EF Core Migrations Deployment

Apply Entity Framework Core migrations to Azure SQL Database after deployment.

Detection

EF Core projects contain Migrations/ folder or Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore package reference in .csproj.

find . -type d -name "Migrations" 2>/dev/null
find . -name "*.csproj" -exec grep -l "Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore" {} \;

PowerShell:

Get-ChildItem -Recurse -Directory -Filter "Migrations" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Get-ChildItem -Recurse -Filter "*.csproj" | Select-String -List "Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore" | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Path

Deployment Methods

Method 1: azd Hook (Recommended)

Automate via postprovision hook in azure.yaml:

hooks:
  postprovision:
    posix:
      shell: sh
      run: ./scripts/apply-migrations.sh
    windows:
      shell: pwsh
      run: ./scripts/apply-migrations.ps1

Copy the pre-built scripts — Read scripts/apply-migrations.sh and scripts/apply-migrations.ps1 and write them verbatim to the project's scripts/ folder. Adjust APP_PROJECT_PATH / $AppProjectPath in the script to the location of the .csproj directory.

Key behaviours of the scripts:

• Loads azd env get-values safely (no eval)
• Installs dotnet-ef automatically when not present; no-op when already installed
• Fails on genuine install errors (network failure, missing SDK)
• Adds ~/.dotnet/tools to PATH so the tool is immediately available

💡 Make executable: chmod +x scripts/*.sh.

Method 2: SQL Script (Production)

Generate idempotent script for review before applying:

⚠️ Warning: az sql db query requires the rdbms-connect extension: az extension add --name rdbms-connect --yes

dotnet ef migrations script --idempotent --output migrations.sql
az sql db query --server "$SQL_SERVER" --database "$SQL_DATABASE" \
  --auth-mode ActiveDirectoryDefault --queries "$(cat migrations.sql)"

PowerShell:

dotnet ef migrations script --idempotent --output migrations.sql
$MigrationsSql = Get-Content migrations.sql -Raw
az sql db query --server $env:SQL_SERVER --database $env:SQL_DATABASE `
  --auth-mode ActiveDirectoryDefault --queries $MigrationsSql

Method 3: Application Startup (Dev Only)

⚠️ Development only — production should use explicit migration steps.

// Program.cs
if (app.Environment.IsDevelopment()) {
    using var scope = app.Services.CreateScope();
    scope.ServiceProvider.GetRequiredService<ApplicationDbContext>().Database.Migrate();
}

Combined Hook: SQL Access + Migrations

Combine both steps in a single postprovision hook using the pre-built combined scripts:

hooks:
  postprovision:
    posix:
      shell: sh
      run: ./scripts/grant-and-migrate.sh
    windows:
      shell: pwsh
      run: ./scripts/grant-and-migrate.ps1

Copy the pre-built scripts — Read scripts/grant-and-migrate.sh and scripts/grant-and-migrate.ps1 and write them verbatim to the project's scripts/ folder. Adjust APP_PROJECT_PATH / $AppProjectPath in the script to the location of the .csproj directory.

💡 Make executable: chmod +x scripts/*.sh

Prerequisites

Install EF Core tools:

dotnet tool install --global dotnet-ef
dotnet ef --version  # Verify installation

Connection String

Server=tcp:{server}.database.windows.net,1433;Database={database};Authentication=Active Directory Default;Encrypt=True;

Troubleshooting

DbContext Factory Example:

public class ApplicationDbContextFactory : IDesignTimeDbContextFactory<ApplicationDbContext> {
    public ApplicationDbContext CreateDbContext(string[] args) {
        var optionsBuilder = new DbContextOptionsBuilder<ApplicationDbContext>();
        var connectionString = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("CONNECTION_STRING") 
            ?? args.FirstOrDefault() ?? "Server=(localdb)\\mssqllocaldb;Database=MyDb;Trusted_Connection=True;";
        optionsBuilder.UseSqlServer(connectionString);
        return new ApplicationDbContext(optionsBuilder.Options);
    }
}

Best Practices

• Use --idempotent flag for production scripts
• Version control Migrations/ folder
• Test locally before deploying
• Backup production databases before applying
• Keep migrations small and focused

References

• SQL Managed Identity Access
• Post-Deployment Guide
• EF Core Migrations