The Ultimate Guide to Laravel Migrations: Best Practices & Examples

 

🔹 1. What are Laravel Migrations?

Laravel migrations are version-controlled database schema definitions. They let you:

• Create, update, and rollback tables using PHP code.
• Work with teams and keep DB changes consistent.
• Use CLI (artisan) instead of manual SQL.

🔹 2. How to Create a Migration

 

 It creates a file like:

 

✅ Use php artisan migrate to apply the migration.

 

🔹 3. Common Column Types

  

🔹 4. Adding Columns to Existing Table

 

In the up method, you define the changes you want to apply to your database. To add a new column to an existing table, use the Schema::table() method.

 

To place the new column in a specific position, use the after() method:

 

The ‘down’ method is used to reverse the changes made in the ‘up’ method. This is important for rollback functionality.

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🔹 5. Modifying Columns 

 

 

🔹 6. Dropping Columns 

 

 

🔹 7. Renaming Columns 

 

 

🔹 8. Adding Indexes 

 

 

🔹 9. Rolling Back 

Rolls back last batch

 

To rollback multiple steps, use the — step option

 

The php artisan migrate:reset command is used to roll back all of your database migrations in reverse order, undoing everything that has been migrated — without dropping the tables manually like migrate:fresh.

 

🔄 php artisan migrate:refresh Explained

1. Rolls back all existing migrations (like migrate:reset)
2. Re-runs all migrations from the beginning (like migrate)

 

🔄 php artisan migrate:fresh Explained

• Dropping all existing tables.
• Re-running all of your migration files from scratch.

🔹 10. Best Practices

    ✅ Keep migration files small & focused
    ✅ Add default values for non-nullable columns
    ✅ Use nullable() for optional columns
    ✅ Always provide a down() method for rollback
    ✅ Use php artisan migrate --pretend to see SQL

 

 ✅ Summary 

Laravel migrations are your version control for databases. Once you master them, you’ll be able to:

• Avoid SQL mistakes
• Collaborate with ease
• Keep your DB schema clean and trackable

If you found this helpful, feel free to share or drop a comment. Happy coding with Laravel! 🧱✨

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