Install pgroll with Homebrew, MacPorts, Nix, scoop

Project links

• Homepage
• Repository
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• pgroll

Project history

Xata created pgroll as an open-source PostgreSQL migration tool focused on zero-downtime and reversible schema changes. The project drew inspiration from Reshape, PgHaMigrations, and established expand-and-contract migration practices.

The tool evolved around versioned schemas and views over physical tables. Its release series added broader migration operations and workflow commands while retaining the start, complete, and rollback lifecycle.

Adoption history

pgroll is distributed through Homebrew, MacPorts, Nix, and Scoop according to source_facts.package-manager, providing native package routes across macOS, Linux, and Windows.

The project supports PostgreSQL 14 and later and is designed to work with hosted PostgreSQL services, including Amazon RDS and Aurora, broadening its relevance beyond self-managed installations.

How it is used

A typical workflow initializes pgroll's internal database state, optionally baselines an existing schema, starts a migration from a YAML or JSON file, moves applications to the new versioned schema, and then completes or rolls back the migration.

The PostgreSQL connection is supplied through a command-line URL or related runtime configuration. Official documentation does not designate a fixed config file or separate credentials file; migration definitions are project inputs stored wherever the user chooses.

Why package nerds care

pgroll brings deployment-oriented expand-and-contract ideas into a standalone PostgreSQL CLI. Its defining feature is serving old and new schema versions simultaneously through views, enabling application rollouts and database migrations to proceed independently.

Package users care about its single Go binary, reversible migration files, automated backfills, short lock timeout strategy, and ability to introduce its migration model to an existing schema through a baseline operation.

Timeline

• Initial project era: Xata introduced pgroll as an open-source zero-downtime migration tool for PostgreSQL.
• Release evolution: The project expanded its migration operations and added workflow commands such as baseline, pull, create, validate, and migrate.
• Current support: Official documentation targets PostgreSQL 14 and later.

Related projects

• The official project materials cite Reshape and PgHaMigrations as related or inspirational projects. pgroll also addresses the same deployment problem as expand-and-contract migration patterns, but automates versioned database interfaces for PostgreSQL.

Sources

• Official documentation: https://pgroll.com/docs
• Official releases: https://github.com/xataio/pgroll/releases
• Official repository README: https://github.com/xataio/pgroll#readme
• source_facts.package-manager