# Migration

> How to change the database schema in this repo. Current engine: node-pg-migrate, with SQL generated from Drizzle schema changes when possible. Load whenever you add/alter/drop a table, column, enum, index, constraint, RLS/function/grant, or any file under packages/db/migrations.

- Skill: `kortix-ai/migration` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add kortix-ai/migration`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/kortix-ai/migration/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Data & Analytics
- Author: kortix-ai (https://skillmd.com/u/kortix-ai)
- Updated: 2026-09-10
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/kortix-ai/migration

---


# Database migrations

The canonical, detailed runbook is `packages/db/MIGRATIONS.md`. This skill is a
short safety wrapper; if anything here seems incomplete, trust that file and the
current `package.json` scripts.

> **Also load the `learnings` skill.** It carries the incident rules that apply
> while WRITING a migration — above all: never backfill data inside a
> single-transaction `.sql` migration (2026-08-10 v0.12.7 prod outage; enforced
> by the `backfill-safe` lint guard, but the rule explains what to build
> instead: a batched `.concurrent.ts` pass or an out-of-band runbook).

## Current model

- **Engine:** node-pg-migrate, invoked by `packages/db/scripts/migrate.ts`.
- **Schema source:** `packages/db/src/schema/kortix.ts` for the Drizzle-modeled
  `kortix` schema.
- **Migration files:** immutable SQL files in `packages/db/migrations/`, named
  with a 17-digit UTC timestamp (`YYYYMMDDHHMMSSmmm_slug.sql`).
- **Applied-state table:** `kortix_migrations.pgmigrations` (node-pg-migrate
  tracks migration names; it does not checksum file contents).
- **Deploy:** `deploy-dev.yml` and `deploy-prod.yml` run `pnpm --filter
  @kortix/db migrate` before the ECS Fargate rollout (`infra/scripts/ecs-deploy.sh`).
  Migrations always land before new code.

## Rules

1. Never edit a migration that has been applied anywhere. Write a new migration.
2. Never use `drizzle-kit push` or hand-apply production DDL outside the migration
   flow.
3. Review every generated SQL file before it reaches a shared DB.
4. Prefer expand/contract for destructive or compatibility-sensitive changes.
   Any migration that drops/alters a constraint, unique index, column, or enum
   value needs a `-- mixed-version-safe: <...>` (or `-- enum-value-checked: <...>`
   for `ADD VALUE`) annotation, or CI fails it — see MIGRATIONS.md's worked
   examples (the 20260713220001000 unique-index-drop incident and the
   sandbox_provider "platinum" enum-drift incident).
5. Adding an index/dropping an index on an EXISTING table: use
   `pnpm migrate:create <slug> --concurrent` (the `.concurrent.ts` escape
   hatch), never a plain `CREATE INDEX` — see MIGRATIONS.md "Roll-forward
   safety" for why plain SQL migrations structurally can't run CONCURRENTLY
   here, and the multi-statement `pgm.sql()` footgun to avoid.
6. Prod is live: show the exact SQL and get explicit go-ahead before any manual
   prod migration action.

## Commands from repo root

| Command | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| `pnpm migrate` | Apply pending migrations using node-pg-migrate. |
| `pnpm migrate:status` | Dry-run/list pending migrations; exits non-zero if any are pending. |
| `pnpm migrate:create <slug>` | Scaffold a hand-written SQL migration with the house-rules template. |
| `pnpm migrate:create <slug> --concurrent` | Scaffold the `.concurrent.ts` CONCURRENTLY escape hatch. |
| `pnpm migrate:generate <slug>` | Generate SQL from a `kortix.ts` schema change and update the Drizzle snapshot. |
| `pnpm migrate:fake` | Mark pending migrations as applied without running them (for baselining existing envs). |
| `pnpm --filter @kortix/db lint` | Full local check: filename/order rules + mixed-version/enum-value guard + squawk (deterministic Postgres zero-downtime linter). Run before every push touching `packages/db/migrations`. |
| `pnpm migrate:lint` | Just the filename/order/mixed-version/enum-value checks (no squawk, no network). |

## Safe schema-change loop

1. Edit `packages/db/src/schema/kortix.ts` for schema-shape changes, or create a
   hand-written migration for data/RLS/functions/grants/custom SQL, or a
   `--concurrent` migration for index create/drop.
2. Run `pnpm migrate:generate <slug>` or `pnpm migrate:create <slug> [--concurrent]`.
3. Read the SQL top-to-bottom. Stop on accidental `DROP`, unsafe type changes,
   immediate `NOT NULL` on populated tables, non-idempotent backfills, or a
   missing mixed-version/enum-value annotation.
4. Run `pnpm --filter @kortix/db lint` and the relevant package tests/checks.
5. Apply to a local/throwaway DB before dev/prod when the change is non-trivial.
6. Commit both the migration SQL and any generated Drizzle snapshot changes.

See `packages/db/MIGRATIONS.md` for the full baseline, preview/prod behavior,
self-hosting command, and failure drill.