abpdev-migrations

name	abpdev-migrations
description	Manage EF Core migrations and database drops across multiple ABP projects. Use when the user wants to add, clear, recreate migrations, or drop databases for one or many EntityFrameworkCore projects.

abpdev migrations

Use this skill for EF Core migration and database-drop workflows.

Covered commands

Command	Purpose
abpdev migrations add	Add a migration to one or more EF Core projects
abpdev migrations clear	Delete Migrations folders
abpdev migrations recreate	Clear migrations, recreate an initial migration, optionally drop databases
abpdev database-drop	Drop databases for EF Core projects with design-time tools

Prerequisites

• AbpDevTools installed
• dotnet-ef available for migration commands
• Target projects should be discoverable EntityFrameworkCore projects

Shared options

Migration commands share these selectors:

• -a, --all: run on all discovered EF Core projects
• -p, --projects: filter by project name/path fragment
• positional working-directory: root directory to search

If neither --all nor --projects is given, the commands use interactive project selection.

Add migrations

abpdev migrations add [working-directory] -n Initial
abpdev migrations add -a -n AddAuditTables
abpdev migrations add -p MyApp.EntityFrameworkCore -n AddTenantIndexes

Behavior:

• Runs dotnet-ef migrations add <name> --project <csproj> for each selected project
• Shows live per-project progress/status

Clear migrations

abpdev migrations clear
abpdev migrations clear -a
abpdev migrations clear -p MyApp.EntityFrameworkCore

Behavior:

• Deletes the Migrations folder next to each selected EF Core project

Recreate migrations

abpdev migrations recreate
abpdev migrations recreate --drop-database
abpdev migrations recreate -p MyApp.EntityFrameworkCore --drop-database

Behavior:

1. Deletes each selected project's Migrations folder
2. Runs dotnet-ef migrations add Initial --project <csproj>
3. Optionally runs dotnet ef database drop --force in each selected project directory

Notes:

• The recreated migration name is currently Initial.
• --drop-database only affects the selected projects.

Database drop

abpdev database-drop
abpdev database-drop --force
abpdev database-drop -e SqlServer
abpdev database-drop -p Volo.Abp.EntityFrameworkCore.SqlServer

Useful options:

• -f, --force: pass --force to EF database drop
• -p, --package: only keep projects with a direct reference to a specific package
• -e, --env: apply a configured virtual environment before dropping

Behavior:

• Finds EF Core projects with design-time tools
• Optionally filters them by direct package reference
• Runs dotnet ef database drop

Guidance for agents

• Use migrations add for normal schema evolution.
• Use migrations recreate only when the user explicitly wants a reset-style workflow.
• Use database-drop -e <env> when connection strings should come from a named environment.
• In multi-provider repos, database-drop --package <provider-package> is useful to isolate SQL Server vs PostgreSQL projects.

Troubleshooting

No EF Core projects found

• Confirm the working directory is the solution root.
• Confirm the EF Core project has design-time tooling where required.

Migration creation fails

• Ensure dotnet-ef is installed and available on PATH.
• Build the solution first if the project has compile errors.

Wrong project was selected

• Re-run with -p <name-fragment> or --all.