Database Migrations | ShipSaaS Documentation | ShipSaaS

Complete guide to database migrations using Drizzle ORM in the GitHub Actions CI/CD pipeline.

Migration Overview

The SaaS boilerplate uses Drizzle ORM for database migrations with automatic execution in the CI/CD pipeline: Migration Strategy:

Schema-first approach with TypeScript models
Automatic migration generation from schema changes
CI/CD integration runs migrations before deployment
Production safety with rollback capabilities
UUID extension required for PostgreSQL

Migration Flow:

Modify database schema in TypeScript models
Generate migration files with pnpm db:generate
Test migrations locally with pnpm db:migrate
Push to GitHub - CI/CD runs migrations automatically
Vercel deploys with updated database schema

Drizzle Configuration

Database setup and migration configuration:

Drizzle Config

File: drizzle.config.ts

import { defineConfig } from 'drizzle-kit'
import initDotEnv from './src/db/scripts/env'

initDotEnv()

export default defineConfig({
  schema: './src/db/models/*',           // Schema location
  out: './drizzle/migrations',          // Migration output directory
  dialect: 'postgresql',                // Database type
  dbCredentials: {
    url: process.env.DATABASE_URL as string,
  },
  verbose: true,                        // Detailed migration logs
  strict: true,                         // Strict type checking
  introspect: {
    casing: 'camel',                    // Convert snake_case to camelCase
  },
})

Migration Scripts

Package.json migration commands:

{
  "scripts": {
    "db:generate": "drizzle-kit generate",     // Generate migration files
    "db:migrate": "drizzle-kit migrate",       // Apply migrations
    "db:push": "drizzle-kit push --force",     // Push schema directly (dev only)
    "db:pull": "drizzle-kit pull",             // Pull schema from database
    "db:drop": "drizzle-kit drop",             // Drop all tables (careful!)
    "db:studio": "drizzle-kit studio",         // Open Drizzle Studio
    "db:check": "tsx src/db/scripts/check.ts", // Check database connection
    "db:seed": "tsx src/db/scripts/seed.ts",   // Seed database with data
    "db:clear": "tsx src/db/scripts/clear.ts", // Clear all data
    "db:reset-seed": "pnpm db:clear && pnpm db:push && pnpm db:seed"
  }
}

Database Schema

The boilerplate includes a complete database schema managed by Drizzle ORM with PostgreSQL, including:

Authentication system with Better Auth (users, sessions, accounts, 2FA)
Multi-tenant organizations with roles and member management
Subscription and billing with Stripe integration
Project and task management features
Notification system with user preferences
User settings and configuration options

All schema changes are managed through Drizzle migrations and automatically applied during deployment.

Migration Execution in CI/CD

How migrations run in GitHub Actions:

Production Workflow Migration

File: .github/workflows/production.yml

- name: Install Drizzle Kit
  run: npm install -g drizzle-kit

- name: Run database migrations
  run: pnpm db:migrate
  env:
    DATABASE_URL: ${{ secrets.DATABASE_URL }}

Migration Process:

Install Drizzle Kit globally in CI environment
Run pnpm db:migrate with production DATABASE_URL
Migrations execute against production database
If migrations fail, entire deployment is blocked
If migrations succeed, Vercel deployment proceeds

Migration Script Execution

File: src/db/scripts/migrate.ts

#!/usr/bin/env node
import { sql } from 'drizzle-orm'
import { drizzle } from 'drizzle-orm/node-postgres'
import { migrate } from 'drizzle-orm/node-postgres/migrator'
import pg from 'pg'

import initDotEnv from './env'
initDotEnv()

const runMigrate = async () => {
  if (!process.env.DATABASE_URL) {
    throw new Error('DATABASE_URL is not defined')
  }

  const client = new pg.Client({
    connectionString: process.env.DATABASE_URL,
  })

  await client.connect()
  const db = drizzle(client)

  console.log('⏳ Running migrations...')

  const start = Date.now()

  // Critical: Create UUID extension first
  await db.execute(sql`CREATE EXTENSION IF NOT EXISTS "uuid-ossp"`)

  // Run all pending migrations
  await migrate(db, { migrationsFolder: './drizzle/migrations' })

  const end = Date.now()

  console.log('✅ Migrations completed in', end - start, 'ms')
  process.exit(0)
}

try {
  await runMigrate()
} catch (error) {
  console.error('❌ Migration failed')
  console.error(error)
  process.exit(1)
}

Key Features:

UUID Extension: Creates uuid-ossp extension required for UUID primary keys
Error Handling: Fails gracefully with clear error messages
Performance Tracking: Logs migration execution time
Exit Codes: Proper exit codes for CI/CD pipeline

Development Workflow

Standard workflow for database changes:

1. Modify Schema Models

// Update TypeScript schema files in src/db/models/
export const users = pgTable('user', {
  // ... existing fields
  newField: text('new_field'), // Add new field
})

2. Generate Migration

pnpm db:generate
# Creates migration file in drizzle/migrations/

3. Test Locally

pnpm db:migrate
# Applies migration to local database

4. Deploy

git add . && git commit -m "Add new field"
git push origin main
# GitHub Actions will run migration automatically

Migration Safety

The CI/CD pipeline ensures safe migrations:

Automatic execution during GitHub Actions
Production database receives delta changes only
Rollback capability through Vercel deployment rollback
Zero-downtime for additive changes (new columns, tables, indexes)

Migration best practices:

Add new columns as nullable first
Use separate migrations for breaking changes
Test thoroughly in preview environment before production

Your database migrations are automatically handled by the CI/CD pipeline. When you push schema changes, Drizzle will generate and execute the necessary delta migrations during deployment.