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+# Database Migrations Guide
+
+## Overview
+
+ResolutionFlow uses **Alembic** for database migrations with PostgreSQL 16. As of February 2026, there are **31 migration files** (27 sequential + 4 hash-based).
+
+## Migration Naming Conventions
+
+The project uses **two naming styles** due to how migrations were created:
+
+### Sequential (001–027)
+Created with `alembic revision -m "description"` and manually named:
+```
+001_initial_schema.py
+002_add_invite_codes.py
+...
+027_add_trees_fts_index.py
+```
+
+### Hash-based (Alembic auto-generated)
+Created with `alembic revision --autogenerate -m "description"`:
+```
+4cdb5cba1aff_add_custom_steps_to_sessions.py
+7e00fa3c75c9_fix_datetime_timezone.py
+11c8abf7ef5b_add_session_search_indexes.py
+25b001abd0f7_merge_tree_sharing_and_session_indexes.py
+```
+
+**Going forward:** Use sequential numeric naming (028, 029, etc.) for consistency. Only use `--autogenerate` when generating from model changes, then rename the file to the next sequential number.
+
+## Revision Chain
+
+Migrations form a linear chain via `down_revision`. The chain is **not purely numeric** — some hash-based migrations are interleaved. Always inspect `down_revision` in the latest file to find the current head:
+
+```bash
+# Find current head
+cd backend
+alembic heads
+
+# Show full chain
+alembic history
+```
+
+## Creating New Migrations
+
+### From model changes (auto-detect):
+```bash
+cd backend
+alembic revision --autogenerate -m "add_new_column"
+# Rename file to next sequential number (e.g., 028_add_new_column.py)
+# Review generated code — autogenerate misses some changes
+alembic upgrade head
+```
+
+### Manual migration (no model change):
+```bash
+cd backend
+alembic revision -m "add_index_on_trees"
+# Edit the file manually
+alembic upgrade head
+```
+
+### Without a running database:
+```bash
+# Safe to create and commit without testing locally
+alembic revision -m "description"
+# Edit migration file manually
+# Migration runs when DB is available (deploy, CI, or local Docker)
+```
+
+## Known Issues
+
+### Circular Foreign Keys: users ↔ invite_codes
+
+The `users` and `invite_codes` tables have circular foreign keys (`users.invite_code_id → invite_codes.id` and `invite_codes.created_by → users.id`). This causes `CircularDependencyError` when using `Base.metadata.drop_all()`.
+
+**Workaround (used in test fixtures):**
+```python
+# Instead of Base.metadata.drop_all(engine):
+await conn.execute(sa.text("DROP SCHEMA public CASCADE"))
+await conn.execute(sa.text("CREATE SCHEMA public"))
+```
+
+Note: asyncpg rejects multi-statement strings, so these must be two separate `execute()` calls.
+
+### NULL Casting in UUID Columns
+
+PostgreSQL infers `NULL` as text type, which fails for UUID columns:
+```sql
+-- WRONG
+INSERT INTO tree_tags (name, slug, team_id)
+SELECT 'tag', 'slug', NULL as team_id  -- Error!
+
+-- CORRECT
+INSERT INTO tree_tags (name, slug, team_id)
+SELECT 'tag', 'slug', NULL::uuid as team_id
+```
+
+### Conditional Updates in Migrations
+
+Always verify actual data values before writing `WHERE` clauses in data migrations. Migration 010 had `WHERE role = 'admin'` but the data had already changed to `role = 'engineer'`, so the UPDATE matched zero rows.
+
+## Running Migrations
+
+```bash
+# Apply all pending migrations
+cd backend
+alembic upgrade head
+
+# Rollback one step
+alembic downgrade -1
+
+# Rollback to specific revision
+alembic downgrade 025
+
+# Check current state
+alembic current
+```
+
+## Migration History
+
+| # | Migration | Description |
+|---|-----------|-------------|
+| 001 | initial_schema | Users, teams, trees, sessions, attachments |
+| 002 | add_invite_codes | Invite code system (circular FK with users) |
+| 003 | add_tree_is_default | Default/system trees flag |
+| 004 | add_tree_is_public | Public visibility flag |
+| 005 | add_tree_organization | Categories and tags |
+| 006 | add_folder_hierarchy | User folders with 3-level depth |
+| 007 | add_step_categories | Step categories for library |
+| 008 | add_step_library | Step library, ratings, usage tracking |
+| 009 | add_scratchpad_to_sessions | Session scratchpad field |
+| 010 | add_is_super_admin | Super admin boolean on users |
+| 011 | add_role_check_constraint | CHECK constraint on role field |
+| 012 | add_user_is_active | User activation/deactivation |
+| 013 | add_refresh_tokens | JTI-based token revocation |
+| 014 | add_audit_logs | Audit log table with JSONB details |
+| 015 | add_deleted_at_to_trees | Soft delete for trees |
+| 016 | add_subscription_tables | Subscriptions and plan limits |
+| 017 | add_account_id_to_users | Account ID on user model |
+| 018 | migrate_users_to_accounts | Data migration: users → accounts |
+| 019 | migrate_team_fks_to_account | Remap team FKs to account FKs |
+| 020 | finalize_account_migration | Clean up old team references |
+| 021 | fix_owner_id_nullable | Fix account owner_id constraint |
+| 022 | add_tree_forking | Fork tracking (parent_tree_id, root_tree_id) |
+| 023 | add_session_sharing | Session share tokens |
+| 024 | add_tree_sharing | Tree share tokens |
+| 025 | add_tree_status_field | Draft/published status |
+| 026 | add_admin_panel_tables | Feature flags, platform settings, plan limits |
+| 027 | add_trees_fts_index | GIN index for full-text search |
+| hash | add_custom_steps_to_sessions | Custom steps JSONB on sessions |
+| hash | fix_datetime_timezone | Timezone-aware datetime columns |
+| hash | add_session_search_indexes | Search indexes on sessions |
+| hash | merge_tree_sharing_and_session_indexes | Merge head resolution |
+
+## Squash Policy
+
+Migration squashing is deferred until it becomes necessary (e.g., new developer onboarding takes too long, or migration chain causes issues). When squashing:
+
+1. Create a fresh database dump as the "foundation" migration
+2. Replace all existing migrations with a single `001_foundation.py`
+3. Test on a clean database
+4. Update this document