Use a production-like copy, backups, row counts, and a restore rehearsal. Prefer expand/contract and batched backfills. Never let an agent choose destructive production execution.
Objective
change schema or data safely.
Context
production-like copy, row counts, query plan, backup and restore procedure.
Decompose
expand, backfill in batches, dual-read/write if needed, contract, clean up later.
Criteria
rehearsal time, lock behavior, consistency checks, rollback or restore tested.
Security
least-privileged migration credential and no production secrets in logs.
Commit/rollback
migration and application changes separately; never let the agent choose destructive production execution.
Output
runbook, dry-run evidence, restore evidence.
Handoff checklist
- Dry run and restore tested
- Lock and consistency behavior known
- Least-privileged credential
- Rollback or restore command verified
Editorial recipe adapted from the project’s September 2026 research brief. Commands, authority and acceptance tests must be matched to your repository. No production execution is implied.