Roll back all migrations, re-run them, or start from a clean slate with Reset, Refresh, and Fresh.

Reset, Refresh & Fresh

go-migration provides three methods for bulk migration operations beyond simple rollback.

`m.Reset()`

Rolls back all executed migrations in reverse order by calling each migration's Down method.

// Roll back every migration
if err := m.Reset(); err != nil {
    log.Fatal(err)
}

After Reset(), your database has no application tables — only the migrations tracking table remains empty.

Reset() is destructive. All data in migrated tables will be lost. Use with caution in production.

`m.Refresh()`

Rolls back all migrations and then re-runs them. This is equivalent to calling m.Reset() followed by m.Up().

// Roll back all, then re-run all
if err := m.Refresh(); err != nil {
    log.Fatal(err)
}

Refresh() is useful when you want to rebuild your database schema from scratch while keeping the migration history clean. It executes every Down method in reverse, then every Up method in order.

When to Use Refresh

Rebuilding a development database after changing migration logic
Resetting test databases between test suites
Verifying that all Down methods work correctly

`m.Fresh()`

Drops all tables in the database and then runs all migrations from scratch. Unlike Refresh(), it does not call Down methods — it simply drops everything.

// Drop all tables, then run all migrations
if err := m.Fresh(); err != nil {
    log.Fatal(err)
}

Fresh() drops every table in the database, including the migrations tracking table. This is the most destructive operation available. Never use it on a production database.

Fresh vs Refresh

	`Refresh()`	`Fresh()`
Calls `Down` methods	Yes	No
Drops all tables	No (only what `Down` reverses)	Yes (everything)
Requires working `Down` methods	Yes	No
Use case	Rebuild with rollback verification	Clean slate, ignore `Down` logic

Complete Example

main.go

package main

import (
    "database/sql"
    "log"

    _ "github.com/lib/pq"

    "github.com/gopackx/go-migration/migrator"
    "your-project/migrations"
)

func main() {
    db, err := sql.Open("postgres", "postgres://user:password@localhost:5432/mydb?sslmode=disable")
    if err != nil {
        log.Fatal(err)
    }
    defer db.Close()

    m := migrator.New(db)

    m.Register("20240101_create_users_table", &migrations.CreateUsersTable{})
    m.Register("20240115_create_posts_table", &migrations.CreatePostsTable{})

    // Option 1: Roll back everything
    m.Reset()

    // Option 2: Roll back everything, then re-run
    m.Refresh()

    // Option 3: Drop all tables, then run from scratch
    m.Fresh()
}

What's Next?

Migration Status — check the current state of your migrations
Rollback — targeted rollback by batch or step count

Reset, Refresh & Fresh

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