StewardEF is a tool designed to make managing Entity Framework (EF) migrations easier for projects with a lengthy history. Specifically, it is able to squash your migrations back to a single file and drastically speed up your build times.
EF Core does not yet provide a built-in solution for squashing migrations yet (relevant issue here), but in the meantime, StewardEF can help fill the gap.
Install the StewardEF dotnet tool:
dotnet tool install -g StewardEFSquashes EF migrations into the first migration in the specified directory.
steward squash -d path/to/migrations-d (or [MigrationsDirectory]): Path to the directory containing your EF migrations. If omitted, you'll be prompted to enter it interactively.
⚠️ The squash command will modify your migrations files, so please be sure to start with a clean commit before suqashing so you can easily undo your changes if needed
The squash command combines all existing migrations into a single, consolidated migration file. Here's how it works:
- Combines Migration Methods: Aggregates the Up and Down methods across all migration files.
- Retains Important Using Statements: Collects using statements from all migrations, ensuring no dependencies are missed.
- Preserves the First Migration: Inserts the combined code into the first migration file in the specified directory.
- Removes Redundant Files: Deletes all migrations except the first one, leaving a single, squashed migration.
Depending on how your migrations were structured, you might need to make some manual adjustments after running squash. Some things to watch for:
- Private Fields: If any private readonly fields or other member data are in your migrations, ensure they're properly defined in the combined migration file.
- Variable Conflicts: Sometimes migrations contain variables with the same name across different files. Double-check the final file for duplicate variables and resolve them accordingly.