README

Catch dangerous migrations before they lock your production tables.

This is strong_migrations for Laravel: it inspects every migration as it runs and stops the ones that take dangerous locks — then tells you exactly how to write them safely.

composer require parsaaftabi/laravel-strong-migrations

That's it. No configuration needed — it hooks into Laravel's schema builder automatically.

What it catches

Operation	Default	Why it matters
Index built without `CONCURRENTLY` (PostgreSQL)	block	Blocks writes for the whole build
`dropColumn()`	block	Breaks deployed code still using the column
`renameColumn()`	block	Breaks deployed code using the old name
`NOT NULL` column without a default	block	Fails on existing rows; can rewrite the table
Volatile `DB::raw()` default on a new column	block	Forces a full table rewrite on every row
Changing a column's type	block	Rewrites the whole table under lock
Adding a foreign key	warn	Validates every existing row under lock
Unbatched `UPDATE` / `DELETE` inside a migration	warn	Holds row locks for the entire statement

When a blocked operation is found, the migration throws before a single statement runs, and the exception shows the safe rewrite:

Unsafe migration blocked by strong-migrations:

[add_index] Adding the index "users_email_index" on (email) takes an ACCESS
EXCLUSIVE lock on PostgreSQL and blocks writes until the build finishes.
Safe alternative: Build it CONCURRENTLY so writes keep flowing:
$table->index('email')->online()

The safe pattern: expand/contract

Almost every fix is the same shape: add → backfill in batches → switch the code → drop the old thing in a later deploy. The exception message tells you which one applies.

Escape hatch

If you have reviewed a migration and know it is safe:

SAFETY_ASSURED=1 php artisan migrate

Or programmatically, for one block of code:

use ParsaAftabi\StrongMigrations\StrongMigrations;

StrongMigrations::withoutChecks(fn () => Schema::table('users', ...));

Configuration

Publish the config file and tune each check to block, warn, or off:

php artisan vendor:publish --tag=strong-migrations-config

// config/strong-migrations.php
'checks' => [
    'add_index' => 'block',
    'drop_column' => 'block',
    'rename_column' => 'block',
    'add_column_not_null' => 'block',
    'add_column_volatile_default' => 'block',
    'change_column' => 'block',
    'add_foreign_key' => 'warn',
    'backfill' => 'warn',
],

Creating a brand new table is never blocked — an empty table has nothing to lock.

Notes

Designed for PostgreSQL, where these locks actually hurt. Most checks are driver-aware and stay silent on MySQL/SQLite.
Concurrent index builds: ->online() only exists in Laravel 12+. On Laravel 10/11 the schema builder cannot create indexes concurrently at all — the package detects this and points you at a raw DB::statement('CREATE INDEX CONCURRENTLY ...') migration (with $withinTransaction = false) instead of letting an ->online() call that the grammar would silently ignore slip through.
Migrations on a non-default connection via Schema::connection('tenant') need the resolver installed by hand: Schema::connection('tenant')->blueprintResolver(StrongMigrationsServiceProvider::blueprintResolver());

Requirements

PHP 8.2+
Laravel 10, 11, or 12

Testing

composer install
vendor/bin/phpunit

parsaaftabi / laravel-strong-migrations

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