Database Migration - CI/CD Glossary Definition

A database migration is a versioned change to schema or data that a migration tool applies in order, keeping every environment in sync.

A database migration is a versioned, ordered change to a database schema or data, applied by a migration tool so every environment reaches the same state.

In CI/CD, migrations are checked into source control alongside application code and run automatically during deploy, so the database schema always matches the code that expects it.

Why it matters in CI

Running migrations as a pipeline step means schema changes are reviewed, tested, and applied through the same process as code, instead of by hand in production.

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