Safer database migrations with coding agents

Database migrations performed with coding agents require safeguards because production databases contain live state that is not represented in source code. The recommended parallel-change approach divides incompatible changes into expansion, migration, and contraction phases, preserving compatibility while application versions transition and giving agents bounded tasks such as adding compatible schema paths, running measured backfills, and removing obsolete code only after adoption. Migration changes should be tested in isolated databases with representative edge cases, while reviews assess migration ordering, reversibility, application compatibility, locking behavior, validation options, backfill performance, transaction size, and pause signals. Tools such as Factory Missions and automated QA can distribute coding, testing, and review work and retain evidence, but production execution should remain under human approval. Effective monitoring tracks migration-specific indicators including remaining rows, error rates, lock waits, replication lag, and use of legacy paths, since a completed job does not necessarily confirm correct data migration.

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