django-migration-linter
Detect backward incompatible migrations for your django project
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes, if you maintain Django projects with rolling deployments or need to support multiple active versions. The low install friction, permissive license, and active support for modern Django versions make it a practical addition to development workflows. The aging maintenance status is not a blocker—the tool is stable and the last commit is recent—but verify that its incompatibility catalog covers your project's specific patterns.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Django 3.2 or later and Python 3.9 or later; must be added to INSTALLED_APPS to function.
- Low friction install with three lightweight runtime dependencies (django, appdirs, toml).
- Last commit on 2026-01-04 and marked aging, but the project remains active and supports current Django versions through 6.0.
License · maintenance · safety
Apache-2.0 (permissive) — Apache-2.0 permissive license allows use in commercial and private projects with minimal restrictions; you must include a copy of the license and note material changes.
last release 2026-01-04 (222 days) · last repo commit 2026-01-04 · 615 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 1,368,348 downloads/mo, #3,996 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install django-migration-linter
# Add to Django INSTALLED_APPS:
INSTALLED_APPS = [
...,
"django_migration_linter",
]
# Run linter:
python manage.py lintmigrations- Whether the linter detects all common backward-incompatible patterns or only a subset of known operations.
- Performance impact when linting large migration histories or complex projects.
- How the linter handles custom migration operations or third-party migration tools.
What it is and what it does
Django-migration-linter is a static analysis tool that scans your Django project's migrations and flags operations that would break backward compatibility—such as adding NOT NULL columns without defaults, dropping tables, or renaming tables. It runs as a Django management command and can be integrated into CI/CD pipelines or hooked into the makemigrations workflow to catch incompatibilities before they're committed.
The tool works by analyzing each migration file against a catalog of known incompatible patterns. When run, it reports a summary showing which migrations are valid, erroneous, ignored, or have warnings. It can optionally delete newly generated migrations that fail linting, with user confirmation, to prevent incompatible changes from entering the codebase. Configuration is optional via a Django setting, and the linter supports Django 3.2 through 6.0 on Python 3.9+.
Use it for
- Catch breaking schema changes during development before they reach production or older deployed instances.
- Integrate into CI pipelines to reject pull requests that introduce backward-incompatible migrations.
- Automatically validate migrations during makemigrations to prompt developers to fix issues immediately.
- Audit existing migration history to identify past incompatibilities that may have caused deployment problems.
- Enforce migration best practices in teams by preventing common pitfalls like undefaulted NOT NULL columns.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes, if you maintain Django projects with rolling deployments or need to support multiple active versions.
The low install friction, permissive license, and active support for modern Django versions make it a practical addition to development workflows. The aging maintenance status is not a blocker—the tool is stable and the last commit is recent—but verify that its incompatibility catalog covers your project's specific patterns.
Install
django-migration-linter on PyPI
Before you install
Low friction install with three lightweight runtime dependencies (django, appdirs, toml). Last commit on 2026-01-04 and marked aging, but the project remains active and supports current Django versions through 6.0.
Requires Django 3.2 or later and Python 3.9 or later; must be added to INSTALLED_APPS to function.
License in practice
Apache-2.0 permissive license allows use in commercial and private projects with minimal restrictions; you must include a copy of the license and note material changes.
Quickstart
pip install django-migration-linter
# Add to Django INSTALLED_APPS:
INSTALLED_APPS = [
...,
"django_migration_linter",
]
# Run linter:
python manage.py lintmigrationsVerify before relying
- Whether the linter detects all common backward-incompatible patterns or only a subset of known operations.
- Performance impact when linting large migration histories or complex projects.
- How the linter handles custom migration operations or third-party migration tools.
Package facts
| License | Apache-2.0 permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.9 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 3 packagesdjangoappdirstoml |
| Maintenance | Aging 222 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 1,368,348 / month, #3,996 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 5 - Production/StableEnvironment :: Web EnvironmentFramework :: DjangoFramework :: Django :: 3.2Framework :: Django :: 4.0Framework :: Django :: 4.1Framework :: Django :: 4.2Framework :: Django :: 5.0Framework :: Django :: 5.1Framework :: Django :: 5.2Framework :: Django :: 6.0Intended Audience :: DevelopersProgramming Language :: PythonProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.14Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9 |
Evidence: django_migration_linter-6.0.0-py3-none-any.whl
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See also django-linear-migrations · django-test-migrations · django-deprecate-fields · squawk-cli · django-pgmigrate · django-add-default-value · sqlite-migrate · django-syzygy · django-safemigrate