PostgreSQL Migration Rollback: Production Fix Playbook

Rollback production migrations safely with lock-aware sequencing, data safeguards, and verification checkpoints.

Tweetable Insight#

Rollback plans should be written before the first migration script.

A migration rollback playbook is a step-by-step recovery path that restores service without data corruption.

Ad hoc rollback attempts can increase downtime and create irreversible drift.

A production migration fails and normal writes are blocked.

Rollback steps are undefined, untested, or ignore lock and data dependencies.

Maintain tested rollback scripts with verification checkpoints and owner assignment.

sql

begin;
-- rollback operation example
alter table public.accounts drop column if exists plan_code;
commit;