# Plugin Database Migrations
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/plugin-database-migrations/259521
**Category:** Development
**Created:** [March 27, 2023, 8:50am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/plugin-database-migrations/259521 "2023-03-27T08:50:37Z")
**Posts on this page:** 6
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@bstgmr02](https://meta.discourse.org/u/bstgmr02)
#### Post date: [March 27, 2023, 8:50am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/plugin-database-migrations/259521/1 "2023-03-27T08:50:37Z")
Is there an automatic way of running the database migration for a custom plugin if it has not already been run? Instead of manually running a DB migration in a fresh Discourse installation?
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### Author:  [@nat](https://meta.discourse.org/u/nat)
#### Post date: [March 27, 2023, 9:03am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/plugin-database-migrations/259521/2 "2023-03-27T09:03:37Z")
How are you running Discourse?
This should be covered if you’re using our docker installation.
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### Author:  [@bstgmr02](https://meta.discourse.org/u/bstgmr02)
#### Post date: [March 27, 2023, 9:15am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/plugin-database-migrations/259521/3 "2023-03-27T09:15:43Z")
Running the Discourse development environment
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### Author:  [@merefield](https://meta.discourse.org/u/merefield)
#### Post date: [March 27, 2023, 9:30am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/plugin-database-migrations/259521/4 "2023-03-27T09:30:35Z")
You don’t run migrations from within a plugin.
In a Dev environment you perform them from the console.
Why? Because when you deploy a plugin the migrations are taken care of by the host app.
It’s out of scope of what a plugin should do.
(FYI that’s not to say you don’t include migrations within the plugin if you are e.g. modifying the database but the plugin is not going to _perform_ the migrations)
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### Author:  [@bstgmr02](https://meta.discourse.org/u/bstgmr02)
#### Post date: [March 27, 2023, 9:34am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/plugin-database-migrations/259521/5 "2023-03-27T09:34:42Z")
That’s correct, I am using the console to run the migrations in the development environment. My question is that is this the way forward and do I also have to run these manually in the console for a production docker environment?
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### Author:  [@RGJ](https://meta.discourse.org/u/RGJ)
#### Post date: [March 27, 2023, 9:35am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/plugin-database-migrations/259521/6 "2023-03-27T09:35:51Z")
> [@bstgmr02](#):
>
> do I also have to run these manually in the console for a production docker environment?
That would be done automatically as part of a (re)build.