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 |
|---|---|---|
| Concurrent Execution Protection | ✅ Database-level locking (v0.8.0) | Only 2 out of 10 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 |
| .env File Support | ✅ Multi-source with priority (v0.7.0) | Varies |
| 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 |
| Concurrent Execution Protection | ✅ v0.8.0 - Database-level locking with CLI management |
| 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 |
| .env File Support | ✅ v0.7.0 - .env, .env.production, .env.local with priority control |
| 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:
- ✅ Run migrations in environments with concurrent deployments (CI/CD, Kubernetes)
- ✅ Want flexibility to use TypeScript OR SQL migrations
- ✅ Need production-ready safety features (dry run, summaries, locking)
- ✅ Need reliable transaction management with automatic retry
- ✅ Deploy in containers/Kubernetes with environment variable and .env file 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)
Detailed Comparison Table
Comprehensive comparison of MSR with popular migration tools in the JavaScript/TypeScript ecosystem:
| Feature | MSR | Knex.js | TypeORM | Prisma Migrate | Sequelize | node-pg-migrate | Umzug |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Language | TypeScript | JavaScript | TypeScript | TypeScript | JavaScript | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Database Support | Any (adapter-based) | PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, MSSQL | PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, MSSQL, MongoDB, Oracle | PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, MSSQL, CockroachDB | PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, MSSQL, MariaDB, Oracle | PostgreSQL only | Any (storage-based) |
| Migration Format | TypeScript + SQL | JavaScript/TypeScript | TypeScript | Prisma Schema DSL | JavaScript | SQL + JavaScript | JavaScript/TypeScript |
| Hybrid Migrations | ✅ Both TS & SQL | ❌ JS/TS only | ❌ TS only | ❌ Schema DSL only | ❌ JS only | ✅ SQL + JS | ❌ JS/TS only |
| Concurrent Protection | ✅ Database locks | ✅ Database locks | ❌ None | ⚠️ Limited | ❌ None | ✅ Advisory locks | ❌ None |
| Transaction Support | ✅ Configurable modes + retry | ✅ Basic | ✅ Basic | ✅ Automatic | ✅ Basic | ✅ Automatic | ⚠️ Custom only |
| Rollback Strategy | ✅ Multiple (backup, down(), both, none) | ✅ Down migrations | ✅ Down migrations | ⚠️ Limited (shadow DB) | ✅ Down migrations | ✅ Down migrations | ✅ Down migrations |
| Dry Run Mode | ✅ Built-in | ❌ None | ❌ None | ✅ Built-in | ❌ None | ⚠️ Via –dry-run flag | ❌ None |
| Environment Variables | ✅ 33 MSR_* variables | ⚠️ Limited | ⚠️ Limited | ✅ Good support | ⚠️ Limited | ⚠️ Via custom code | ⚠️ Via custom code |
| .env File Support | ✅ Multi-source with priority | ⚠️ Manual | ⚠️ Manual | ✅ Built-in | ⚠️ Manual | ⚠️ Manual | ⚠️ Manual |
| Config Formats | ✅ JS, JSON, YAML, TOML, XML | ✅ JS, JSON | ✅ JS, JSON, YAML, XML | ✅ Prisma schema | ✅ JS, JSON | ⚠️ Via custom code | ⚠️ Via custom code |
| Type Safety | ✅ Generic types <DB> | ⚠️ Partial | ✅ Full with ORM | ✅ Generated types | ⚠️ Partial | ❌ None | ⚠️ Partial |
| Lifecycle Hooks | ✅ Process, script, backup, transaction | ❌ None | ⚠️ Limited | ⚠️ Limited | ⚠️ Limited | ❌ None | ✅ Before/After hooks |
| Metrics Collection | ✅ Built-in collectors | ❌ Custom only | ❌ Custom only | ❌ Custom only | ❌ Custom only | ❌ Custom only | ❌ Custom only |
| Output Formats | ✅ Table, JSON, Silent | ⚠️ Fixed | ⚠️ Fixed | ⚠️ Fixed | ⚠️ Fixed | ⚠️ Fixed | ⚠️ Via custom code |
| Backup Integration | ✅ Built-in interface | ❌ Custom only | ❌ Custom only | ❌ None | ❌ Custom only | ❌ Custom only | ❌ Custom only |
| Migration Tracking | ✅ Custom table | ✅ Custom table | ✅ Custom table | ✅ _prisma_migrations | ✅ Custom table | ✅ pgmigrations | ✅ Custom storage |
| CLI | ✅ Extensible factory | ✅ Built-in | ✅ Built-in | ✅ Built-in | ✅ Built-in | ✅ Built-in | ⚠️ Custom only |
| Programmatic API | ✅ Library-first | ✅ Available | ✅ Available | ⚠️ Limited | ✅ Available | ✅ Available | ✅ Library-first |
| ORM Integration | ❌ Database-agnostic | ✅ Knex query builder | ✅ TypeORM entities | ✅ Prisma Client | ✅ Sequelize models | ❌ None | ❌ None |
| Auto-generation | ❌ Manual | ❌ Manual | ✅ From entities | ✅ From schema | ✅ From models | ❌ Manual | ❌ Manual |
| Schema Drift Detection | ❌ None | ❌ None | ⚠️ Via sync | ✅ Built-in | ⚠️ Via sync | ❌ None | ❌ None |
| Maturity | 🟢 Active | 🟢 Mature | 🟢 Mature | 🟢 Mature | 🟢 Mature | 🟢 Mature | 🟢 Mature |
| Best For | Multi-DB, production safety, flexibility | Knex users, PostgreSQL | TypeORM projects | Prisma users, modern DX | Sequelize projects | PostgreSQL experts | Custom migration logic |
Legend:
- ✅ Full support / Built-in
- ⚠️ Partial support / Requires custom code
- ❌ Not supported / None
Comparison with Cross-Platform Tools
Comparing MSR with popular migration tools from other ecosystems:
| Feature | MSR (Node.js) | Flyway (Java) | Liquibase (Java) | Alembic (Python) | Rails Migrations (Ruby) | golang-migrate (Go) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Language | TypeScript/JavaScript | Java/JVM | Java/JVM | Python | Ruby | Go |
| Migration Format | TypeScript + SQL | SQL | SQL, XML, YAML, JSON | Python | Ruby DSL | SQL + Go |
| Concurrent Protection | ✅ Database locks | ✅ Database locks | ✅ Database locks | ❌ None | ❌ None | ⚠️ Via custom locks |
| Transaction Support | ✅ Configurable + retry | ✅ Automatic | ✅ Automatic | ✅ Automatic | ✅ Automatic | ⚠️ Manual |
| Rollback | ✅ Multiple strategies | ✅ Undo migrations | ✅ Rollback tags | ✅ Down migrations | ✅ Down migrations | ✅ Down migrations |
| Dry Run | ✅ Built-in | ⚠️ Paid (Teams+) | ⚠️ Paid (Pro) | ❌ None | ❌ None | ❌ None |
| Enterprise Features | ❌ None | ✅ Teams/Enterprise | ✅ Pro/Enterprise | ❌ None | ❌ None | ❌ None |
| Environment Config | ✅ 12-factor + .env | ✅ Config files | ✅ Config files | ⚠️ Manual | ✅ Rails config | ⚠️ Manual |
| Type Safety | ✅ Full TypeScript | ❌ SQL only | ❌ SQL/XML only | ⚠️ Python types | ❌ DSL only | ⚠️ Go types |
| Best For | Node.js projects | Java/JVM, SQL-first teams | Enterprise, complex requirements | Python/SQLAlchemy | Rails applications | Go projects, simplicity |
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.