How MSR Compares
Migration Script Runner takes a unique approach to database migrations, combining the best ideas from across the ecosystem with some innovations of our own.
Our Philosophy
MSR is designed for production safety, developer experience, and flexibility. We believe migration tools should:
- Provide multiple ways to accomplish tasks (TypeScript AND SQL)
- Give visibility into what’s happening (dry run, execution summaries)
- Support both development and production workflows
- Stay out of your way when you don’t need them
Feature Highlights
What Makes MSR Unique
| Feature | MSR | Typical Tools |
|---|---|---|
| Hybrid Migrations | ✅ Both TypeScript & SQL | Usually one or the other |
| Generic Type Safety | ✅ Database-specific types (v0.6.0) | Limited or none |
| Metrics Collection | ✅ Built-in collectors (v0.6.0) | Usually custom |
| Multi-Format Config | ✅ YAML, TOML, XML, JSON, JS (v0.6.0) | Limited formats |
| Transaction Management | ✅ Configurable modes with retry (v0.5.0) | Basic or none |
| Environment Variables | ✅ Full 12-factor config (v0.5.0) | Limited |
| Dry Run Mode | ✅ Built-in, free | Often paid/enterprise only |
| Execution Summaries | ✅ Detailed success/failure logs | Basic output only |
| Lifecycle Hooks | ✅ Process, script, backup, transaction (v0.5.0) | Rare |
| Flexible Rendering | ✅ Table, JSON, Silent modes | Fixed format |
| TypeScript-First | ✅ Full type safety | Varies |
Core Capabilities
| Capability | MSR Status |
|---|---|
| Up/Down Migrations | ✅ |
| SQL Migrations | ✅ v0.4.0 |
| Generic Type Safety | ✅ v0.6.0 - Database-specific types with <DB extends IDB> |
| Metrics Collection | ✅ v0.6.0 - Console, Logger, JSON, CSV collectors |
| Multi-Format Config | ✅ v0.6.0 - YAML, TOML, XML, JSON, JS |
| Transaction Support | ✅ v0.5.0 - Configurable modes, isolation levels, auto-retry |
| Environment Variables | ✅ v0.5.0 - 33 MSR_* variables |
| Rollback | ✅ |
| Connection Validation | ✅ v0.4.0 |
| Programmatic API | ✅ |
| Multi-Database | ✅ PostgreSQL, MongoDB, MySQL, SQLite |
| Migration Tracking | ✅ |
| Backup Integration | ✅ |
| TypeScript Support | ✅ |
Common Migration Tool Patterns
JavaScript/TypeScript Ecosystem
Knex.js - Query builder with migrations
- Strengths: Mature, flexible, good locking mechanism
- Best for: Projects already using Knex for queries
TypeORM - ORM with migration support
- Strengths: Tight ORM integration, auto-generation
- Best for: TypeORM users who want unified tooling
Prisma Migrate - Schema-first migrations
- Strengths: Modern DX, schema drift detection
- Best for: New projects, Prisma users
Sequelize - ORM with migration CLI
- Strengths: Established ecosystem, multiple dialects
- Best for: Sequelize users
Other Ecosystems
Flyway (Java) - SQL-first migrations
- Strengths: Simple, SQL-focused, enterprise features
- Best for: Java projects, teams that prefer SQL
Liquibase (Java) - Change tracking with multiple formats
- Strengths: Enterprise features, XML/YAML/SQL support
- Best for: Complex enterprise requirements
Alembic (Python) - SQLAlchemy migrations
- Strengths: Python integration, autogenerate
- Best for: Python/SQLAlchemy projects
Rails Migrations (Ruby) - Convention over configuration
- Strengths: Excellent conventions, schema dumping
- Best for: Rails applications
golang-migrate (Go) - Minimal migration library
- Strengths: Simple, no magic, multiple sources
- Best for: Go projects
When to Choose MSR
MSR is a great fit when you:
- ✅ Want flexibility to use TypeScript OR SQL migrations
- ✅ Need production-ready safety features (dry run, summaries)
- ✅ Need reliable transaction management with automatic retry
- ✅ Deploy in containers/Kubernetes with environment variable config
- ✅ Value developer experience and type safety
- ✅ Want lifecycle hooks for custom logic
- ✅ Need multi-database support in one tool
- ✅ Prefer programmatic control with optional CLI
- ✅ Want a tool that doesn’t force you into an ORM
When to Choose Something Else
Consider other tools if you:
- Already heavily invested in an ORM (TypeORM, Sequelize) and want tight integration
- Need automatic migration generation from schema changes
- Prefer pure SQL with no code (Flyway, Liquibase)
- Want a schema-first approach (Prisma)
- Need enterprise governance features (Liquibase Enterprise)
Design Decisions
Why Both TypeScript and SQL?
Different teams have different needs:
- Development teams often prefer TypeScript for type safety and IDE support
- DBAs and ops teams often prefer SQL for reviewability and control
- MSR supports both so you can choose what works best for each migration
Why Dry Run Mode?
Testing migrations before production is critical but often requires:
- Cloning production databases
- Manual testing workflows
- Hoping things work the same
MSR’s dry run mode (v0.4.0) shows exactly what will change before applying anything.
Why Execution Summaries?
When migrations fail in production, you need to know:
- What succeeded before the failure?
- What was the exact error?
- How do I recover?
MSR’s execution summaries (v0.4.0) provide a detailed trace of every step, making debugging and recovery straightforward.
Latest Release: v0.6.0
Version 0.6.0 brings enhanced type safety, metrics collection, and multi-format configuration:
- 🛡️ Generic Type Parameters (#114) - Database-specific type safety with
<DB extends IDB>throughout the API - 📊 Metrics Collection (#80) - Built-in collectors for observability (Console, Logger, JSON, CSV)
- 📄 Multi-Format Config (#100) - YAML, TOML, and XML configuration file support
- 🔌 Plugin Architecture - Extensible loader system with optional peer dependencies
- 🎚️ Log Level Control - Configure output verbosity (error, warn, info, debug)
- ⚠️ Breaking Changes - Type parameters required for all interfaces + constructor signature changed
See the v0.5.x → v0.6.0 Migration Guide for upgrade instructions.
Previous Releases
v0.5.0 brought production-grade transaction management and cloud-native configuration. See v0.4.x → v0.5.0 Migration Guide for details.
v0.4.0 brought SQL migrations, dry run mode, and execution summaries. See v0.3.x → v0.4.0 Migration Guide for details.
Future Roadmap
Upcoming features we’re considering:
- CLI Commands (#59) - Full command-line interface
- Template Generator (#83) - Scaffold new migrations easily
- Bash Script Adapter (#99) - Use MSR patterns for infrastructure management
- Migration Preview - Visual diff of schema changes
See our GitHub milestones for details.
Contributing
MSR is open source and we welcome contributions! Whether you’re:
- Reporting bugs or requesting features
- Improving documentation
- Contributing code
- Sharing your use case
Visit our GitHub repository to get involved.
This comparison is based on publicly available information and our research as of December 2025. Tool capabilities change over time, so please verify current features with official documentation.