soft_drop_columnrename onlySoft-drop column
The column gets renamed to a parked name. Restore renames it back. Cheapest reversible drop.
no row movement
migrate / recover · 01 — Phase 2
A drop is not a delete until you say it is.
Every destructive op produces an artifact— a row in a real Postgres table, plus the renamed column, archived data, or shadow copy that lets the op be reversed. Restore in one command. Cleanup when you're sure. None of Prisma, Drizzle, Atlas, or Sequelize ship this.
artifact lifetimeemerald · live · amber · op · rose · artifact · stone · purged
t0
live
column or table is in use
t1
destructive op
softDropColumn / archiveColumn / dropTable
t2
artifact created
row in _zanith_migration_artifacts
t3a
restore
rename back · or refill from archive
t3b
cleanup
drop archive · delete row · permanent
↑ restore (default expectation)
↓ cleanup --older-than (acceptance)
5 artifact kinds · 6 CLI commandsartifacts table: _zanith_migration_artifactschecksum-verified restorerecover.ts · v0.2
02 — Five strategies
Two strategies, three shapes, one forensic.
soft-drop renames in place — cheap, instant, no data movement. archive copies data out before dropping. Each comes in two flavours (column / table). The fifth captures schema for forensic use only.
soft_drop_tablerename onlySoft-drop table
The whole table gets renamed. Indexes and constraints follow. Restore renames it back.
no row movement
archive_columncopy + dropArchive column
Values are copied into a parallel archive table before the column is dropped. Restore back-fills using the source PK.
row count + checksum
archive_tableschema moveArchive table
The table moves to a parallel schema. Frees the original name. Restore moves it back.
no row movement (Postgres)
rebuild_tableforensic onlyRebuild table
Captures the pre-rebuild schema for inspection. Auto-restore would be unsafe — clients have already adapted to the new shape.
full row copy
03 — The bookkeeping
One row remembers everything.
Every reversible op writes a row. The row knows what was dropped, where the data parked, how to verify it's untouched, and when the auto-cleanup window closes.
what's gone
users.legacy_uuid
where it parked
_zanith_dropped_legacy_uuid_a4c
integrity proof
md5 · 8a3f…
rows captured
—
when
2026-05-01 11:30
auto-cleanup
2026-05-31
live artifacts · sample5 reversible
- users.legacy_uuidsoft_drop_column2h ago
- orders.discount_codearchive_column14h ago
- audit_log_2024soft_drop_table3d ago
- sessionsarchive_table12d ago
- usersrebuild_table1d ago
04 — Seven commands
Two read. Five write.
The same zanith binary that applied the migration knows how to walk it back.
read-only
recover listShow every artifact, sorted oldest last.
recover inspectDetailed view of one artifact: source, physical name, recovery plan, checksum.
write
recover restore-columnRe-add the column. Picks the latest matching artifact (soft-drop or archive).
recover restore-tableBring a soft-dropped or archived table back. Indexes and constraints follow.
recover exportStream archive rows out as CSV / JSONL / JSON before purge.
recover purgeDrop the archive data, delete the bookkeeping row. Permanent.
recover cleanupBulk purge artifacts older than N days. The maintenance command — run on a cron.
05 — Sideways
Six doors. All open.
Back to Migrate
The main page — system overview, contrast table, lifecycle in summary.
/migrateLifecycle, in depth
Every stage of a migration: generate, plan, verify, apply, audit.
/migrate/lifecycleRisk model
Six levels, twenty reason codes, three CI gates. Every op classified.
/migrate/riskShadow-DB verify
Four internal stages, three deployment patterns, four output modes.
/migrate/verifyAudit + history
Four bookkeeping tables, history CLI, six SQL queries, snapshot replay.
/migrate/auditStudio · Recover tab
Click-restore artifacts and export archives from the UI.
/studio