Rails Migrations

Rails Migrations

Use for schema changes and migration safety.

Rules

• Make migrations reversible whenever possible (reversible blocks with explicit up/down SQL for data moves).
• Use raw SQL for data manipulation inside migrations; avoid referencing app models that drift over time.
• Avoid long table locks on large tables; split risky work into multiple deploy-safe steps.
• Separate schema changes from heavy data backfills.
• Prefer database operations that remain safe when rerun (table_exists? / column_exists? guards where migrations may run against varied states).
• Small inline backfills are fine in one migration (add column → execute "UPDATE ..." → tighten constraint); anything long-running moves out of the migration path entirely.

Script Backfills (not everything is db:migrate)

Long-running or risky data backfills live in script/migrations/*.rb, run manually (e.g. via Kamal), not in the deploy migration window:

• Document preconditions and run instructions in the header comment.
• Preflight queries print scope before mutating.
• Idempotent: skip rows already processed (next if Entry.exists?(...)) so reruns are safe.
• Batched (find_each / in_batches), never one giant write.

Safe Patterns

• Add nullable column -> backfill -> enforce NOT NULL.
• Add index concurrently when supported/needed.
• Dedupe data (raw SQL delete of older duplicates) in the same migration immediately before adding a unique index.
• Data-only migrations are legitimate: find_each + update! up, update_all down.
• Batched backfills instead of one giant write.

Constraints: a deliberate choice, not a default

• Prefer DB-level uniqueness indexes over AR validates uniqueness (the validation races; the index doesn't).
• Foreign keys are a tradeoff: Fizzy deliberately removed all FKs (foreign_key: false on references) for DDL speed and shard-friendliness, keeping integrity in Rails. Either posture is fine — but make it consistent and documented, not accidental.
• Enforce odd invariants with cheap schema tricks where CHECK constraints are awkward: e.g. singleton tables via a singleton_guard column defaulting to 0 with a unique index.
• Atomic per-tenant counters: account.increment!(:cards_count) for sequence numbers + unique [account_id, number] index; a locked sequence row (first_or_create! under lock, increment!) for global ID sequences.

Multi-Tenant Index Strategy

• When tenanting an app, replace global indexes with [account_id, ...] composites in a dedicated migration phase; drop now-redundant single-column indexes and comment why.
• Scoped uniqueness lives at the DB level: add_index :tags, [:account_id, :title], unique: true.

Multi-Database / Multi-Adapter Apps

• Solid Queue/Cache/Cable each get their own database with separate migrations_paths and schema files.
• Supporting SQLite + MySQL from one codebase: early-return adapter guards in migrations (return if connection.adapter_name == "SQLite"), adapter-specific DDL (FTS5 vs sharded fulltext), and dual schema dumps (schema.rb / schema_sqlite.rb via per-config schema_dump).
• SQLite in production: set default_transaction_mode: immediate to reduce SQLITE_BUSY under concurrent writers.
• Disable dump_schema_after_migration in production.

Staged Rollout Playbooks

• Column replacement

  • Deploy 1: add new nullable column.
  • Deploy 2: dual-write / backfill.
  • Deploy 3: read from new column.
  • Deploy 4: enforce constraints, then drop old column later.

• Constraint hardening

  • Add data cleanup/backfill first.
  • Add index/constraint only after data is compliant.
  • Flip application behavior to rely on constraint once live.

• Destructive changes

  • First deprecate reads/writes in app code.
  • Remove usage in a separate deploy.
  • Drop columns/tables only after confirmation window.

Red Flags

• Irreversible migrations without explicit reason.
• Combining schema rewrite + heavy data migration in one step.
• Large backfills inside transaction-heavy default migrations (move to script/migrations/).
• Dropping columns/tables without staged deprecation.
• Referencing app models in migrations (model behavior drifts; use SQL or inline minimal AR classes).
• Adding a unique index without first deduping existing data.
• validates uniqueness with no backing unique index.