geni drop - Geni

Overview

The geni drop command permanently deletes a database and all its data. This is useful for cleaning up development/test environments or removing old databases.

DESTRUCTIVE OPERATION: This command permanently deletes the database and ALL its data. This action cannot be undone. Always backup important data before dropping a database.

Usage

DATABASE_URL="<connection-string>" geni drop

Database Support

Database dropping behavior varies by database type:

PostgreSQL: Drops the database from the server
MySQL: Drops the database from the server
MariaDB: Drops the database from the server
SQLite: Deletes the database file from the filesystem
LibSQL/Turso: Database should be deleted through the Turso CLI or web interface

Required Environment Variables

DATABASE_URL

string

required

The database connection string. Specifies which database to drop.Examples:

PostgreSQL: postgres://user:password@localhost:5432/database_to_drop
MySQL: mysql://root:password@localhost:3306/database_to_drop
MariaDB: mariadb://root:password@localhost:3307/database_to_drop
SQLite: sqlite://./database.sqlite
LibSQL: https://localhost:6000

Optional Environment Variables

DATABASE_TOKEN

string

default:"none"

Authentication token for LibSQL/Turso databases.

DATABASE_MIGRATIONS_FOLDER

string

default:"./migrations"

Path to the migrations folder (used for configuration).

DATABASE_MIGRATIONS_TABLE

string

default:"schema_migrations"

Name of the migrations tracking table.

DATABASE_SCHEMA_FILE

string

default:"schema.sql"

Schema file name.

DATABASE_WAIT_TIMEOUT

number

default:"30"

Number of seconds to wait for the database server to be ready.

How It Works

Parse the database URL to determine the database type and name
Connect to the database server
Execute the appropriate DROP DATABASE command
Verify the database was dropped successfully

Examples

PostgreSQL

DATABASE_URL="postgres://postgres:password@localhost:5432/myapp_dev" geni drop

Output:

Success

MySQL

DATABASE_URL="mysql://root:password@localhost:3306/myapp_test" geni drop

MariaDB

DATABASE_URL="mariadb://root:password@localhost:3307/old_database" geni drop

SQLite

For SQLite, the database file is deleted:

DATABASE_URL="sqlite://./test.sqlite" geni drop

For SQLite, geni drop removes the database file from the filesystem. The file is permanently deleted.

LibSQL/Turso

For LibSQL and Turso, use the Turso CLI:

# Use Turso CLI instead
turso db destroy myapp

Geni does not drop LibSQL/Turso databases. Use the Turso CLI or web interface to delete these databases.

Safety Considerations

BEFORE dropping a database in production or with important data:

Backup the database first
Verify you’re targeting the correct database
Check with your team before proceeding
Consider archiving instead of deleting
Have a recovery plan ready

Pre-Drop Checklist

# 1. Verify database name
echo $DATABASE_URL

# 2. Check database contents
DATABASE_URL="$DATABASE_URL" geni status

# 3. Create backup (PostgreSQL example)
pg_dump "$DATABASE_URL" > backup_$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S).sql

# 4. Only then drop
DATABASE_URL="$DATABASE_URL" geni drop

Common Use Cases

Clean Up Development Database

# Drop and recreate for fresh start
DATABASE_URL="sqlite://./dev.sqlite" geni drop
DATABASE_URL="sqlite://./dev.sqlite" geni create
DATABASE_URL="sqlite://./dev.sqlite" geni up

Reset Test Database

#!/bin/bash
TEST_DB="postgres://localhost/myapp_test"

# Drop existing test database
DATABASE_URL="$TEST_DB" geni drop

# Create fresh test database
DATABASE_URL="$TEST_DB" geni create

# Run migrations
DATABASE_URL="$TEST_DB" geni up

# Run tests
npm test

Remove Old Staging Database

# After moving to new staging environment
DATABASE_URL="postgres://localhost/myapp_staging_old" geni drop

Clean Up After Feature Branch

# Remove feature-specific database
DATABASE_URL="sqlite://./feature_123.sqlite" geni drop

CI/CD Integration

GitHub Actions - Clean Test Database

steps:
  - name: Drop existing test database
    run: |
      DATABASE_URL="postgres://postgres:password@localhost:5432/test_db" \
      geni drop || true
    continue-on-error: true
  
  - name: Create fresh database
    run: |
      DATABASE_URL="postgres://postgres:password@localhost:5432/test_db" \
      geni create
  
  - name: Run migrations
    run: |
      DATABASE_URL="postgres://postgres:password@localhost:5432/test_db" \
      geni up

GitLab CI - Reset Between Tests

variables:
  DATABASE_URL: postgres://postgres:password@postgres:5432/test_db

before_script:
  - geni drop || true
  - geni create
  - geni up

test:
  script:
    - npm test

Docker Usage

docker run --rm -it --network=host \
  -e DATABASE_URL="postgres://postgres:password@localhost:5432/myapp_dev" \
  ghcr.io/emilpriver/geni:latest drop

Error Handling

Database Doesn’t Exist

Error: database "myapp" does not exist

Solution: The database was already dropped or never existed. No action needed.

Database In Use

Error: database "myapp" is being accessed by other users

Solution: Close all connections to the database first: PostgreSQL:

-- Disconnect all users
SELECT pg_terminate_backend(pg_stat_activity.pid)
FROM pg_stat_activity
WHERE pg_stat_activity.datname = 'myapp'
  AND pid <> pg_backend_pid();

MySQL/MariaDB:

# Kill connections
mysqladmin -u root -p processlist
mysqladmin -u root -p kill [process_id]

Permission Denied

Error: must be owner of database myapp

Solution: Use a database user with DROP DATABASE permissions.

File Permission Error (SQLite)

Error: Permission denied (os error 13)

Solution: Ensure you have write permissions to the directory containing the SQLite file.

Automation Scripts

Reset Development Database

#!/bin/bash
set -e

DATABASE_URL="sqlite://./dev.sqlite"

echo "Dropping database..."
DATABASE_URL="$DATABASE_URL" geni drop || echo "Database didn't exist"

echo "Creating fresh database..."
DATABASE_URL="$DATABASE_URL" geni create

echo "Running migrations..."
DATABASE_URL="$DATABASE_URL" geni up

echo "Database reset complete!"

Make Commands

.PHONY: db-drop
db-drop:
	@echo "Dropping database..."
	@DATABASE_URL="$(DATABASE_URL)" geni drop

.PHONY: db-reset
db-reset: db-drop
	@echo "Creating database..."
	@DATABASE_URL="$(DATABASE_URL)" geni create
	@echo "Running migrations..."
	@DATABASE_URL="$(DATABASE_URL)" geni up
	@echo "Database reset complete!"

.PHONY: db-reset-test
db-reset-test:
	@DATABASE_URL="sqlite://./test.sqlite" $(MAKE) db-reset

Python Script

import os
import subprocess

def reset_database(db_url):
    """Drop, create, and migrate database"""
    env = os.environ.copy()
    env['DATABASE_URL'] = db_url
    
    # Drop database (ignore errors if it doesn't exist)
    subprocess.run(['geni', 'drop'], env=env, check=False)
    
    # Create fresh database
    subprocess.run(['geni', 'create'], env=env, check=True)
    
    # Run migrations
    subprocess.run(['geni', 'up'], env=env, check=True)
    
    print(f"Database reset complete: {db_url}")

if __name__ == '__main__':
    reset_database('sqlite://./test.sqlite')

Production Safety

NEVER drop production databases without extreme caution and proper authorization. Always:

Get written approval from stakeholders
Create a complete backup
Test the restore process
Have a rollback plan
Schedule during maintenance windows
Communicate with the team

Production Drop Safeguard

#!/bin/bash

DATABASE_URL="$1"

# Check if this looks like a production URL
if [[ "$DATABASE_URL" == *"prod"* ]] || [[ "$DATABASE_URL" == *"production"* ]]; then
    echo "WARNING: This appears to be a PRODUCTION database!"
    echo "URL: $DATABASE_URL"
    read -p "Type 'DELETE PRODUCTION DATABASE' to confirm: " confirmation
    
    if [ "$confirmation" != "DELETE PRODUCTION DATABASE" ]; then
        echo "Aborted."
        exit 1
    fi
fi

echo "Dropping database..."
DATABASE_URL="$DATABASE_URL" geni drop

Best Practices

Backup first: Always backup before dropping
Verify target: Double-check you’re dropping the correct database
Use in tests: Automate drop/create/migrate in test pipelines
Avoid production: Never drop production databases without extreme caution
Handle errors: Use || true in scripts when the database might not exist
Document process: Keep runbooks for database operations
Limit permissions: Restrict DROP DATABASE permissions to administrators
Prefer reset: For development, drop + create + migrate is better than manual cleanup

Alternatives to Dropping

Before dropping a database, consider alternatives:

Option 1: Rollback All Migrations

# Rollback all migrations instead of dropping
DATABASE_URL="$DATABASE_URL" geni down -a 999

Option 2: Truncate Tables

-- Remove data but keep structure
TRUNCATE TABLE users CASCADE;
TRUNCATE TABLE posts CASCADE;

Option 3: Archive Database

# Rename instead of drop
mv database.sqlite database_archived_$(date +%Y%m%d).sqlite

Next Steps

Create Database

Create a new database with geni create

Run Migrations

Apply migrations with geni up

Check Status

View migration status with geni status

Rollback

Rollback migrations with geni down

Get Started

Core Concepts

Commands

Configuration

Database Support

Integration

Guides

​Overview

​Usage

​Database Support

​Required Environment Variables

​Optional Environment Variables

​How It Works

​Examples

​PostgreSQL

​MySQL

​MariaDB

​SQLite

​LibSQL/Turso

​Safety Considerations

​Pre-Drop Checklist

​Common Use Cases

​Clean Up Development Database

​Reset Test Database

​Remove Old Staging Database

​Clean Up After Feature Branch

​CI/CD Integration

​GitHub Actions - Clean Test Database

​GitLab CI - Reset Between Tests

​Docker Usage

​Error Handling

​Database Doesn’t Exist

​Database In Use

​Permission Denied

​File Permission Error (SQLite)

​Automation Scripts

​Reset Development Database

​Make Commands

​Python Script

​Production Safety

​Production Drop Safeguard

​Best Practices

​Alternatives to Dropping

​Option 1: Rollback All Migrations

​Option 2: Truncate Tables

​Option 3: Archive Database

​Next Steps

Create Database

Run Migrations

Check Status

Rollback

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Overview

Usage

Database Support

Required Environment Variables

Optional Environment Variables

How It Works

Examples

PostgreSQL

MySQL

MariaDB

SQLite

LibSQL/Turso

Safety Considerations

Pre-Drop Checklist

Common Use Cases

Clean Up Development Database

Reset Test Database

Remove Old Staging Database

Clean Up After Feature Branch

CI/CD Integration

GitHub Actions - Clean Test Database

GitLab CI - Reset Between Tests

Docker Usage

Error Handling

Database Doesn’t Exist

Database In Use

Permission Denied

File Permission Error (SQLite)

Automation Scripts

Reset Development Database

Make Commands

Python Script

Production Safety

Production Drop Safeguard

Best Practices

Alternatives to Dropping

Option 1: Rollback All Migrations

Option 2: Truncate Tables

Option 3: Archive Database

Next Steps