Fluent Migrator vs DBUp

DBUp vs FluentMigrator for .NET + PostgreSQL

Why We Landed on FluentMigrator

Database migrations are one of those invisible chores that can make—or break—release day. We recently put DBUp and FluentMigrator head-to-head for a C# / PostgreSQL project. Spoiler: FluentMigrator won. Here’s the quick-and-dirty comparison, a peek at sample code, and why we think the fluent approach pays dividends for most .NET teams.

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TL;DR

	DBUp	FluentMigrator
Migration language	Raw SQL scripts	C# fluent API
Dev-friendliness	Great if you dream in SQL	Great if you live in C#
PostgreSQL love	Works via extra provider	Native dialect + extensions
Down migrations	Manual SQL (often skipped)	Built into each class
Community	~1.5 k ★ GitHub	3 k+ ★ GitHub, more plugs & docs
Unit-testable	Needs a DB spin-up	Test Up()/Down() like any C# method
CI/CD setup	Simple	Simple + first-party PM Console cmds
Best fit	SQL-centric teams	.NET-centric teams, multi-DB futures

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The Contenders, in 60 Seconds

DBUp

• Executes ordered SQL scripts.

• Tracks what ran via a Versions table.

• Philosophy: keep everything SQL-first and source-controlled.

FluentMigrator

• Write migrations as C# classes with a fluent DSL.

• Database-agnostic runner (Postgres, SQL Server, MySQL, …).

• Extras: tags for env-specific scripts, rollback helpers, index-type tweaks, third-party tooling.

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Head-to-Head

1. Migration Syntax

DBUp (SQL):

sql
-- 202504211029_CreateClientsTable.sql
CREATE TABLE Clients (
    Id   SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
    Name VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL
);

FluentMigrator (C#):

csharp
[Migration(202504211029)]
public class CreateClientsTable : Migration
{
    public override void Up() =>
        Create.Table("Clients")
              .WithColumn("Id").AsInt32().PrimaryKey().Identity()
              .WithColumn("Name").AsString().NotNullable();

    public override void Down() => Delete.Table("Clients");
}

Why we prefer the C# route → zero context-switching, IntelliSense, unit tests, and the same review process as the rest of the codebase.

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2. PostgreSQL Superpowers

• DBUp: You get full SQL control—but that means you hand-roll every Postgres-specific tweak.

• FluentMigrator: Pick GIN vs. GiST indexes, conditional expressions, JSON operators, etc., straight from helpers—no string-concatenated SQL required.

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3. Down Migrations & Rollbacks

Downs are optional, but if you need them:

• DBUp → write separate SQL scripts and keep them in sync.

• FluentMigrator → just implement Down() next to Up(). Same compile-time safety, same PR.

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4. Dev Experience & Learning Curve

If you’re a…	You’ll like…
DBA / hardcore SQL fan	DBUp (pure SQL, no abstraction)
Full-stack C# dev	FluentMigrator (stays in the language you already type 90 % of the day)

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5. Community & Ecosystem

• DBUp – battle-tested, but fewer modern extensions, ~1.5k GitHub ⭐.

• FluentMigrator – bigger crowd, more blog posts, Google group support, NuGet extras, >3k ⭐.

More eyeballs = more bug fixes, Stack Overflow answers, and plug-ins when you need them.

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Real-World Example: FluentMigrator in CI

yaml
# buildspec.yml – CodeBuild snippet
version: 0.2
phases:
  install:
    commands:
      - dotnet tool install -g FluentMigrator.DotNet.Cli
  build:
    commands:
      - dotnet restore
      - dotnet build Database.Migrations.csproj
      - export PG_CONN=$(aws secretsmanager get-secret-value --secret-id prod-pg --query SecretString --output text)
      - dotnet fm migrate -p Database.Migrations.dll --connection "$PG_CONN"

One step in the pipeline keeps schema and app deploys decoupled—perfect for blue-green or canary releases.

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When DBUp Still Makes Sense

• Your team lives and breathes raw SQL.

• You need micro-optimised hand-crafted scripts and don’t mind maintaining them.

• The project targets a single DB engine with minimal future change.

If that checklist fits, DBUp is lean, predictable, and plenty solid.

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Verdict

We chose FluentMigrator because:

• Our developers think in C#, not DDL.

• Native Postgres helpers reduce hand-written SQL.

• Bigger community and ecosystem.

• Rollbacks, tags, multi-DB, and CI tooling come for free.

Bottom line: if your shop is C#-heavy and you want migrations to feel like just more code, FluentMigrator is the smoother ride. Give it a whirl on your next feature branch and see if you miss SQL files—odds are, you won’t.