goose
A database migration tool for Go that supports SQL migrations and Go functions, compatible with multiple databases.
What is goose?
Goose is a database migration tool designed for Go applications, providing both a CLI and a library to manage database schema changes through incremental SQL or Go-based migrations. It solves the problem of versioning and applying database changes consistently across different environments and database systems.
Go developers and teams who need a reliable, database-agnostic migration tool to manage schema changes in applications using PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, or other supported databases.
Developers choose Goose for its simplicity, support for both SQL and Go migrations, compatibility with multiple databases, and hybrid versioning system that prevents conflicts in collaborative development.
Overview
A database migration tool. Supports SQL migrations and Go functions.
Use Cases
Best For
- Managing database schema changes in Go applications
- Applying incremental SQL migrations across multiple database systems
- Writing complex migrations as Go functions for advanced logic
- Embedding migration files directly into Go binaries for deployment
- Handling out-of-order migrations in team development workflows
- Using environment variables to parameterize SQL migration scripts
Not Ideal For
- Projects not using Go, as it's a Go-specific tool with library integration
- Teams wanting a graphical or web-based migration interface without CLI reliance
- Environments requiring built-in, automated rollback strategies for complex multi-step migrations
- Applications heavily dependent on ORMs with integrated migration systems (e.g., GORM's AutoMigrate)
Pros & Cons
Pros
Supports a wide range of databases including PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, Spanner, and more, as listed in the README's driver examples.
Allows both SQL migrations and Go-based migrations for complex logic, enabling programmatic changes like data transformations.
Integrates with Go's embed package to compile migration files into binaries, simplifying deployment by eliminating external file dependencies.
Uses timestamps for development and sequential numbering for production to prevent conflicts in team environments, as recommended in the README.
Cons
Go migrations require building a custom goose binary, adding setup overhead compared to drop-in SQL-only tools.
Certain SQL operations like CREATE DATABASE cannot run in transactions without explicit annotations, complicating migration writing.
Requires enabling parseTime and multiStatements flags for MySQL, which can lead to errors if missed, as noted in the status command section.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Projects
migrateDatabase migrations. CLI and Golang library.
BytebaseDatabase governance built for humans and agents — controlling changes and access across every major database.
AtlasDeclarative schema migrations with schema-as-code workflows
dbmate🚀 A lightweight, framework-agnostic database migration tool.
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