`--migrations` to specify output directory for migrations

[janpio]

With --schema we can now specify the file path of where the Prisma Schema is located, instead of the default ./prisma/schema.prisma. This has the unfortunate side effect, that migrations are also output next to that file - which might not be what you want.

We want to have a --migrations parameter that takes the path to a folder where all the migration related content is output. The default path for that parameter, if it is not supplied, thus is ./prisma/migrations.

[maoosi]

Super keen to see this feature come to life. I use Prisma Migrate across multiple stages, so the ability to specify a different migration folder for each Stage would be quite helpful.

[zakthedev]

it would be better if the migrations output could be set via package.json as follows:

"prisma": {
"schema": "src/schema.prisma",
"migrateOutput" : "src/migrations/"
}

[maoosi]

I have to somewhat disagree @rightroad, as solely relying on package.json to specify the migration output would exclude a certain number of use cases, like the one I just described around managing multiple stages from the same project. Adding an option to the CLI would allow to easily switch configs at runtime.

That being said, it would make sense to have both options available and align with what's already in place for the Prisma schema file location: https://www.prisma.io/docs/reference/tools-and-interfaces/prisma-schema#prisma-schema-file-location

[zakthedev]

Yeah thank you for your reply @maoosi, having both options would be great! I think .env file also needs that change (or use .env on src folder) but that shouldn't be a big deal.

[benhickson]

Any updates on this? commenting to subscribe :)

[Jolg42]

Hi there! @benhickson & others

I'm curious about "why" this feature is needed for you, so we can prioritize better.

Could you give example(s) where customizing the migrations folder (default is in ./prisma/migrations) is needed / better maybe?

[benhickson]

Hi @Jolg42 !

In our situation, we have a package in our monorepo for prisma. We have two databases, and each need their own prisma schema. Ideally we'd be able to commit migrations for both of them. As of now, we have to manually rename the migrations folder after running the migration, then commit that renamed folder, renaming it back to "migrations" when we want to run additional migrations. This would be unwieldy to do if we ran the migrations sequentially, but ideally we'd want to be able to run them concurrently, which wouldn't really work.

The prisma migrate command has a --schema flag that we're already using to point to our different schemas, ideally there'd be a corresponding flag to set the migrations folder.

As an alternative to the CLI flag, a block in the schema file would work, similar to how the generator client { } block has a output option. At least that would work for us, as our schemas and migrations are 1-to-1. Others may have setups that aren't 1-to-1.

Open to any and all feedback on how we could do things differently!

[Jolg42]

@benhickson Thank you for the detailed explanation!

I guess a workaround could be something like this, one folder per schema:

• ./src/db1/schema.prisma
• ./src/db2/schema.prisma

And then calling prisma commands with --schema="./src/db1/schema.prisma"

Migrate will then create a migrations directory next to each schema like

• ./src/db1/migrations/...
• ./src/db2/migrations/...

Is that a good enough workaround or customizing the name of the migrations directory would be better here?