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Geni is designed to work seamlessly in CI/CD pipelines, allowing you to automate database migrations as part of your deployment process.

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Quick Start

In a CI/CD environment, set the DATABASE_URL environment variable and run: 
geni up
This will apply all pending migrations to your database.

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Environment Variables

Configure Geni using environment variables in your CI/CD pipeline:
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DATABASE_URL
string
required
Database connection string. Required for all operations.Examples:
  • PostgreSQL: postgres://[email protected]:5432/app?sslmode=disable
  • MySQL: mysql://root:password@localhost:3306/app
  • MariaDB: mariadb://root:password@localhost:3307/app
  • SQLite: sqlite://./database.sqlite
  • LibSQL/Turso: https://localhost:6000
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DATABASE_TOKEN
string
Authentication token for LibSQL/Turso databases. Only required when using Turso or LibSQL with authentication.
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DATABASE_MIGRATIONS_FOLDER
string
default:"./migrations"
Path to the directory containing migration files.
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DATABASE_MIGRATIONS_TABLE
string
default:"schema_migrations"
Name of the table used to track applied migrations.
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DATABASE_WAIT_TIMEOUT
number
default:"30"
Time in seconds to wait for database connection before timing out. Useful when databases need time to boot.
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DATABASE_SCHEMA_FILE
string
default:"schema.sql"
Name of the schema dump file generated after migrations.
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DATABASE_NO_DUMP_SCHEMA
boolean
default:"false"
Set to true to disable automatic schema dumping after migrations.

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Common Pipeline Patterns

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Basic Migration

The simplest CI/CD integration runs migrations before deploying your application: 
# Set your database URL from secrets
export DATABASE_URL="$DB_CONNECTION_STRING"

# Run migrations
geni up

# Deploy your application
./deploy.sh

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With Database Token (Turso/LibSQL)

For LibSQL or Turso databases requiring authentication: 
export DATABASE_URL="https://my-db.turso.io"
export DATABASE_TOKEN="$TURSO_AUTH_TOKEN"

geni up

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Custom Migration Folder

If your migrations are in a non-standard location: 
export DATABASE_URL="$DB_CONNECTION_STRING"
export DATABASE_MIGRATIONS_FOLDER="./db/migrations"

geni up

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With Wait Timeout

When your database needs time to initialize (useful in container environments): 
export DATABASE_URL="$DB_CONNECTION_STRING"
export DATABASE_WAIT_TIMEOUT="60"

geni up

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Security Best Practices

1

Use Secret Management

Always store DATABASE_URL and DATABASE_TOKEN in your CI/CD platform’s secret management system. Never commit these values to version control.
2

Limit Database Permissions

Use a database user with only the necessary permissions for running migrations. Avoid using root or admin credentials.
3

Review Migration Files

Ensure migration files are reviewed and tested before running in production environments.
4

Use Read-Only Replicas

Point your application to read replicas while migrations run on the primary database to minimize downtime.

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Platform-Specific Examples

For detailed integration guides with specific CI/CD platforms:

GitHub Actions

Use Geni in GitHub Actions workflows

Docker

Run Geni in Docker containers

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Rollback in CI/CD

If you need to rollback migrations in your pipeline: 
# Rollback last migration
geni down

# Rollback multiple migrations
geni down -a 3
Rollbacks should be used carefully in production environments. Always test rollback procedures in staging first.

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Checking Migration Status

Before applying migrations, you can check which migrations are pending: 
geni status
This is useful for logging and validation in your pipeline.

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