# ankane/strong_migrations

Catch unsafe migrations in development

Repository: https://github.com/ankane/strong_migrations
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/strong_migrations
Language: Ruby
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Last push: 2026-08-15T21:06:18+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 76/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 97, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3936, "days_push": 18, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 4438, forks 199 (observed 2026-08-28T04:08:49.343420+00:00)

## What it is
A Ruby gem for Rails that catches unsafe database migrations in development by detecting potentially dangerous operations like removing columns or adding indexes non-concurrently. It blocks these operations by default and provides instructions on safer alternatives, supporting PostgreSQL, MySQL, and MariaDB.

## Use cases
- prevent downtime from dangerous Rails migrations
- catch unsafe column removals before deploying
- get guidance on zero-downtime schema changes
- block non-concurrent index creation on Postgres
- safely backfill data in large tables
- enforce safe migration practices across a Rails team

## When to choose
- you run a Rails app with PostgreSQL, MySQL, or MariaDB and want to avoid migration-caused outages
- your team deploys schema changes to large production tables
- you want built-in guidance for safe migration patterns

## When to avoid
- you use a framework other than Rails or an ORM other than Active Record
- your database is small or rarely migrated and the overhead isn't justified
- you need migration safety checks outside Ruby

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: stable
- function: database, security, developer-tools, testing
- domain: databases, web-development, developer-tools, backend
- platform: ruby, cross-platform
- tags: rails, activerecord, migrations, database-safety, postgresql, mysql, zero-downtime

## Member repositories
- ankane/strong_migrations (main) score 76

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:49.343420+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T18:20:51.255029+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/ankane/strong_migrations (fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:49.343420+00:00, sha 5b5fe262b78f)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.