Running and rolling back migrations in Laravel - Cheat Sheet & Quick Revision

Recall & Review

beginner

What command do you use to run all pending migrations in Laravel?

Use php artisan migrate to run all migrations that have not been applied yet. This updates your database schema to the latest version.

beginner

How do you rollback the last batch of migrations in Laravel?

Use php artisan migrate:rollback to undo the last batch of migrations that were run. This helps if you want to revert recent database changes.

intermediate

What does the migrate:reset command do?

The php artisan migrate:reset command rolls back all migrations, undoing all database schema changes made by migrations.

intermediate

How can you rollback and then re-run all migrations in one command?

Use php artisan migrate:refresh. It rolls back all migrations and then runs them again, useful for rebuilding the database schema from scratch.

beginner

Why is it important to run migrations carefully in a team environment?

Because migrations change the database structure, running them without coordination can cause conflicts or data loss. Teams should communicate and use version control to keep migrations in sync.

Which command runs all new migrations in Laravel?

A php artisan migrate

B php artisan migrate:rollback

C php artisan migrate:reset

D php artisan migrate:refresh

The php artisan migrate command applies all pending migrations.

What does php artisan migrate:rollback do?

A Resets all migrations

B Runs all migrations

C Rolls back the last batch of migrations

D Refreshes the database

It undoes the last batch of migrations that were applied.

Which command rolls back all migrations at once?

A php artisan migrate:reset

B php artisan migrate:refresh

C php artisan migrate

D php artisan migrate:rollback

migrate:reset rolls back all migrations.

How do you rollback and re-run all migrations in one step?

A php artisan migrate:rollback

B php artisan migrate:reset

C php artisan migrate

D php artisan migrate:refresh

migrate:refresh rolls back all migrations and runs them again.

Why should teams coordinate when running migrations?

A Because migrations are slow

B To avoid database conflicts and data loss

C To speed up migration commands

D Because migrations only run once

Coordination prevents conflicts and data loss when multiple people change the database.

Explain how to run migrations and rollback the last batch in Laravel.

Think about commands to apply and undo changes.

Describe the difference between migrate:reset and migrate:refresh commands.

One just undoes, the other undoes and reapplies.

Practice

1. What does the Laravel command php artisan migrate do?

easy

A. It applies all pending migrations to update the database schema.

B. It deletes all tables from the database.

C. It rolls back the last batch of migrations.

D. It creates a new migration file.

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the purpose of migrations

   Migrations are used to update the database structure safely by applying changes.

2. Step 2: Identify the command effect

   The command php artisan migrate applies all new migrations that have not been run yet.

3. Final Answer:

   It applies all pending migrations to update the database schema. -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Running migrations = apply changes [OK]

Hint: Migrate means apply new changes to the database [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing migrate with rollback
• Thinking migrate deletes tables
• Assuming migrate creates files

2. Which of the following is the correct command to roll back the last batch of migrations in Laravel?

easy

A. php artisan migrate:run

B. php artisan migrate:reset

C. php artisan migrate:refresh

D. php artisan migrate:rollback

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify rollback command

   The command to undo the last batch of migrations is php artisan migrate:rollback.

2. Step 2: Differentiate from other commands

   migrate:reset rolls back all migrations, migrate:refresh rolls back and re-runs all, and migrate:run is invalid.

3. Final Answer:

   php artisan migrate:rollback -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Rollback = undo last batch [OK]

Hint: Rollback undoes last batch, reset undoes all [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using migrate:reset to rollback last batch
• Confusing migrate:refresh with rollback
• Typing migrate:run which is invalid

3. Given these commands run in order:
php artisan migrate
php artisan migrate:rollback
What is the state of the database migrations after these commands?

medium

A. All migrations are applied.

B. No migrations are applied.

C. Only the last batch of migrations is undone.

D. Migrations are partially applied and partially undone randomly.

Solution

1. Step 1: Apply migrations with migrate

   The first command applies all pending migrations, updating the database.

2. Step 2: Rollback last batch

   The second command undoes only the last batch of migrations applied, not all.

3. Final Answer:

   Only the last batch of migrations is undone. -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Rollback undoes last batch only [OK]

Hint: Rollback only undoes last batch, not all [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking rollback removes all migrations
• Assuming rollback does nothing
• Believing migrations are randomly undone

4. You run php artisan migrate:rollback but get an error saying "No migrations to rollback." What is the most likely cause?

medium

A. There are no migrations applied yet to rollback.

B. The migration files are missing from the migrations folder.

C. You need to run php artisan migrate:reset first.

D. The database connection is not configured.

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand rollback error

   The error means Laravel found no migrations recorded as applied to undo.

2. Step 2: Check migration status

   If no migrations were run before, rollback cannot undo anything, causing this error.

3. Final Answer:

   There are no migrations applied yet to rollback. -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   No applied migrations = rollback error [OK]

Hint: Rollback needs applied migrations to undo [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming rollback works without applied migrations
• Thinking reset is needed before rollback
• Ignoring database connection issues

5. You want to undo all migrations and then re-run them fresh. Which command should you use?

hard

A. php artisan migrate:rollback

B. php artisan migrate:refresh

C. php artisan migrate:reset

D. php artisan migrate:fresh

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the commands

   migrate:rollback undoes last batch, migrate:reset undoes all, migrate:refresh undoes all then re-runs, migrate:fresh drops all tables and migrates.

2. Step 2: Choose command for undo and re-run

   migrate:refresh is the command that rolls back all migrations and then runs them again fresh.

3. Final Answer:

   php artisan migrate:refresh -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Refresh = rollback all + migrate again [OK]

Hint: Refresh rolls back all then migrates again [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using rollback to undo all migrations
• Confusing reset with refresh
• Using fresh which drops tables instead of rollback