| name | db-migration |
| description | Create or update database schema and generate migrations. Use when modifying ent schema, adding database fields/tables, or generating migration files. |
| user-invocable | true |
| argument-hint | [description of schema change] |
| allowed-tools | Read, Edit, Write, Bash, Grep, Glob, Agent |
Database Schema Change & Migration
You are helping the user modify the OpenMeter database schema and generate a corresponding migration.
Context
- Schema files:
openmeter/ent/schema/*.go — ent schema definitions (source of truth)
- Generated ent code:
openmeter/ent/db/ — DO NOT edit manually
- Migrations dir:
tools/migrate/migrations/ — DO NOT edit manually
- Always use
--env local — we do not use Atlas Cloud services
Workflow
Follow these steps in order:
Step 1: Modify the ent schema
Edit or create files in openmeter/ent/schema/. Look at existing schema files for conventions.
If the user described what change they want ($ARGUMENTS), implement it. Otherwise, ask what schema changes are needed. When creating a new schema always define schema to support soft delete.
Schemas supporting soft delete always have a deleted_at field.
Step 2: Regenerate ent code
Run:
make generate
This runs go generate ./... which regenerates the ent client code in openmeter/ent/db/ from the schema definitions. Check that it completes without errors.
Step 3: Generate the migration diff
Run:
atlas migrate --env local diff <migration-name>
Where <migration-name> is a short descriptive snake_case name for the change (e.g., add_customer_email, create_invoice_table). Derive the name from the schema change being made.
This creates timestamped .up.sql and .down.sql files in tools/migrate/migrations/ and updates atlas.sum.
Step 4: Copy view definitions into the migration (if views exist)
If the schema includes ent views (schemas with ent.View), the generated view SQL must be manually copied into the .up.sql migration file. Atlas does not auto-generate view DDL.
- Run
make generate to regenerate tools/migrate/views.sql from ent view schemas
- Copy the relevant
CREATE VIEW statements from tools/migrate/views.sql into the end of the generated .up.sql migration file
- If the migration replaces a previous view definition, add a
DROP VIEW IF EXISTS "<view_name>" statement before the CREATE VIEW
The view parity test (TestViewDefinitionsMatchGeneratedSchemaSQL in tools/migrate/view_parity_test.go) validates that view definitions in migrations match the generated view SQL. It strips individual VIEW statements from migration files while preserving all other DDL statements in the same file, so mixing VIEW and non-VIEW statements in a single migration is safe.
Step 5: Review the generated migration
Read the generated .up.sql file and verify:
- The SQL matches the intended schema change
- No unintended changes are included
- Indexes are created where appropriate
Present a summary of the migration to the user.
Available Mixins
From pkg/framework/entutils/mixins.go:
| Mixin | Fields | Notes |
|---|
entutils.IDMixin{} | id char(26) ULID | Auto-generated, unique, immutable |
entutils.NamespaceMixin{} | namespace string | Immutable, indexed |
entutils.TimeMixin{} | created_at, updated_at, deleted_at (nillable) | Provides soft delete support |
entutils.MetadataMixin{} | metadata JSONB map[string]string | Optional |
entutils.ResourceMixin{} | ID + Namespace + Metadata + Time + name + description | Composite of above mixins |
entutils.UniqueResourceMixin{} | Resource + key | Adds unique index on (namespace, key, deleted_at) |
entutils.KeyMixin{} | key string | Immutable, not empty |
entutils.CadencedMixin{} | active_from, active_to (nillable) | For time-bounded entities |
Usage in schema:
func (<Entity>) Mixin() []ent.Mixin {
return []ent.Mixin{
entutils.IDMixin{},
entutils.NamespaceMixin{},
entutils.TimeMixin{},
}
}
Field, Edge, and Index Patterns
For fields, edges (relationships), and indexes, read existing schemas in openmeter/ent/schema/ for conventions. Key things to know:
- JSONB fields use
entutils.JSONStringValueScanner — see openmeter/ent/schema/llmcostprice.go
- Foreign keys use
char(26) schema type to match ULID IDs
- Soft-delete unique indexes include
deleted_at in the unique constraint (e.g., index.Fields("namespace", "key", "deleted_at").Unique()) — always filter with Where(<entity>db.DeletedAtIsNil()) in queries
- Cascade deletes use
entsql.OnDelete(entsql.Cascade) on the parent edge
Troubleshooting
Rehashing migrations
If the atlas.sum file gets out of sync (e.g., after manually editing a migration file or resolving conflicts), rehash it:
atlas migrate --env local hash
Dev database
Atlas uses a Docker-based dev database (docker://postgres/15/dev) for diffing. Make sure Docker is running before generating migrations.
Migration format
Migrations are generated, never edit them manually.
Migrations use golang-migrate format. Each migration has:
<timestamp>_<name>.up.sql — applied when migrating up
<timestamp>_<name>.down.sql — applied when migrating down
Important Reminders
- Always use
--env local with atlas commands
- Never edit files in
openmeter/ent/db/ manually
- Never edit migration files in
tools/migrate/migrations manually
- Run
make generate before atlas migrate diff so the ent code is up to date
- If compilation errors occur after schema changes, fix the schema first, then re-run
make generate