# Managing migrations **URL:** \ **Category:** Rails\ **Created:** [March 10, 2009, 9:45pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/managing-migrations/162525 "2009-03-10T21:45:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![elliottg](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/e/b77776/32.png) [@elliottg](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/elliottg)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 9:45pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/managing-migrations/162525/1 "2009-03-10T21:45:04Z")
I have a migration “x” that when it runs self.up it adds a new column to a table, and of course when self. down is run it deletes said table… After I ran this migration I continued to work and in the process added a couple other migrations. After a while I realized that the column migration “x” created was a mistake and I no longer need it. So I ran rake db:migrate:down VERSION=x to delete the column. It worked great, but the problem is whenever I added another migration than ran rake db:migrate, migration “x” ran its self.up again and the column I no longer wanted was built back into my schema. What the best way to handle something like this? Is it insane to just manually delete a migration file to prevent it from ever being ran again? Thanks heaps, Elliott ---
**Author:** ![elliottg](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/e/b77776/32.png) [@elliottg](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/elliottg)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 9:53pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/managing-migrations/162525/2 "2009-03-10T21:53:22Z")
> What the best way to handle something like this? Is it insane to just > manually delete a migration file to prevent it from ever being ran > again? Yeah, you can delete it. It’s just a file. – Starr H. My blog: [http://starrhorne.com](http://starrhorne.com) Check out my Helpdesk RailsKit: [http://railskits.com/helpdesk/](http://railskits.com/helpdesk/) ---
**Author:** ![elliottg](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/e/b77776/32.png) [@elliottg](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/elliottg)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 10:03pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/managing-migrations/162525/3 "2009-03-10T22:03:56Z")
On Mar 10, 2009, at 4:52 PM, Starr H. wrote: > > What the best way to handle something like this? Is it insane to just > > manually delete a migration file to prevent it from ever being ran > > again? > > Yeah, you can delete it. It’s just a file. > > – > Starr H. > My blog: [http://starrhorne.com](http://starrhorne.com) > Check out my Helpdesk RailsKit: [http://railskits.com/helpdesk/](http://railskits.com/helpdesk/) Just create another migration that is the opposite of this one. -Rob Rob B. [http://agileconsultingllc.com](http://agileconsultingllc.com) removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid ---
**Author:** ![elliottg](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/e/b77776/32.png) [@elliottg](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/elliottg)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 10:20pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/managing-migrations/162525/4 "2009-03-10T22:20:57Z")
So, create another migration that would undo what the old problem one does… Would that be considered a better practice over just deleting the one you no longer need or is it just a personal preference? Thanks On Mar 10, 5:02 pm, Rob B. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) ---
**Author:** ![elliottg](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/e/b77776/32.png) [@elliottg](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/elliottg)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 10:38pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/managing-migrations/162525/5 "2009-03-10T22:38:35Z")
Thanks for the insight. EG ---
**Author:** ![elliottg](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/e/b77776/32.png) [@elliottg](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/elliottg)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2009, 12:11am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/managing-migrations/162525/6 "2009-03-11T00:11:17Z")
The answer gets a bit more strict if there are multiple developers involved. In that case, I’d always create the extra migration. However, if you never checked the migration into source control, then migrate:down, change it and migrate:up (or just delete it), is the right thing to do even in a multi-user development environment. -Rob On Mar 10, 2009, at 5:37 PM, elliottg wrote: > > > the one you no longer need or is it just a personal preference? > > > Starr H. > > > My blog:[http://starrhorne.com](http://starrhorne.com) > > > Check out my Helpdesk RailsKit:[http://railskits.com/helpdesk/](http://railskits.com/helpdesk/) Rob B. [http://agileconsultingllc.com](http://agileconsultingllc.com) removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid +1 513-295-4739 Skype: rob.biedenharn ---
**Author:** ![elliottg](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/e/b77776/32.png) [@elliottg](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/elliottg)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2009, 1:41am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/managing-migrations/162525/7 "2009-03-11T01:41:57Z")
elliottg wrote: > no longer wanted was built back into my schema. > > What the best way to handle something like this? Is it insane to just > manually delete a migration file to prevent it from ever being ran > again? > > Thanks heaps, > Elliott I’m just editing migration file to add/remove columns and don’t create new migrations to the same table until first branch/release version… then add new migration file (for the same table, if needed) and continue to add/remove columns until next branch/release version commit. It’s silly to add migration file for each column change within one version… tom # – Tomas Meinlschmidt, MS {MCT, MCP+I, MCSE, AER}, NetApp Filer/NetCache # [www.meinlschmidt.com](http://www.meinlschmidt.com) www.maxwellrender.cz www.lightgems.cz ---
**Author:** ![elliottg](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/e/b77776/32.png) [@elliottg](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/elliottg)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 10:32pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/managing-migrations/162525/8 "2009-03-10T22:32:05Z")
> So, create another migration that would undo what the old problem one > does… Would that be considered a better practice over just deleting > the one you no longer need or is it just a personal preference? If you’re in production, or far along in development it’s probably best to create the extra migration. If you’re early in development, I’d just delete it to keep things clean. SH – Starr H. My blog: [http://starrhorne.com](http://starrhorne.com) Check out my Helpdesk RailsKit: [http://railskits.com/helpdesk/](http://railskits.com/helpdesk/)