ecto-migrator

What This Skill Does

The ecto-migrator skill is a specialized AI agent tool designed to streamline the database schema evolution process for Elixir applications using Ecto. It bridges the gap between natural language intent and syntactically correct Ecto migration files. By understanding database design patterns, naming conventions, and standard Ecto best practices, the agent can translate simple user requests into structured Elixir code, ensuring that migrations are safe, reversible, and follow industry standards like using binary_id, utc_datetime_usec for timestamps, and appropriate indexing strategies for high-performance PostgreSQL operations.

Installation

To integrate this skill into your OpenClaw agent environment, execute the following command in your terminal: clawhub install openclaw/skills/skills/gchapim/ecto-migrator

Use Cases

This skill is ideal for teams building scalable Elixir applications. It is particularly effective when:

• Bootstrapping new database tables from feature specifications.
• Adding new functionality requiring schema changes, such as new columns or complex constraints.
• Implementing multi-tenant architecture by automating the insertion of tenant_id columns and corresponding composite indexes.
• Refactoring existing database structures, such as renaming columns or splitting tables, while ensuring data integrity.
• Defining GIN indexes for complex JSONB metadata or array-based data fields.

Example Prompts

1. "Create a new table for posts with title, body, and a reference to the users table. Make sure the user_id is indexed and timestamps are included."
2. "Add a status column to the orders table with a default value of 'pending' and create a partial index for all rows where status is not completed."
3. "Refactor the products table: add a price column as an integer to store cents, and create a unique index on the sku column."

Tips & Limitations

• Type Safety: Always rely on standard Ecto types. The agent is configured to prioritize :binary_id and :map over custom database types to ensure portability and easier migrations.
• Constraint Awareness: Remember that the agent can handle complex check constraints; explicitly mention any business rules (e.g., 'amount must be greater than zero') to have the agent generate the corresponding create constraint statement.
• Reversibility: While the agent generates change blocks which are automatically reversible for most operations, complex data migrations may require manual review. Always inspect the generated migration files before running mix ecto.migrate.
• Performance: The agent follows strict indexing patterns. It automatically suggests GIN indexes for JSONB, but if you have specific performance requirements, be sure to mention them in the prompt.