Hi everyone,

We are back again with a new release of Atlas, v0.24. In this release we double down on the core principle that has been guiding us from the start: enabling developers to manage their database schema as code. The features we announce today may appear like a yet another cool addition to Atlas, but I am fairly confident, that in a few years' time, they will be recognized as something foundational.

In this release we introduce:

• schema test - a new command (and framework) for testing your database schema using familiar software testing paradigms.
• migrate test - a new command for testing writing tests for you schema migrations.
• Enhanced editor support - we have added support for some long awaited features in our VSCode and JetBrains plugins: multi-file schemas, jump to definition, and support for much larger schemas.

Introduction​

Making liberal use of views is a key aspect of good SQL database design.

— Postgres documentation

Views are a powerful database feature: they are virtual table representing the result of a query. Many teams use them to simplify complex queries, encapsulate logic, and present a consistent interface to users, abstracting the underlying data structures.

Hi everyone,

It's been a few weeks since the release of v0.22, and we're excited to be back with the next version of Atlas, packed with some long awaited features and improvements.

• Redshift Support - Amazon Redshift, a fully managed, petabyte-scale data warehouse service in the cloud. Starting today, you can use Atlas to manage your Redshift Schema-as-Code.
• CircleCI Integration - Following some recent requests from our Enterprise customers, we have added a CircleCI orb to make it easier to integrate Atlas into your CircleCI pipelines.
• Kubernetes Operator Down Migrations - The Kubernetes Operator now detects when you are moving to a previous version and will attempt to apply a down migration if configured to do so.
• GORM View Support - We have added support for defining SQL Views in your GORM models.
• SQLAlchemy Provider Improvements - We have added support for defining models using SQLAlchemy Core Tables in the SQLAlchemy provider.
• ERD v2 - We have added a new navigation sidebar to the ERD to make it easier to navigate within large schemas.
• PostgreSQL Improvements - We have added support for PostgreSQL Event Triggers, Aggregate Functions, and Function Security.

Let's dive in!

Hi everyone,

It's been a few weeks since our last release, and we're happy to be back with a version packed with brand new and exciting features. Here's what's inside:

• RENAME Detection - This version includes a RENAME detector that identifies ambiguous situations of potential resource renames and interactively asks the user for feedback before generating the changes.
• PostgreSQL Features
  • UNIQUE and EXCLUDE - Unique constraints and exclusion constraints were added.
  • Composite Types - Added support for composite types, which are user-defined types that represent the structure of a row.
  • Table lock checks - Eight new checks that review migration plans and alert in cases of a potential table locks in different modes.
• SQL Server Sequence Support - Atlas now supports managing sequences in SQL Server.

Let's dive in!

Building a loveable migration tool​

"I just love dealing with migrations!"

-No developer, ever.

Over the past three years, Ariel, my co-founder and I (along with the rest of our team at Ariga), have been working on Atlas, a database schema-as-code tool. After many years of building software professionally, we've come to realize that one of the most stressful, tedious and error-prone parts of building software is dealing with database migrations.

In case you are unfamiliar with the term, database migrations are the process of changing the structure of a database. When applications evolve, the database schema needs to evolve with them. This is commonly done by writing scripts that describe the changes to the database schema. These scripts are then executed in order to apply the changes to the database. This process has earned the name "migrations" and an infamous reputation among developers.

The secret to building a successful tool for developers is to be relentlessly focused on the user experience. When we started working on Atlas, we spent a long time researching the common issues developers face when dealing with migrations. We wanted to understand the root causes of these issues and design a tool that would solve them.

In this post, I'll share the top 5 usability issues we identified with migration tools and how we addressed them in Atlas.

TL;DR​

Ever since my first job as a junior engineer, the seniors on my team told me that whenever I make a schema change I must write the corresponding "down migration", so it can be reverted at a later time if needed. But what if that advice, while well-intentioned, deserves a second look?

Today, I want to argue that contrary to popular belief, down migration files are actually a bad idea and should be actively avoided.

In the final section, I'll introduce an alternative that may sound completely contradictory: the new migrate down command. I will explain the thought process behind its creation and show examples of how to use it.

Hi everyone,

It's been a few weeks since our last version announcement and today I'm happy to share with you v0.20, which includes some big changes and exciting features:

• New Pricing Model - As we announced earlier this month, beginning March 15th the new pricing model took effect. The new pricing is usage-based, offering you more flexibility and cost efficiency. Read about what prompted this change and view the new pricing plans here.
• Django ORM Integration - Atlas now supports Django! Django is a popular ORM for Python. Developers using Django can now use Atlas to automatically plan schema migrations based on the desired state of their schema, instead of crafting them by hand.
• Support for PostgreSQL Extensions - Atlas now supports installing and managing PostgreSQL extensions.
• Dashboards in the Cloud - The dashboard (previously the 'Projects' page) got a whole new look in Atlas Cloud. Now you can view the state of your projects and environments at a glance.
• _SQL Server is out of Beta](#sql-server-is-out-of-beta) - SQL Server is officially out of Beta! Along with this official support, we have included some new features:
  • User-Defined Types support for SQL Server - Atlas now supports two User-Defined Types: alias types and table types.
  • Azure Active Directory (AAD) Authentication for SQL Server - Connect to your SQL Server database using AAD Authentication.

Let’s dive in!

Hi everyone,

We are updating you on a pricing change we will be rolling out to Atlas Cloud on March 15th, 2024.

As you know, Atlas is an open-core project, which means that while its core is an Apache 2-licensed open-source project, we are building it as a commercial, cloud-connected solution built and supported by our company, Ariga. As with any startup, our understanding of the product and the market are constantly evolving, and this pricing change is a reflection of that evolution.

Atlas Plans​

Even through this change, we will keep providing the Atlas community with three options for how to consume Atlas.

• Free Plan (formerly "Community Plan") - for individuals and small teams that want to unlock the full potential of Atlas. This plan will remain free forever and provides full access to all the capabilities of Atlas as a CLI as well as access to enough Atlas Cloud quota to successfully manage a single project. Support is provided via public community support channels.

• Business Plan (formerly "Team Plan") - for teams professionally using Atlas beyond a single project. This plan has the same features and capabilities as the Free Plan but allows teams to purchase additional quotas if required. In addition, teams subscribing to this plan will get access to priority email support and in-app support via Intercom.

• Enterprise Plan - for larger organizations looking to solve schema management at scale. This plan includes a dedicated support channel, solution engineering, and other features required for adoption by enterprises.

Hi everyone,

We are excited to share our latest release with you! Here's what's new:

• Pre-migration Checks: Before migrating your schema, you can now add SQL checks that will be verified to help avoid risky migrations.
• Schema Docs: Atlas lets you manage your database schema as code. One of the things we love most about code, is that because of its formal structure, it's possible to automatically generate documentation from it. With this release, we're introducing a new feature that lets you generate code-grade documentation for your database schema.
• SQL Server Trigger Support: Atlas now supports managing triggers in SQL Server.
• ClickHouse Materialized View Support: Atlas now supports managing materialized views in ClickHouse.

Let's dive in.

The Evolution of Database Schema Management​

In today's world, where software is developed and deployed at a rapid pace, selecting the right tools for your team is crucial. The right tools can help you move faster, be more productive, and reduce the risk of errors and bugs. Most backend applications are backed by a database, and maintaining the database schema is a critical part of the development process.

Our industry has seen many trends in the way database schemas evolve over the years. In the early days, DBAs would manually run SQL DDL commands directly against the database through a terminal. Then came GUI based, point-and-click database management tools that included schema editing capabilities.

In the early 2000s, we saw the rise of "database migration tools" that allowed developers to write versioned database upgrade scripts (usually in SQL), called "migrations", that would be executed by the tool itself. This trend was further intensified with the rise of DevOps and CI/CD, as it became the de-facto standard way for automating database schema management.