migradiff 1.3.0

Like `diff` but for PostgreSQL schemas — actively maintained fork

migra — PostgreSQL Schema Diff Tool

The actively maintained fork of djrobstep/migra.

migra compares two PostgreSQL database schemas and generates the SQL migration script needed to transform one into the other. Drop it into your CI pipeline and stop writing ALTER TABLE by hand.

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Why This Fork

The original migra was officially deprecated in 2024. This fork picks up where it left off — fixing known issues, adding Python 3.12+ support, and extending coverage for advanced PostgreSQL features.

If you were using djrobstep/migra, this is your drop-in continuation. Nothing has changed about how the tool works. We're just keeping the lights on and making it better.

A note on naming: This is an independent community fork. The CLI command remains migra for drop-in backward compatibility with existing scripts and pipelines. The package name is migradiff to distinguish it from the deprecated upstream. If you are looking for the original djrobstep/migra, it is archived at https://github.com/djrobstep/migra.

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Quickstart

Install

pip install migradiff

Requires Python 3.10+ and a running PostgreSQL instance (12+).

To install from source:

git clone https://github.com/migradiff/migra
cd migra
pip install -e .

Note: PyPI package coming with v1.1.0.

Basic Usage

Point migra at two database connections and it outputs the DDL needed to migrate from one to the other:

migra \
  postgresql://user:pass@localhost/db_production \
  postgresql://user:pass@localhost/db_branch \
  --unsafe

Output is plain SQL — pipe it, review it, apply it:

migra postgres://db_a postgres://db_b > migration.sql
psql postgres://db_production < migration.sql

Schema Dumps (No Live Connection Required)

If you can't or don't want to point migra at a live database, use pg_dump -s to generate a schema dump and diff that instead:

pg_dump -s postgres://db_production > schema_a.sql
pg_dump -s postgres://db_branch     > schema_b.sql
migra --from-file schema_a.sql schema_b.sql

This is the recommended approach for CI pipelines and security-conscious environments — no production credentials required.

Migrations Directory (No Live Branch Database Required)

If your target state is defined by a folder of migration files:

migra --from-migrations-dir ./migrations postgres://db_production

MigraDiff applies the migrations to an ephemeral database and diffs the result. Supports Supabase, Flyway, and standard numeric naming conventions.

Scoped to a Schema

# Single schema
migra --schema myschema postgres://db_a postgres://db_b

# Multiple schemas (comma-separated)
migra --schema public,reporting postgres://db_a postgres://db_b

JSON Output

For programmatic consumption or CI pipelines:

migra --output json postgres://db_a postgres://db_b

Output includes per-statement risk classification (safe, warning, destructive) and a summary with overall risk level.

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AI-Powered Explanation (Optional)

MigraDiff can explain any migration in plain English — what each change does, what risks it carries, and safer alternatives for destructive operations.

migra --explain postgres://db_a postgres://db_b

Output:

--- Migration SQL ---
ALTER TABLE public.users ADD COLUMN email text;
DROP TABLE public.legacy_sessions;

--- AI Explanation ---
This migration makes 2 changes to your database:

1. SAFE: Adds an email column (text) to the users table.
   No existing data is affected.

2. ⚠ DESTRUCTIVE: Drops the legacy_sessions table entirely.
   All data in this table will be permanently lost.
   Consider archiving before dropping.

Overall risk: HIGH

Powered by Claude (Anthropic). Bring your own API key — no data is sent to MigraDiff servers.

Setup

Install the AI extras:

pip install migradiff[ai]

Configure your API key once:

migra --setup-ai

Or set the environment variable:

export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...

Get an API key at https://console.anthropic.com

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Development Setup

The test suite requires a running PostgreSQL instance. The easiest way to get one is via Docker Compose:

docker compose up -d

This starts a Postgres 16 container on localhost:5432 with trust authentication. No password required.

To stop it:

docker compose down

Data persists between restarts via the migradiff-pgdata volume. To reset completely:

docker compose down -v

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Docker

No Python environment? Use the official image:

docker run --rm ghcr.io/migradiff/migra \
  postgres://db_a postgres://db_b

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GitHub Actions

Add schema diffing to your pull request workflow:

- uses: migradiff/migra@v1
  with:
    base_url: ${{ secrets.DB_PRODUCTION_URL }}
    head_url: ${{ secrets.DB_BRANCH_URL }}

Fail the build automatically if destructive operations are detected:

- uses: migradiff/migra@v1
  with:
    base_url: ${{ secrets.DB_PRODUCTION_URL }}
    head_url: ${{ secrets.DB_BRANCH_URL }}
    fail_on_destructive: "true"

Use schema dump files instead of live connections:

- uses: migradiff/migra@v1
  with:
    base_file: schema_production.sql
    head_file: schema_branch.sql

See docs/action-usage.md for full configuration options.

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Pre-commit Hook

# .pre-commit-config.yaml
repos:
  - repo: https://github.com/migradiff/migra
    rev: v1.1.0
    hooks:
      - id: migra

See pre-commit-config.example.yaml in the repo root for full configuration options.

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What migra Understands

• Tables, columns, constraints, indexes
• Views and materialized views
• Functions and stored procedures
• Sequences
• Enums, composite types, domains
• Row-Level Security (RLS) policies
• Foreign data wrappers
• Column-level privileges
• Partitioned tables

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Improvements Over Upstream

Area	Upstream (deprecated)	This Fork
Python 3.12+	Deprecation warnings	Clean — no warnings
RLS policies	Partial, equality bug	Full CREATE/DROP, partition support
Error messages	Cryptic on unsupported types	Actionable with object name and issue link
--schema flag	Edge cases in multi-schema DBs	Comma-separated, cross-schema dependencies resolved
pg_dump input	Not supported	First-class --from-file mode
JSON output	Not supported	--output json with risk classification
Docker image	None	ghcr.io/migradiff/migra
GitHub Action	None	migradiff/migra-action
Pre-commit hook	None	.pre-commit-hooks.yaml
Dev environment	Manual Docker commands	docker compose up -d
AI explanation	None	--explain flag with Claude — plain English diff explanation, risk analysis, safer alternatives

See CHANGELOG.md for the full fix history.

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Known Limitations

migra generates the SQL diff — it does not apply it. Review every generated script before running against production. Destructive operations (DROP TABLE, DROP COLUMN) are flagged in JSON output mode but not blocked in plain SQL mode.

migra requires a live PostgreSQL connection to introspect schemas, or schema dump files via --from-file. It does not parse raw DDL text.

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Contributing

Bug reports and PRs are welcome. If you're fixing something that was reported upstream in djrobstep/migra, reference that issue number in your PR — it helps us track what the community most needs fixed.

git clone https://github.com/migradiff/migra
cd migra
docker compose up -d
pip install -e ".[dev]"
pytest

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License

MIT. See LICENSE.

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Acknowledgements

This project is a fork of djrobstep/migra, created and originally maintained by Robert Lechte. The core diffing engine is his work. We are grateful for it.