db-migrate vs sqldef
db-migrate
github.com
sqldef
sqldef.github.ioSide by side
| Figure | db-migrate | sqldef |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 0 |
| Spec score · Database Migration Tools | 8.5 (#5) | 7.2 (#26) |
| License | The project is distributed under the MIT License. | The sqldef source files are distributed under the MIT License, while the parser is distributed under Apache License 2.0. |
| Purpose | db-migrate describes itself as a database migration framework for Node.js. | sqldef is a CLI tool for diffing SQL schemas and managing RDBMS migrations with regular SQL DDLs. |
| Support | The repository invites users to seek project support through backer and sponsor contributions. | The project invites feature requests through pull requests or GitHub Discussions. |
| Supported databases | The documentation lists MySQL, PostgreSQL, sqlite3, MongoDB, and CockroachDB as supported databases. | The site lists MySQL, MariaDB, TiDB, PostgreSQL, SQL Server, and SQLite3 as supported databases. |
Plans
In their own words
db-migrate
db-migrate is a free, open-source database migration framework for Node.js applications. It runs on Linux and can be self-hosted. The command-line interface provides up, down, reset, create, and db commands for applying, rolling back, resetting, creating, and managing migrations. Supported databases listed by the project include MySQL, PostgreSQL, sqlite3, MongoDB, and CockroachDB, with database drivers installed separately. Migration files support callback-based or promise-based interfaces, while the --sql-file option creates separate SQL files for migration-up and migration-down statements. Applied migrations are recorded in a migrations table. Environment settings can come from database.json, with command-line choices for the environment and configuration file. Database usernames and passwords can reference environment variables. Global and local npm installation are documented. Node.js 24 and newer are officially supported; package metadata specifies version 8.0.0 or later. Rollback is supported, and the format is mixed.