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sqldef is the easiest idempotent schema management tool for MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite3, and SQL Server that uses plain SQL DDLs. Define your desired schema in SQL, and sqldef generates and applies the migrations to update your database.

With sqldef, you maintain a single SQL file with your complete schema. To modify your schema - add columns, change constraints, or create indexes - simply edit this file. sqldef compares desired against current schema and generates the appropriate DDLs, ensuring your database reaches the desired state from any starting point.

Each database gets its own command (mysqldef,psqldef,sqlite3def,mssqldef) that mimics the connection options of the native database client, making it familiar and easy to integrate into existing workflows. The tool comes as a single binary with no dependencies, and provides idempotent operations that are safe to run multiple times.

This is inspired byRidgepole, which uses Ruby DSL. However, sqldef uses plain SQL, so all you need to remember is SQL.

• mysqldef - MySQL, MariaDB, and TiDB
• psqldef - PostgreSQL
• sqlite3def - SQLite3
• mssqldef - SQL Server

SeeCI workflow for tested versions.

This is the basic workflow, which is identical across all databases - only the connection options differ between commands.

Note: Replace$sqldef with the appropriate command for your database:

• mysqldef for MySQL
• psqldef for PostgreSQL
• sqlite3def for SQLite
• mssqldef for SQL Server

$sqldef [connection-options] --export> schema.sql

Export the existing database schema to review your starting point.

Editschema.sql to add, remove, or change columns/tables/indexes:

CREATETABLEusers (  idBIGINTPRIMARY KEY,  nameVARCHAR(100),  ageINTEGER,-- Added new column  created_atTIMESTAMP);

$sqldef [connection-options] --dry-run< schema.sql

Show the migrations that will be applied without executing them (e.g.,ALTER TABLE users ADD COLUMN age INTEGER).

$sqldef [connection-options] --apply< schema.sql

Apply the necessary DDLs to transform current schema to desired state.

Running again shows no changes needed - operations are idempotent.

sqldef can compare two SQL files without connecting to a database. This is useful for CI/CD pipelines, schema validation, and generating migration scripts.

To use offline mode, specify a.sql file as the database argument:

# Compare current.sql with desired.sql$sqldef current.sql< desired.sql

See the command documentation for more details on offline mode features.

See practical examples in theexample directory:

# Database mode - apply schema changes to a running database./example/run.sh psqldef# PostgreSQL./example/run.sh mysqldef# MySQL/MariaDB./example/run.sh sqlite3def# SQLite3./example/run.sh mssqldef# SQL Server# Offline mode - compare schema files without database connection./example/run-offline.sh psqldef# PostgreSQL./example/run-offline.sh mysqldef# MySQL/MariaDB./example/run-offline.sh sqlite3def# SQLite3./example/run-offline.sh mssqldef# SQL Server

• mysqldef
• psqldef
• sqlite3def
• mssqldef

Download the single-binary executable for your favorite database from:

https://github.com/sqldef/sqldef/releases

Docker images are available on Docker Hub:

https://hub.docker.com/u/sqldef

Debian packages are not currently available. Use the pre-built binaries or Docker images instead.

# mysqldefwget -O - https://github.com/sqldef/sqldef/releases/latest/download/mysqldef_linux_amd64.tar.gz \| tar xvz# psqldefwget -O - https://github.com/sqldef/sqldef/releases/latest/download/psqldef_linux_amd64.tar.gz \| tar xvz# sqlite3defwget -O - https://github.com/sqldef/sqldef/releases/latest/download/sqlite3def_linux_amd64.tar.gz \| tar xvz# mssqldefwget -O - https://github.com/sqldef/sqldef/releases/latest/download/mssqldef_linux_amd64.tar.gz \| tar xvz

Homebrew tap is available.

# mysqldefbrew install sqldef/sqldef/mysqldef# psqldefbrew install sqldef/sqldef/psqldef# sqlite3defbrew install sqldef/sqldef/sqlite3def# mssqldefbrew install sqldef/sqldef/mssqldef

There's a GitHub Action that can preview changes to your database schema:

https://github.com/sqldef/sqldef-preview-action

If you updateparser/parser.y, run:

$ make parser

Use the following commands to prepare command line tools and DB servers for running tests.

# Linux$ sudo apt install mysql-client postgresql-client sqlite3$ curl https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc| sudo apt-key add -$ curl https://packages.microsoft.com/config/ubuntu/22.04/prod.list| sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/msprod.list$ sudo apt-get update&& sudo apt-get install mssql-tools# then add: export PATH="$PATH:/opt/mssql-tools/bin"# macOS$ brew install libpq&& brew link --force libpq$ brew install microsoft/mssql-release/mssql-tools# Start database$ docker compose up# Run all tests$ maketest# Run *def tests$ gotest ./cmd/*def# Run a single test$ gotest ./cmd/mysqldef -run=TestApply/CreateTable

Test all database mode examples:

make test-example

This runs./example/run.sh for all tools. You need to have the respective databases running:

• ./example/run.sh psqldef - requires PostgreSQL
• ./example/run.sh mysqldef - requires MySQL/MariaDB
• ./example/run.sh sqlite3def - requires SQLite3 (no server needed)
• ./example/run.sh mssqldef - requires SQL Server

Test all offline mode examples (no database required):

make test-example-offline

This runs./example/run-offline.sh for all tools (psqldef, mysqldef, sqlite3def, mssqldef). These examples demonstrate offline mode (file-to-file comparison) without requiring database connections.

Please file a pull request if you have a feature request.

If you're unsure what to do, you may file a "Feature requests" ticket onDiscussionsand discuss how to implement that with the community.

Thetagpr andsqldef workflows are used to release sqldef.

1. (optional) A maintainer labels a pull request (PR) withminor ormajor to manage the next version.
2. When a PR is merged to the default branch,tagpr creates a PR to bump the version and update the CHANGELOG.md ("release PR").
3. A maintainer reviews the release PR and merges it.
4. tagpr creates and pushes a release tag, which triggers the next workflow.
5. sqldef workflows creates a GitHub release, build artifacts, upload them to the GitHub release.

Unless it's a pretty big change that needs a discussion, we encourage sqldef maintainers to merge and releasetheir own Pull Requests without asking/waiting for reviews.

We also expect them to release sqldef as frequently as possible.When there's a behavior change, sqldef should have at least one release on that day.

• @k0kubun
• @knaka (sqlite3def)
• @odz (mssqldef)
• @hokaccha (psqldef)
• @gfx (psqldef)

These are the component they were contributing to when they became a maintainer,but they're allowed to maintain every part of sqldef.

• @ytakaya (mssqldef)

Unless otherwise noted, the sqldef source files are distributed under the MIT License found in the LICENSE file.

parser is distributed under the Apache Version 2.0 license found in theparser/LICENSE.md file.