Migration creation in Laravel

Introduction

Migrations help you create and change database tables easily. They keep your database organized and shareable with your team.

When you want to create a new database table for your app.

When you need to add or remove columns from an existing table.

When you want to keep track of database changes in a safe way.

When working with a team to make sure everyone has the same database structure.

Syntax

Laravel

php artisan make:migration create_table_name --create=table_name

php artisan make:migration add_column_to_table_name --table=table_name

Use --create=table_name to make a new table migration.

Use --table=table_name to modify an existing table.

Examples

This creates a migration file to make a new users table.

Laravel

php artisan make:migration create_users_table --create=users

This creates a migration file to add a new column to the users table.

Laravel

php artisan make:migration add_email_to_users_table --table=users

Sample Program

This migration creates a new table called books with columns for id, title, author, and timestamps for created and updated times.

Laravel

<?php

use Illuminate\Database\Migrations\Migration;
use Illuminate\Database\Schema\Blueprint;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Schema;

return new class extends Migration {
    public function up(): void
    {
        Schema::create('books', function (Blueprint $table) {
            $table->id();
            $table->string('title');
            $table->string('author');
            $table->timestamps();
        });
    }

    public function down(): void
    {
        Schema::dropIfExists('books');
    }
};

Important Notes

Run php artisan migrate to apply migrations to your database.

Use php artisan migrate:rollback to undo the last migration.

Always write the down method to safely reverse changes.

Summary

Migrations help manage database tables easily and safely.

Use php artisan make:migration with --create or --table to generate migration files.

Run migrations with php artisan migrate to update your database.