CLI Commands

pgmold plan

Generate a migration plan without applying it.

pgmold plan -s sql:schema.sql -d postgres://localhost/mydb

Flag	Description
-s, --schema <SOURCE>	Schema source (repeatable). Prefix: sql: or drizzle:
-d, --database <URL>	PostgreSQL connection string
--target-schemas <LIST>	Comma-separated PostgreSQL schemas (default: public)
--include <PATTERN>	Include objects matching glob pattern (repeatable)
--exclude <PATTERN>	Exclude objects matching glob pattern (repeatable)
--include-types <TYPES>	Include only these object types (comma-separated)
--exclude-types <TYPES>	Exclude these object types (comma-separated)
--include-extension-objects	Include objects owned by extensions
--reverse	Generate rollback plan (reverse direction)
--zero-downtime	Generate expand/contract phased migration plan
--validate <URL>	Validate migration against a temporary database first
--manage-ownership	Include ownership management (ALTER ... OWNER TO)
--no-manage-grants	Disable grant/revoke management
--exclude-grants-for-role <ROLE>	Exclude grants for a specific role (repeatable)
--json	JSON output

pgmold apply

Apply migrations to the database.

pgmold apply -s sql:schema.sql -d postgres://localhost/mydb

Flag	Description
-s, --schema <SOURCE>	Schema source (repeatable)
-d, --database <URL>	PostgreSQL connection string
--allow-destructive	Allow DROP and other destructive operations
--dry-run	Preview SQL without executing
--target-schemas <LIST>	Comma-separated PostgreSQL schemas (default: public)
--include <PATTERN>	Include objects matching glob pattern (repeatable)
--exclude <PATTERN>	Exclude objects matching glob pattern (repeatable)
--include-types <TYPES>	Include only these object types (comma-separated)
--exclude-types <TYPES>	Exclude these object types (comma-separated)
--include-extension-objects	Include objects owned by extensions
--validate <URL>	Validate migration against a temporary database first
--manage-ownership	Include ownership management (ALTER ... OWNER TO)
--no-manage-grants	Disable grant/revoke management
--exclude-grants-for-role <ROLE>	Exclude grants for a specific role (repeatable)
-v, --verbose	Log each statement execution and result
--json	JSON output

pgmold diff

Compare two schema sources.

pgmold diff --from sql:old.sql --to sql:new.sql

Flag	Description
--from <SOURCE>	Source schema
--to <SOURCE>	Target schema
--json	JSON output

pgmold drift

Detect schema drift between SQL files and a live database.

pgmold drift -s sql:schema.sql -d postgres://localhost/mydb --json

Returns exit code 1 if drift is detected.

Flag	Description
-s, --schema <SOURCE>	Schema source (repeatable)
-d, --database <URL>	PostgreSQL connection string
--target-schemas <LIST>	Comma-separated PostgreSQL schemas (default: public)
--json	JSON output

pgmold dump

Export a live database schema to SQL.

pgmold dump -d postgres://localhost/mydb -o schema.sql

Flag	Description
-d, --database <URL>	PostgreSQL connection string
-o, --output <PATH>	Output file or directory
--split	Split into separate files by object type
--target-schemas <LIST>	Comma-separated PostgreSQL schemas (default: public)
--include <PATTERN>	Include objects matching glob pattern (repeatable)
--exclude <PATTERN>	Exclude objects matching glob pattern (repeatable)
--include-types <TYPES>	Include only these object types (comma-separated)
--exclude-types <TYPES>	Exclude these object types (comma-separated)
--include-extension-objects	Include objects owned by extensions
--json	JSON output (includes SQL content and metadata)

pgmold lint

Validate a schema against a live database for issues.

pgmold lint -s sql:schema.sql -d postgres://localhost/mydb

Flag	Description
-s, --schema <SOURCE>	Schema source (repeatable)
-d, --database <URL>	PostgreSQL connection string
--target-schemas <LIST>	Comma-separated PostgreSQL schemas (default: public)
--manage-ownership	Include ownership management (ALTER ... OWNER TO)
--no-manage-grants	Disable grant/revoke management
--exclude-grants-for-role <ROLE>	Exclude grants for a specific role (repeatable)
--json	JSON output

pgmold migrate

Generate a numbered migration file.

pgmold migrate \
  -s sql:schema/ \
  -d postgres://localhost/mydb \
  --migrations ./migrations \
  --name "add_email_column"

Auto-detects the next migration number in the output directory.

Flag	Description
-s, --schema <SOURCE>	Schema source (repeatable)
-d, --database <URL>	PostgreSQL connection string
-m, --migrations <DIR>	Directory for migration files
-n, --name <NAME>	Migration name/description
--target-schemas <LIST>	Comma-separated PostgreSQL schemas (default: public)
--manage-ownership	Include ownership management (ALTER ... OWNER TO)
--no-manage-grants	Disable grant/revoke management
--exclude-grants-for-role <ROLE>	Exclude grants for a specific role (repeatable)
--json	JSON output

pgmold describe

Describe available commands, object types, providers, and filters. Intended for agent introspection.

pgmold describe
pgmold describe plan

Argument	Description
[COMMAND]	Optional command name to describe (e.g., plan, apply)

Always outputs JSON. No database connection required.

Schema source prefixes

Prefix	Description
sql:<path>	SQL file, directory, or glob pattern
drizzle:<path>	Drizzle ORM config file
db:<url>	Live PostgreSQL database

All commands that accept -d also accept a bare postgres://... URL without the db: prefix.

Environment variables

Variable	Description
PGMOLD_DATABASE_URL	Default value for -d on all commands that accept a database URL
PGMOLD_PROD	Set to 1 to enable production mode (blocks table drops)