CREATE INDEX idx_orders_customer ON orders (customer_id);
-- On a 50M row table, this could block writes for minutes

-- CORRECT: Non-blocking index creation
CREATE INDEX CONCURRENTLY idx_orders_customer ON orders (customer_id);
-- Takes longer but does not block writes

-- CORRECT: With IF NOT EXISTS (idempotent)
CREATE INDEX CONCURRENTLY IF NOT EXISTS idx_orders_customer
    ON orders (customer_id);

CONCURRENTLY Constraints

CREATE INDEX CONCURRENTLY has specific constraints you must understand:

-- CONSTRAINT 1: Cannot run inside a transaction block
-- WRONG:
BEGIN;
CREATE INDEX CONCURRENTLY idx_orders_customer ON orders (customer_id);
COMMIT;
-- ERROR: CREATE INDEX CONCURRENTLY cannot run inside a transaction block

-- Many migration tools wrap each migration in a transaction.
-- You must disable this for concurrent index migrations:
-- Flyway: Use non-transactional migration (V<ver>__<desc>.sql in non-transactional mode)
-- Alembic: Use op.execute() with connection.execution_options(isolation_level="AUTOCOMMIT")
-- golang-migrate: Disable transaction wrapping for this migration
-- dbmate: Add -- disable-transaction comment

-- CONSTRAINT 2: May leave INVALID indexes on failure
-- If CREATE INDEX CONCURRENTLY fails (e.g., deadlock, unique violation), it leaves
-- an INVALID index that must be cleaned up manually.

-- Check for invalid indexes
SELECT indexname, indexdef
FROM pg_indexes
JOIN pg_index ON pg_indexes.indexname::regclass = pg_index.indexrelid::regclass
WHERE NOT pg_index.indisvalid;

-- Clean up invalid index
DROP INDEX CONCURRENTLY IF EXISTS idx_orders_customer;

-- Retry
CREATE INDEX CONCURRENTLY idx_orders_customer ON orders (customer_id);

-- CONSTRAINT 3: Takes longer than regular CREATE INDEX
-- Two passes: first builds index, then validates. During the second pass,
-- it must wait for all existing transactions to complete.

-- Monitor progress (PostgreSQL 12+)
SELECT phase, blocks_total, blocks_done,
       round(100.0 * blocks_done / NULLIF(blocks_total, 0), 1) AS pct
FROM pg_stat_progress_create_index;

DROP INDEX CONCURRENTLY

Use DROP INDEX CONCURRENTLY to avoid blocking writes during index removal.

-- CORRECT: Non-blocking index drop
DROP INDEX CONCURRENTLY IF EXISTS idx_orders_old_status;

-- Note: Cannot run inside a transaction, same as CREATE INDEX CONCURRENTLY

Replacing an Index

When replacing one index with another (e.g., changing column order):

-- Step 1: Create new index concurrently
CREATE INDEX CONCURRENTLY idx_orders_status_date_new
    ON orders (status, created_at DESC);

-- Step 2: Verify new index is valid and being used
-- Wait for traffic to confirm index is used:
SELECT indexname, idx_scan
FROM pg_stat_user_indexes
WHERE tablename = 'orders' AND indexname LIKE '%status%';

-- Step 3: Drop old index concurrently
DROP INDEX CONCURRENTLY IF EXISTS idx_orders_status_old;

-- Step 4: Rename new index to standard name
ALTER INDEX idx_orders_status_date_new RENAME TO idx_orders_status_date;

Guard Clauses

Guard clauses make migrations idempotent and safe to re-run. Every migration should be safe to execute multiple times without error.

IF NOT EXISTS / IF EXISTS

-- CORRECT: Idempotent table creation
CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS audit_log (
    id bigint GENERATED ALWAYS AS IDENTITY PRIMARY KEY,
    action text NOT NULL,
    entity_type text NOT NULL,
    entity_id bigint NOT NULL,
    changes jsonb NOT NULL DEFAULT '{}',
    performed_by bigint,
    created_at timestamptz NOT NULL DEFAULT now()
);

-- CORRECT: Idempotent column addition (PostgreSQL doesn't have IF NOT EXISTS for columns)
DO $$
BEGIN
    IF NOT EXISTS (
        SELECT 1 FROM information_schema.columns
        WHERE table_name = 'users' AND column_name = 'middle_name'
    ) THEN
        ALTER TABLE users ADD COLUMN middle_name text;
    END IF;
END $$;

-- CORRECT: Idempotent index creation
CREATE INDEX CONCURRENTLY IF NOT EXISTS idx_audit_log_entity
    ON audit_log (entity_type, entity_id);

-- CORRECT: Idempotent extension
CREATE EXTENSION IF NOT EXISTS pgcrypto;

-- CORRECT: Idempotent drop
DROP TABLE IF EXISTS temp_migration_data;
DROP INDEX CONCURRENTLY IF EXISTS idx_old_unused;

Pre-Condition Checks

-- CORRECT: Check preconditions before migration
DO $$
BEGIN
    -- Verify table exists before altering
    IF NOT EXISTS (
        SELECT 1 FROM information_schema.tables
        WHERE table_name = 'orders'
    ) THEN
        RAISE EXCEPTION 'Table "orders" does not exist; run migration V001 first';
    END IF;

    -- Verify column doesn't already exist
    IF EXISTS (
        SELECT 1 FROM information_schema.columns
        WHERE table_name = 'orders' AND column_name = 'shipping_method'
    ) THEN
        RAISE NOTICE 'Column "shipping_method" already exists; skipping';
        RETURN;
    END IF;

    -- Add the column
    ALTER TABLE orders ADD COLUMN shipping_method text DEFAULT 'standard';
END $$;

Version Guards

-- CORRECT: Check PostgreSQL version before using version-specific features
DO $$
BEGIN
    IF current_setting('server_version_num')::integer < 150000 THEN
        RAISE EXCEPTION 'This migration requires PostgreSQL 15+. Current: %',
                        current_setting('server_version');
    END IF;
END $$;

-- CORRECT: Check extension version before using version-specific features
DO $$
DECLARE
    v_version text;
BEGIN
    SELECT extversion INTO v_version
    FROM pg_extension WHERE extname = 'postgis';

    IF v_version IS NULL THEN
        RAISE EXCEPTION 'PostGIS extension is not installed';
    END IF;

    IF v_version < '3.4' THEN
        RAISE EXCEPTION 'This migration requires PostGIS 3.4+. Current: %', v_version;
    END IF;
END $$;

Column Operations

Adding Columns

-- CORRECT: Add nullable column (instant, no table rewrite in PG 11+)
ALTER TABLE users ADD COLUMN middle_name text;

-- CORRECT: Add column with constant default (instant in PG 11+)
ALTER TABLE users ADD COLUMN is_premium boolean NOT NULL DEFAULT false;

-- CORRECT: Add column with volatile default (requires table rewrite)
-- Only do this on small tables; for large tables, add nullable then backfill
ALTER TABLE users ADD COLUMN api_key text DEFAULT gen_random_uuid()::text;

-- WRONG: Add NOT NULL column without default on populated table
ALTER TABLE users ADD COLUMN required_field text NOT NULL;
-- ERROR: Column "required_field" contains null values

-- CORRECT: Three-step pattern for adding NOT NULL column to large tables
-- Step 1: Add nullable column
ALTER TABLE users ADD COLUMN required_field text;

-- Step 2: Backfill in batches (separate migration or script)
UPDATE users SET required_field = 'default_value'
WHERE required_field IS NULL AND id BETWEEN $start AND $end;

-- Step 3: Add NOT NULL constraint (after all rows have values)
ALTER TABLE users ALTER COLUMN required_field SET NOT NULL;

Changing Column Types

-- CORRECT: Safe type changes that don't rewrite the table
ALTER TABLE users ALTER COLUMN name TYPE text;      -- varchar(n) to text: no rewrite
ALTER TABLE users ALTER COLUMN id TYPE bigint;       -- int to bigint: REWRITES TABLE

-- CORRECT: Type change with explicit USING clause
ALTER TABLE events ALTER COLUMN event_time TYPE timestamptz
    USING event_time AT TIME ZONE 'UTC';

-- CORRECT: For large tables, use expand-contract pattern instead of ALTER TYPE
-- Step 1: Add new column
ALTER TABLE events ADD COLUMN event_time_tz timestamptz;
-- Step 2: Backfill (batched)
UPDATE events SET event_time_tz = event_time AT TIME ZONE 'UTC'
WHERE event_time_tz IS NULL AND id BETWEEN $start AND $end;
-- Step 3: Swap columns (after app code is updated)
ALTER TABLE events DROP COLUMN event_time;
ALTER TABLE events RENAME COLUMN event_time_tz TO event_time;
ALTER TABLE events ALTER COLUMN event_time SET NOT NULL;

-- WRONG: Type change that rewrites table on large table without planning
ALTER TABLE huge_table ALTER COLUMN description TYPE varchar(500);
-- Rewrites entire table, acquires AccessExclusiveLock

Dropping Columns

-- CORRECT: Drop column (marks as dropped, doesn't reclaim space immediately)
ALTER TABLE users DROP COLUMN IF EXISTS legacy_field;

-- Note: PostgreSQL doesn't physically remove the column data immediately.
-- Space is reclaimed when rows are updated or VACUUM FULL runs.
-- This means DROP COLUMN is relatively fast even on large tables.

-- CORRECT: Drop column with CASCADE (also drops dependent objects)
ALTER TABLE users DROP COLUMN IF EXISTS status CASCADE;
-- WARNING: CASCADE may drop dependent views, indexes, or constraints
-- Always check dependencies first:
SELECT dependent_ns.nspname, dependent_view.relname
FROM pg_depend
JOIN pg_rewrite ON pg_depend.objid = pg_rewrite.oid
JOIN pg_class AS dependent_view ON pg_rewrite.ev_class = dependent_view.oid
JOIN pg_namespace AS dependent_ns ON dependent_view.relnamespace = dependent_ns.oid
WHERE pg_depend.refobjid = 'users'::regclass;

Constraint Operations

Adding Foreign Keys

-- WRONG: Add foreign key (validates all existing rows, holds AccessExclusiveLock)
ALTER TABLE orders ADD CONSTRAINT fk_orders_customer
    FOREIGN KEY (customer_id) REFERENCES customers(id);
-- On large tables, this blocks all operations while validating

-- CORRECT: Two-step foreign key addition (minimal locking)
-- Step 1: Add constraint NOT VALID (instant, no validation)
ALTER TABLE orders ADD CONSTRAINT fk_orders_customer
    FOREIGN KEY (customer_id) REFERENCES customers(id) NOT VALID;

-- Step 2: Validate constraint separately (holds ShareUpdateExclusiveLock, not blocking)
ALTER TABLE orders VALIDATE CONSTRAINT fk_orders_customer;
-- This scan doesn't block reads or writes

Adding Check Constraints

-- CORRECT: Two-step check constraint (same pattern as foreign keys)
-- Step 1: Add NOT VALID
ALTER TABLE orders ADD CONSTRAINT chk_orders_amount_positive
    CHECK (amount > 0) NOT VALID;

-- Step 2: Validate separately
ALTER TABLE orders VALIDATE CONSTRAINT chk_orders_amount_positive;

-- WRONG: Single-step (scans table while holding heavy lock)
ALTER TABLE orders ADD CONSTRAINT chk_orders_amount_positive
    CHECK (amount > 0);

Adding NOT NULL Constraints

-- PostgreSQL 12+: Adding NOT NULL uses a CHECK constraint internally and is fast
-- IF there is an existing validated CHECK (column IS NOT NULL) constraint.

-- CORRECT: Fast NOT NULL addition pattern (PostgreSQL 12+)
-- Step 1: Add check constraint NOT VALID
ALTER TABLE users ADD CONSTRAINT chk_users_email_not_null
    CHECK (email IS NOT NULL) NOT VALID;

-- Step 2: Validate the constraint (does not block writes)
ALTER TABLE users VALIDATE CONSTRAINT chk_users_email_not_null;

-- Step 3: Add NOT NULL (instant because PostgreSQL sees the validated CHECK)
ALTER TABLE users ALTER COLUMN email SET NOT NULL;

-- Step 4: Drop the now-redundant CHECK constraint
ALTER TABLE users DROP CONSTRAINT chk_users_email_not_null;

Table Operations

Creating Tables

-- CORRECT: Table with all conventions applied
CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS order_items (
    id bigint GENERATED ALWAYS AS IDENTITY PRIMARY KEY,
    order_id bigint NOT NULL,
    product_id bigint NOT NULL,
    quantity integer NOT NULL,
    unit_price numeric(15, 2) NOT NULL,
    discount_pct numeric(5, 2) NOT NULL DEFAULT 0.00,
    created_at timestamptz NOT NULL DEFAULT now(),
    updated_at timestamptz NOT NULL DEFAULT now(),

    CONSTRAINT fk_order_items_order_id
        FOREIGN KEY (order_id) REFERENCES orders(id) ON DELETE CASCADE,
    CONSTRAINT fk_order_items_product_id
        FOREIGN KEY (product_id) REFERENCES products(id),
    CONSTRAINT chk_order_items_quantity_positive
        CHECK (quantity > 0),
    CONSTRAINT chk_order_items_unit_price_nonneg
        CHECK (unit_price >= 0),
    CONSTRAINT chk_order_items_discount_range
        CHECK (discount_pct >= 0 AND discount_pct <= 100)
);

-- Indexes (create concurrently for existing tables, inline OK for new tables)
CREATE INDEX idx_order_items_order_id ON order_items (order_id);
CREATE INDEX idx_order_items_product_id ON order_items (product_id);

-- Updated_at trigger
CREATE TRIGGER trg_order_items_updated_at
    BEFORE UPDATE ON order_items
    FOR EACH ROW
    EXECUTE FUNCTION update_updated_at_column();

-- Comments for documentation
COMMENT ON TABLE order_items IS 'Individual items within a customer order';
COMMENT ON COLUMN order_items.discount_pct IS 'Discount percentage (0-100)';

Partitioning Existing Tables

-- Convert an existing table to partitioned (requires data migration)
-- Step 1: Create new partitioned table
CREATE TABLE orders_partitioned (
    LIKE orders INCLUDING ALL
) PARTITION BY RANGE (created_at);

-- Step 2: Create partitions
CREATE TABLE orders_2025 PARTITION OF orders_partitioned
    FOR VALUES FROM ('2025-01-01') TO ('2026-01-01');
CREATE TABLE orders_2026 PARTITION OF orders_partitioned
    FOR VALUES FROM ('2026-01-01') TO ('2027-01-01');
CREATE TABLE orders_default PARTITION OF orders_partitioned DEFAULT;

-- Step 3: Copy data (during maintenance window or with dual-write)
INSERT INTO orders_partitioned SELECT * FROM orders;

-- Step 4: Swap tables (brief lock)
BEGIN;
ALTER TABLE orders RENAME TO orders_old;
ALTER TABLE orders_partitioned RENAME TO orders;
COMMIT;

-- Step 5: Drop old table after verification
-- DROP TABLE orders_old;  -- After confirming all is well

Data Migration Patterns

Batch Updates

-- CORRECT: Batch update for large tables
DO $$
DECLARE
    batch_size constant integer := 10000;
    updated integer;
    total_updated integer := 0;
BEGIN
    LOOP
        WITH batch AS (
            SELECT id
            FROM users
            WHERE email_normalized IS NULL
            ORDER BY id
            LIMIT batch_size
            FOR UPDATE SKIP LOCKED
        )
        UPDATE users u
        SET email_normalized = lower(trim(u.email))
        FROM batch b
        WHERE u.id = b.id;

        GET DIAGNOSTICS updated = ROW_COUNT;
        total_updated := total_updated + updated;
        RAISE NOTICE 'Updated % rows (total: %)', updated, total_updated;

        COMMIT;

        EXIT WHEN updated < batch_size;
        PERFORM pg_sleep(0.05);  -- Brief pause
    END LOOP;

    RAISE NOTICE 'Migration complete. Total rows updated: %', total_updated;
END $$;

Data Backfill with Progress

-- CORRECT: Backfill with progress tracking
DO $$
DECLARE
    total_rows bigint;
    processed bigint := 0;
    batch_size constant integer := 5000;
    rows_affected integer;
BEGIN
    SELECT count(*) INTO total_rows
    FROM orders WHERE shipping_estimate IS NULL;

    RAISE NOTICE 'Starting backfill: % rows to process', total_rows;

    LOOP
        UPDATE orders
        SET shipping_estimate = created_at + interval '5 days'
        WHERE id IN (
            SELECT id FROM orders
            WHERE shipping_estimate IS NULL
            ORDER BY id
            LIMIT batch_size
        );

        GET DIAGNOSTICS rows_affected = ROW_COUNT;
        processed := processed + rows_affected;

        RAISE NOTICE 'Progress: %/% (%%)',
            processed, total_rows,
            round(100.0 * processed / NULLIF(total_rows, 0), 1);

        COMMIT;
        EXIT WHEN rows_affected < batch_size;
        PERFORM pg_sleep(0.02);
    END LOOP;
END $$;

Online Schema Changes with pg_repack

For operations that normally require a full table rewrite (like CLUSTER or VACUUM FULL), pg_repack performs the operation online without blocking reads or writes.

# Install pg_repack
# Debian/Ubuntu: apt install postgresql-15-repack
# RHEL/CentOS: yum install pg_repack_15

# Repack a table (reclaim bloat, reorder by index)
pg_repack -d mydb -t orders

# Repack specific table by index order
pg_repack -d mydb -t orders -o created_at

# Repack only indexes of a table
pg_repack -d mydb -t orders --only-indexes

# Dry run
pg_repack -d mydb -t orders --dry-run

-- Create the extension (required)
CREATE EXTENSION IF NOT EXISTS pg_repack;

-- Alternative to VACUUM FULL (online, non-blocking)
-- Instead of: VACUUM FULL orders;  (blocks everything)
-- Use: pg_repack -d mydb -t orders  (online)

-- Alternative to CLUSTER (online, non-blocking)
-- Instead of: CLUSTER orders USING idx_orders_created_at;  (blocks everything)
-- Use: pg_repack -d mydb -t orders -o created_at  (online)

Migration Testing Checklist

Before deploying any migration to production:

[ ] 1. Migration runs successfully on fresh database (schema from scratch)
[ ] 2. Migration runs successfully on staging (existing data)
[ ] 3. Down migration reverses all changes cleanly
[ ] 4. Migration is idempotent (safe to run twice)
[ ] 5. No table-locking operations on high-traffic tables
[ ] 6. Indexes created with CONCURRENTLY where needed
[ ] 7. Foreign keys added with NOT VALID + VALIDATE
[ ] 8. Large data backfills are batched
[ ] 9. Migration has been tested with realistic data volume
[ ] 10. Rollback plan is documented for irreversible changes
[ ] 11. Application code is compatible with both pre- and post-migration schema
[ ] 12. Monitoring alerts are configured for migration duration

Anti-Patterns

1. Running Migrations Without Backups

-- WRONG: No backup before irreversible migration
DROP TABLE old_data;

-- CORRECT: Always backup first
-- pg_dump -Fc -t old_data mydb > old_data_backup.dump
-- Then run: DROP TABLE old_data;

2. Mixing DML and DDL

-- WRONG: Data changes mixed with schema changes in one migration
ALTER TABLE users ADD COLUMN status text;
UPDATE users SET status = 'active';
ALTER TABLE users ALTER COLUMN status SET NOT NULL;
-- If the UPDATE fails, the column exists but is nullable

-- CORRECT: Separate migrations
-- Migration 1: Add column
ALTER TABLE users ADD COLUMN status text;
-- Migration 2: Backfill data
UPDATE users SET status = 'active' WHERE status IS NULL;
-- Migration 3: Add constraint
ALTER TABLE users ALTER COLUMN status SET NOT NULL;

3. No Lock Timeout

-- WRONG: Migration with no lock timeout (could wait forever)
ALTER TABLE users ADD CONSTRAINT uq_users_email UNIQUE (email);

-- CORRECT: Set lock timeout for safety
SET lock_timeout = '5s';
ALTER TABLE users ADD CONSTRAINT uq_users_email UNIQUE (email);
RESET lock_timeout;
-- If lock is not acquired in 5 seconds, migration fails safely

4. CREATE INDEX Without CONCURRENTLY

-- WRONG: Blocking index creation on production table
CREATE INDEX idx_orders_status ON orders (status);

-- CORRECT: Non-blocking
CREATE INDEX CONCURRENTLY idx_orders_status ON orders (status);

5. Foreign Key Without NOT VALID

-- WRONG: Full table scan with heavy lock
ALTER TABLE orders ADD CONSTRAINT fk_orders_customer
    FOREIGN KEY (customer_id) REFERENCES customers(id);

-- CORRECT: Two-step approach
ALTER TABLE orders ADD CONSTRAINT fk_orders_customer
    FOREIGN KEY (customer_id) REFERENCES customers(id) NOT VALID;
ALTER TABLE orders VALIDATE CONSTRAINT fk_orders_customer;

6. No Transaction Safety

-- WRONG: Multiple operations outside transaction (partial failure leaves mess)
ALTER TABLE users ADD COLUMN phone text;
ALTER TABLE users ADD COLUMN phone_verified boolean;
CREATE INDEX idx_users_phone ON users (phone);
-- If second ALTER fails, first ALTER is committed, migration is in broken state

-- CORRECT: Wrap related DDL in transaction (except CONCURRENTLY operations)
BEGIN;
ALTER TABLE users ADD COLUMN phone text;
ALTER TABLE users ADD COLUMN phone_verified boolean NOT NULL DEFAULT false;
COMMIT;

-- Separate non-transactional migration for concurrent index
CREATE INDEX CONCURRENTLY idx_users_phone ON users (phone)
    WHERE phone IS NOT NULL;

7. No Monitoring During Migration

-- WRONG: Fire and forget

-- CORRECT: Monitor throughout migration
-- Terminal 1: Execute migration
CREATE INDEX CONCURRENTLY idx_orders_customer ON orders (customer_id);

-- Terminal 2: Monitor replication lag
-- watch -n 5 "psql -c \"SELECT client_addr, state,
--   sent_lsn - write_lsn AS write_lag,
--   sent_lsn - replay_lsn AS replay_lag
--   FROM pg_stat_replication;\""

-- Terminal 3: Monitor locks
-- watch -n 5 "psql -c \"SELECT pid, wait_event_type, wait_event, state, query
--   FROM pg_stat_activity WHERE wait_event_type = 'Lock';\""

-- Terminal 4: Monitor index creation progress
-- watch -n 5 "psql -c \"SELECT phase, blocks_total, blocks_done,
--   tuples_total, tuples_done
--   FROM pg_stat_progress_create_index;\""