🚨 Django Developers: Stop Letting Migrations Haunt Your Nights! 🚨

3 AM. Slack blows up. Your deployment is broken because a missing migration caused a ColumnDoesNotExist error. Sound familiar? You’re not alone.

A 2022 Django survey found 34% of developers lose sleep to migration conflicts. But here’s the truth: inconsistent migrations aren’t just bugs—they’re a cultural problem.

👉 Why teams fail:

Manual database tweaks (“It’s just a quick fix!”)

Siloed workflows (Who owns the migrations?)

No code reviews for migration files (merge conflict chaos 😱)

👉 How to win:

✅ Automate checks in CI/CD (makemigrations --check --dry-run)

✅ Backup religiously (script included below ⬇️)

✅ Document everything (create a “Migration Runbook”!)

✅ Pair juniors with seniors on complex schema changes

For larger teams, shared ownership is key. Treat migrations like code—review them, test them, and never let a --fake flag become a band-aid.

🔥 Pro tip: Use this script to nuke broken migrations (dev only!):

``` find . -path "*/migrations/*.py" -not -name "__init__.py" -delete ```

The bottom line? Migrations are a rite of passage. But with the right tools, processes, and a culture of accountability, your team can turn chaos into a badge of honor.

👀 Your turn: How does your team handle migration meltdowns? Share your war stories (or life-saving scripts!) below. ⬇️

P.S. Hit 🔔 for part 2: “How we cut migration-related downtime by 80%.”

Why this works: Combines urgency (3 AM crisis), stats (34%), actionable tips, and invites discussion. The script snippet adds practical value, while the call-to-action boosts engagement. Tailored for devs and engineering managers!*