sync-branch

Align local migration files (and optionally the database) to the current git branch state.

Usage

python manage.py migraid sync-branch [--app LABEL] [--dry-run] [--yes] [--noinput] [--database ALIAS] [--update-db] [--schema]

Description

sync-branch is designed for the workflow where you have untracked (uncommitted) migration files that were created on a branch you are leaving. It:

1. Detects untracked migration files — any .py file in a migrations directory that git considers untracked.
2. (Optional) Deletes stale django_migrations rows — with --update-db, removes applied rows for migrations whose files are no longer tracked by git.
3. (Optional) Reverses schema changes — with --schema, calls manage.py migrate backwards for any app where the applied state exceeds the git-tracked state (requires the migration files to still be on disk).

The command is file-plane by default. DB writes require an explicit flag.

Flags

Flag	Default	Description
--app LABEL	all apps	Limit to one app.
--dry-run	off	Preview changes without making them.
--yes / --noinput	off	Skip the confirmation prompt.
--database ALIAS	default	Database alias to inspect.
--update-db	off	Also delete stale django_migrations rows for branch-excess applied migrations.
--schema	off	Also run migrate backwards to reverse schema changes (requires files on disk).

git is required

sync-branch always requires a git repository. It uses git ls-files and git status to distinguish tracked from untracked files. There is no --force bypass.

Typical workflow

# You are on feature-branch with untracked migration files that were applied locally.
# You want to switch to main without carrying those files.

# 1. Preview what sync-branch would do
python manage.py migraid sync-branch --dry-run

# 2. Delete the untracked files only (default — no DB changes)
python manage.py migraid sync-branch --yes

# 3. Or: also remove the applied rows from django_migrations
python manage.py migraid sync-branch --update-db --yes

# 4. Or: full cleanup — reverse schema changes too (files must still be on disk)
python manage.py migraid sync-branch --schema --yes

sync-branch vs prune

Situation	Use
Untracked/uncommitted migration files left over from a branch	sync-branch
Migration files deleted from the repo (squash, manual cleanup)	prune