Entity Framework Core Migrations: Managing Schema Changes

EF Core migrations track database schema changes alongside your code. Here’s how to use them effectively.

Basic Commands

# Create migration
dotnet ef migrations add AddUserTable

# Apply migrations
dotnet ef database update

# Revert to specific migration
dotnet ef database update PreviousMigrationName

# Generate SQL script
dotnet ef migrations script

Migration File

public partial class AddUserTable : Migration
{
    protected override void Up(MigrationBuilder migrationBuilder)
    {
        migrationBuilder.CreateTable(
            name: "Users",
            columns: table => new
            {
                Id = table.Column<int>(nullable: false)
                    .Annotation("SqlServer:Identity", "1, 1"),
                Email = table.Column<string>(maxLength: 256)
            },
            constraints: table => table.PrimaryKey("PK_Users", x => x.Id));
    }

    protected override void Down(MigrationBuilder migrationBuilder)
    {
        migrationBuilder.DropTable("Users");
    }
}

Best Practices

• Always review generated migrations
• Test Down() methods
• Use SQL scripts for production
• Consider data migrations separately

References

• EF Core Migrations