# Auto migrate test database schema
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/auto-migrate-test-database-schema/150786
**Category:** Development
**Created:** [May 8, 2020, 4:27am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/auto-migrate-test-database-schema/150786 "2020-05-08T04:27:56Z")
**Posts on this page:** 2
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@xrav3nz](https://meta.discourse.org/u/xrav3nz)
#### Post date: [May 8, 2020, 4:27am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/auto-migrate-test-database-schema/150786/1 "2020-05-08T04:27:56Z")
Related: [Db:drop, create & migrate behavior with RAILS\_ENV=development - #2 by taylorthurlow - A May Of WTFs - Ruby on Rails Discussions](https://discuss.rubyonrails.org/t/db-drop-create-migrate-behavior-with-rails-env-development/74435/2)
Not sure if we have explored this before, but Rails can automatically maintain test databse schema with `ActiveRecord::Migration.maintain_test_schema!` ([method definition](https://github.com/rails/rails/blob/148bb058bc0b93501296c2337651fa68b8b49f65/activerecord/lib/active_record/migration.rb#L632-L636), [in `rails/test_help`](https://github.com/rails/rails/blob/9ecbd64cd93af0c7efe3141e93f85e5c263e00d0/railties/lib/rails/test_help.rb#L16-L21), [in latest `rspec/rails` helper generator](https://github.com/rspec/rspec-rails/blob/148f7ce473e0f9e36018e9a7ca79aad4af0a6d14/lib/generators/rspec/install/templates/spec/rails_helper.rb#L25-L34))
Here is a diff to incorporate it into Discourse’s `spec/rails_helper`:
[https://github.com/xrav3nz/discourse/commit/90ac78ad3b64c07ddaf86ccc883c87c0dd727348](https://github.com/xrav3nz/discourse/commit/90ac78ad3b64c07ddaf86ccc883c87c0dd727348)
**However** , it fails on my Docker-based development setup:
```plaintext
ActiveRecord::StatementInvalid: PG::InsufficientPrivilege: ERROR: must be owner of database discourse_test
```
This is because `maintain_test_schema!` utilizes `db:test:prepare`, and tries to drop the test database first, to which (I believe) the `discourse` user on Docker-based setup does not have access.
Could someone **with a native dev setup** could try it out? If it works, maybe the change is worth considering?
---
### Author:  [@markvanlan](https://meta.discourse.org/u/markvanlan)
#### Post date: [May 8, 2020, 1:15pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/auto-migrate-test-database-schema/150786/2 "2020-05-08T13:15:45Z")
I applied that diff and dropped by databases then ran
`bin/rails db:create`
`bin/rails db:migrate`
then chose a random spec
```bash
▶ bundle exec rspec spec/requests/permalinks_controller_spec.rb
An error occurred while loading ./spec/requests/permalinks_controller_spec.rb.
Failure/Error: Group.find_by(id: id)
ActiveRecord::StatementInvalid:
PG::UndefinedTable: ERROR: relation "groups" does not exist
LINE 8: WHERE a.attrelid = '"groups"'::regclass
^
# ./app/models/group.rb:532:in `lookup_group'
# ./app/models/group.rb:516:in `block in ensure_automatic_groups!'
# ./app/models/group.rb:515:in `each_key'
# ./app/models/group.rb:515:in `ensure_automatic_groups!'
# (eval):3:in `block (2 levels) in run_file'
# ./spec/rails_helper.rb:79:in `'
# ./spec/requests/permalinks_controller_spec.rb:3:in `require'
# ./spec/requests/permalinks_controller_spec.rb:3:in `'
# ------------------
# --- Caused by: ---
# PG::UndefinedTable:
# ERROR: relation "groups" does not exist
# LINE 8: WHERE a.attrelid = '"groups"'::regclass
# ^
# ./app/models/group.rb:532:in `lookup_group'
No examples found.
Finished in 0.00003 seconds (files took 1.6 seconds to load)
0 examples, 0 failures, 1 error occurred outside of examples
```
I never got into `config.before('suite')`