Command Line Interface Commands for Migrations
The .NET Core CLI (Command List Interface) tools for Entity Framework Core perform design-time development tasks such as migrations, script generation, generate model code for existing database. It can be used on any platform.
Install the .NET Core CLI tools for EF Core using the following command:
.NET Core CLI
dotnet tool install --global dotnet-ef
After installation, use the --help option to get the help on any EF Core commands, as shown below.
C:> dotnet ef --help
Entity Framework Core .NET Command-line Tools 7.0.11
Usage: dotnet ef [options] [command]
Options:
--version Show version information
-h|--help Show help information
-v|--verbose Show verbose output.
--no-color Don't colorize output.
--prefix-output Prefix output with level.
Commands:
database Commands to manage the database.
dbcontext Commands to manage DbContext types.
migrations Commands to manage migrations.
Use "dotnet ef [command] --help" for more information about a command.
As you can see above, there are three main EF commands available: database, dbcontext and migrations. The following table lists all EF commands and sub commands.
| Command | Sub Commands | Usage |
|---|---|---|
| Database | drop | Drops the database. |
| update | Updates the database to a specified migration. | |
| DbContext | info | Gets information about a DbContext type. |
| list | Lists available DbContext types. | |
| scaffold | Scaffolds a DbContext and entity types for a database. | |
| Migrations | add | Adds a new migration. |
| list | Lists available migrations. | |
| remove | Removes the last migration. | |
| script: | Generates a SQL script from migrations. |
Let's see available options for each command.
Database Drop
> dotnet ef database drop --help
Usage: dotnet ef database drop [options] Options: -f|--force Don't confirm. --dry-run Show which database would be dropped, but don't drop it. -c|--context <DBCONTEXT> The DbContext to use. -p|--project <PROJECT> The project to use. Defaults to the current working directory. -s|--startup-project <PROJECT> The startup project to use. Defaults to the current working directory. --framework <FRAMEWORK> The target framework. Defaults to the first one in the project. --configuration <CONFIGURATION> The configuration to use. --runtime <RUNTIME_IDENTIFIER> The runtime to use. --msbuildprojectextensionspath <PATH> The MSBuild project extensions path. Defaults to "obj". --no-build Don't build the project. Intended to be used when the build is up-to-date. -h|--help Show help information -v|--verbose Show verbose output. --no-color Don't colorize output. --prefix-output Prefix output with level.
Database Update
>dotnet ef database update --help
Usage: dotnet ef database update [arguments] [options] Arguments: <MIGRATION> The target migration. If '0', all migrations will be reverted. Defaults to the last migration. Options: --connection <CONNECTION> The connection string to the database. Defaults to the one specified in AddDbContext or OnConfiguring. -c|--context <DBCONTEXT> The DbContext to use. -p|--project <PROJECT> The project to use. Defaults to the current working directory. -s|--startup-project <PROJECT> The startup project to use. Defaults to the current working directory. --framework <FRAMEWORK> The target framework. Defaults to the first one in the project. --configuration <CONFIGURATION> The configuration to use. --runtime <RUNTIME_IDENTIFIER> The runtime to use. --msbuildprojectextensionspath <PATH> The MSBuild project extensions path. Defaults to "obj". --no-build Don't build the project. Intended to be used when the build is up-to-date. -h|--help Show help information -v|--verbose Show verbose output. --no-color Don't colorize output. --prefix-output Prefix output with level.
DbContext Info
> dotnet ef dbcontext info --help
Usage: dotnet ef dbcontext info [options]
Options:
--json Show JSON output. Use with --prefix-output to parse programatically.
-c|--context <DBCONTEXT> The DbContext to use.
-p|--project <PROJECT> The project to use. Defaults to the current working directory.
-s|--startup-project <PROJECT> The startup project to use. Defaults to the current working directory.
--framework <FRAMEWORK> The target framework. Defaults to the first one in the project.
--configuration <CONFIGURATION> The configuration to use.
--runtime <RUNTIME_IDENTIFIER> The runtime to use.
--msbuildprojectextensionspath <PATH> The MSBuild project extensions path. Defaults to "obj".
--no-build Don't build the project. Intended to be used when the build is up-to-date.
-h|--help Show help information
-v|--verbose Show verbose output.
--no-color Don't colorize output.
--prefix-output Prefix output with level.
DbContext Scaffold
> dotnet ef dbcontext scaffold --help
Usage: dotnet ef dbcontext scaffold [arguments] [options]
Arguments:
<CONNECTION> The connection string to the database.
<PROVIDER> The provider to use. (E.g. Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.SqlServer)
Options:
-d|--data-annotations Use attributes to configure the model (where possible). If omitted, only the fluent API is used.
-c|--context <NAME> The name of the DbContext. Defaults to the database name.
--context-dir <PATH> The directory to put the DbContext file in. Paths are relative to the project directory.
-f|--force Overwrite existing files.
-o|--output-dir <PATH> The directory to put files in. Paths are relative to the project directory.
--schema <SCHEMA_NAME>... The schemas of tables to generate entity types for.
-t|--table <TABLE_NAME>... The tables to generate entity types for.
--use-database-names Use table and column names directly from the database.
--json Show JSON output. Use with --prefix-output to parse programatically.
-n|--namespace <NAMESPACE> The namespace to use. Matches the directory by default.
--context-namespace <NAMESPACE> The namespace of the DbContext class. Matches the directory by default.
--no-onconfiguring Don't generate DbContext.OnConfiguring.
--no-pluralize Don't use the pluralizer.
-p|--project <PROJECT> The project to use. Defaults to the current working directory.
-s|--startup-project <PROJECT> The startup project to use. Defaults to the current working directory.
--framework <FRAMEWORK> The target framework. Defaults to the first one in the project.
--configuration <CONFIGURATION> The configuration to use.
--runtime <RUNTIME_IDENTIFIER> The runtime to use.
--msbuildprojectextensionspath <PATH> The MSBuild project extensions path. Defaults to "obj".
--no-build Don't build the project. Intended to be used when the build is up-to-date.
-h|--help Show help information
-v|--verbose Show verbose output.
--no-color Don't colorize output.
--prefix-output Prefix output with level.
Add
> dotnet ef migrations add --help
Usage: dotnet ef migrations add [arguments] [options]
Arguments:
<NAME> The name of the migration.
Options:
-o|--output-dir <PATH> The directory to put files in. Paths are relative to the project directory. Defaults to "Migrations".
--json Show JSON output. Use with --prefix-output to parse programatically.
-n|--namespace <NAMESPACE> The namespace to use. Matches the directory by default.
-c|--context <DBCONTEXT> The DbContext to use.
-p|--project <PROJECT> The project to use. Defaults to the current working directory.
-s|--startup-project <PROJECT> The startup project to use. Defaults to the current working directory.
--framework <FRAMEWORK> The target framework. Defaults to the first one in the project.
--configuration <CONFIGURATION> The configuration to use.
--runtime <RUNTIME_IDENTIFIER> The runtime to use.
--msbuildprojectextensionspath <PATH> The MSBuild project extensions path. Defaults to "obj".
--no-build Don't build the project. Intended to be used when the build is up-to-date.
-h|--help Show help information
-v|--verbose Show verbose output.
--no-color Don't colorize output.
--prefix-output Prefix output with level.
List
> dotnet ef migrations list --help
Usage: dotnet ef migrations list [options]
Options:
--connection <CONNECTION> The connection string to the database. Defaults to the one specified in AddDbContext or OnConfiguring.
--no-connect Don't connect to the database.
--json Show JSON output. Use with --prefix-output to parse programatically.
-c|--context <DBCONTEXT> The DbContext to use.
-p|--project <PROJECT> The project to use. Defaults to the current working directory.
-s|--startup-project <PROJECT> The startup project to use. Defaults to the current working directory.
--framework <FRAMEWORK> The target framework. Defaults to the first one in the project.
--configuration <CONFIGURATION> The configuration to use.
--runtime <RUNTIME_IDENTIFIER> The runtime to use.
--msbuildprojectextensionspath <PATH> The MSBuild project extensions path. Defaults to "obj".
--no-build Don't build the project. Intended to be used when the build is up-to-date.
-h|--help Show help information
-v|--verbose Show verbose output.
--no-color Don't colorize output.
--prefix-output Prefix output with level.
Remove
> dotnet ef migrations remove --help
Usage: dotnet ef migrations remove [options]
Options:
-f|--force Revert the migration if it has been applied to the database.
--json Show JSON output. Use with --prefix-output to parse programatically.
-c|--context <DBCONTEXT> The DbContext to use.
-p|--project <PROJECT> The project to use. Defaults to the current working directory.
-s|--startup-project <PROJECT> The startup project to use. Defaults to the current working directory.
--framework <FRAMEWORK> The target framework. Defaults to the first one in the project.
--configuration <CONFIGURATION> The configuration to use.
--runtime <RUNTIME_IDENTIFIER> The runtime to use.
--msbuildprojectextensionspath <PATH> The MSBuild project extensions path. Defaults to "obj".
--no-build Don't build the project. Intended to be used when the build is up-to-date.
-h|--help Show help information
-v|--verbose Show verbose output.
--no-color Don't colorize output.
--prefix-output Prefix output with level.
Script
> dotnet ef migrations script --help
Usage: dotnet ef migrations script [arguments] [options]
Arguments:
<FROM> The starting migration. Defaults to '0' (the initial database).
<TO> The target migration. Defaults to the last migration.
Options:
-o|--output <FILE> The file to write the result to.
-i|--idempotent Generate a script that can be used on a database at any migration.
--no-transactions Don't generate SQL transaction statements.
-c|--context <DBCONTEXT> The DbContext to use.
-p|--project <PROJECT> The project to use. Defaults to the current working directory.
-s|--startup-project <PROJECT> The startup project to use. Defaults to the current working directory.
--framework <FRAMEWORK> The target framework. Defaults to the first one in the project.
--configuration <CONFIGURATION> The configuration to use.
--runtime <RUNTIME_IDENTIFIER> The runtime to use.
--msbuildprojectextensionspath <PATH> The MSBuild project extensions path. Defaults to "obj".
--no-build Don't build the project. Intended to be used when the build is up-to-date.
-h|--help Show help information
-v|--verbose Show verbose output.
--no-color Don't colorize output.
--prefix-output Prefix output with level.