Squashing Database Migrations Without Breaking Production

Logosofia no Dia a Dia · Apr 28, 2026 · 29m

If you've ever opened a migrations folder and found yourself on an archaeological dig through years of schema decisions, this episode is for you. We break down the safe, tool-agnostic technique for squashing old database migrations into a single baseline file — a pattern GitLab has been running in production since 2023. We cover the five-step mechanical process (fresh database, schema dump, baseline file, history table update, file deletion), why production never touches the squashed file, and the real performance gains you can expect (up to 64% speedup on projects with 35+ migrations). We…