Schema Feature Support

This page records pgpac's current desired-state coverage. Native operations preserve the table and its remaining rows. Migration operations also preserve rows, but PostgreSQL must validate or convert existing data. Destructive operations require AllowDrop="true", --allow-drop, or --force.

Tables and columns

Feature	Status	Planned behavior
Create table	Native	CREATE TABLE; requires AllowCreate.
Drop table	Destructive	DROP TABLE ... CASCADE; requires drop authorization.
Add column	Native	ALTER TABLE ... ADD COLUMN; requires AllowAlter.
Drop column	Destructive	ALTER TABLE ... DROP COLUMN without CASCADE; preserves remaining data.
Change column type	Migration	Explicit USING column::new_type conversion; incompatible values fail.
Set or remove a default	Native	ALTER COLUMN ... SET/DROP DEFAULT.
Set NOT NULL	Migration	Existing rows are validated.
Remove NOT NULL	Native	ALTER COLUMN ... DROP NOT NULL.
Rename a column	Not inferred	Appears as an added column plus a destructive removed column; values are not copied.

Integrity constraints

Feature	Status	Planned behavior
Primary key	Migration	Native add, drop, rename, or replacement.
Foreign key	Migration	Native add, drop, rename, or replacement with target validation.
Unique constraint	Migration	Native add, drop, rename, or replacement with existing-row validation.
Check constraint	Migration	Native add, drop, rename, or replacement with existing-row validation.
Unnamed constraints	Supported	Matched semantically without depending on PostgreSQL-generated names.
Referenced-key alteration	Migration	Dependent foreign keys are dropped first and recreated after the referenced change.
Exclusion constraint	Unsupported	Use an explicit reviewed migration.

Other schema objects

Feature	Status	Planned behavior
Schema	Create/drop	Drops are destructive and use CASCADE.
Extension	Create/drop/recreate	Version changes can require destructive recreation.
Index	Create/drop/recreate	Definition changes currently use destructive recreation.
View	Create/replace/drop	Changes use CREATE OR REPLACE VIEW.
Function or procedure	Create/replace/drop	Changes use CREATE OR REPLACE.
Enum, domain, or sequence	Create/drop/recreate	Unsupported in-place changes fall back to destructive recreation.
Table and column comments	Set/clear	Native comment operations; requires AllowAlter.
Owners and privileges	Not modeled	Project comparison flags are reserved; no owner or privilege operations are currently planned.

Permissions and failure behavior

• AllowCreate controls new objects.
• AllowAlter controls native changes, migrations, and replacements.
• AllowDrop or --allow-drop controls destructive removals and recreations.
• Disabled operations remain visible as commented blocked-* plan entries.
• UseTransaction="true" rolls the complete apply back when conversion, dependency, uniqueness, foreign-key, or check validation fails.
• StopOnDataLossRisk is recorded but is not an additional enforcement gate.

See the safety model for authorization details.