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Tutorial: First Schema Change in 5 Minutes

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Database CI/CD

Bytebase Database CI/CD provides a complete platform for managing database changes throughout the development lifecycle. By eliminating direct database access and enforcing structured processes, it ensures every change is safe, reviewed, and auditable.

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The Database CI/CD Lifecycle

Every database change in Bytebase follows a structured lifecycle, regardless of which workflow you choose:

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1. Plan Change

Define what needs to change—whether it’s a schema migration (DDL) or data modification (DML). Changes can target:
  • A single database
  • Multiple selected databases
  • A Database Group (databases sharing the same schema)

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2. Automatic SQL Review

Built-in SQL advisor validates every change before execution using configurable Review Policies:
  • Syntax validation: Catch SQL errors before deployment
  • Schema rules: Naming conventions, data types, and structure standards
  • Performance checks: Missing indexes, inefficient queries, table scans
  • Security policies: Prevent unsafe operations and data exposure
  • Backward compatibility: Ensure changes won’t break existing applications
  • Best practices: Enforce organizational and industry standards
You can configure SQL Review Policies at the environment or project level to enforce your team’s specific standards and requirements.

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3. Approval Process

Flexible approval mechanisms based on your workflow choice:
  • UI-Driven: Built-in multi-level approval within Bytebase
  • GitOps:
    • Leverage pull request reviews in GitHub/GitLab/Bitbucket
    • Integrate with external systems like ServiceNow, Jira, or custom approval workflows
  • Condition-based routing: Define custom approval rules based on conditions like environment, risk level, SQL type, and more

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4. Multi-Environment Rollout Pipeline

Changes progress through your environments in a controlled pipeline:
  • Stage-by-stage promotion: Dev → Test → Staging → Production
  • Configurable deployment paths: Define custom environment chains
  • Database Groups per stage: Different database sets for each environment
  • Gated progression: Manual or automatic promotion between stages
  • Environment-specific policies: Different review rules per stage
Within each stage, deployments execute with precision:
  • Parallel execution: Deploy across Database Groups simultaneously
  • Sequential ordering: Respect dependencies between databases
  • Real-time monitoring: Track progress and view execution logs
  • Automatic retry: Handle transient failures gracefully

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5. Rollback Capabilities

Instant recovery when things go wrong:
  • DML Instant Rollback: One-click recovery for UPDATE/DELETE operations
  • Schema Rollback: Generate reverse migration scripts for DDL changes
  • Automatic backup before risky DML operations

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Batch Changes with Database Groups

Deploy changes at scale using Database Groups—logical collections of databases that share the same schema:
  • Multi-tenant SaaS: Update all tenant databases simultaneously
  • Geographic distribution: Roll out to regional databases in controlled waves
  • Environment management: Group databases by dev/staging/prod for systematic promotion
Database Groups enable you to manage 10 or 10,000 databases with the same effort.