rollback

The rollback command rolls back changes made to the database based on the specified tag.

Uses

The rollback command is typically used to revert all changes that were made to the database after the tag you specify.

Command behavior

When you run rollback, Liquibase will roll back sequentially all the deployed changes until it reaches the tag row in the DATABASECHANGELOG table. For example, you can use the rollback command when you want to undo a series of changes made to your database related to a specific tag such as a numbered release. If you have tags for release 1, release 2, and release 3, and need to make a correction in release 2, the rollback command will rollback release 3 first.

You must specify a tag with the tag command or the tagDatabase Change Type in your changelog file for rollback to work. If Liquibase cannot find your tag, it halts and displays the following message:

rollback: Unexpected error running Liquibase: Could not find tag 'doesntexist' in the database

Tip: Before running this command, it is a best practice to run tag-exists to check whether your tag syntax is correct. It is also a best practice to copy+paste the name of the tag into the CLI so that you are less likely to misspell it.

The following image shows that if we deploy the createTable C changeset and run the rollback --tag=version1 command to revert changes, Liquibase will roll back only createTable C value:

In Liquibase Pro 4.27.0 and later, you can automatically generate a database Rollback Report summarizing this command.

Impact

Using the rollback command comes with risks to your database, so it's important to look for potential unintended consequences before executing this command. You can do this with the rollback-sql command.

Syntax

To run the rollback command, specify the driver, classpath, and URL in the Liquibase properties file. For more information, see Create and Configure a liquibase.properties File. You can also specify these properties in your command line.

Also, before running the rollback command, you need to know the following:

  • If the tag name is unknown to you, you can find it in the DATABASECHANGELOG table.
  • If you don't have any tags specified, you can run the tag command. If you run the tag command to mark the current database state or release, your tag will be applied to the last row in the DATABASECHANGELOG table.
  • If you use the tagDatabase Change Type to create a tag changeset in the changelog file and want to roll back changes applied after this tag, the rollback command will remove all changes made after this tag row and the tag row.
  • If you run the tag command, deploy changesets, and then add the tagDatabase Change Type in your changelog file, your changes and the tag row created by the tagDatabase Change Type will be removed till the command reaches the tag specified with the rollback command.
liquibase rollback --tag=myTag --changelog-file=example-changelog.xml

Note: The --tag=myTag syntax was added in Liquibase 4.4. If you use an older version, specify your tag as a positional argument: <command> myTag.

Command parameters

Attribute Definition Requirement

--changelog-file=<string>

The root changelog

 Required

--tag=<string>

The tag identifying which tagged changesets in the changelog to evaluate. Specify as --tag=myTag. Positional format <command> <tag> deprecated in 4.4+.

 Required

--url=<string>

The JDBC database connection URL. See Using JDBC URL in Liquibase.

 Required

--change-exec-listener-class=<string>

Fully-qualified class which specifies a ChangeExecListener. For more information, see Implementing a Custom ChangeExecListener Class with Liquibase and ChangeExecListenerCommandStep.

 Optional

--change-exec-listener-properties-file=<string>

Path to a properties file for the ChangeExecListener class. For more information, see Implementing a Custom ChangeExecListener Class with Liquibase and ChangeExecListenerCommandStep.

 Optional

--context-filter=<string>

Specifies the changeset contexts to match. Contexts are tags you can add to changesets to control which changesets are executed in any particular migration run.

Note: If you use Liquibase 4.23.0 or earlier, use the syntax --contexts instead of --context-filter.

 Optional

--default-catalog-name=<string>

Name of the default catalog to use for the database connection

 Optional

--default-schema-name=<string>

Name of the default schema to use for the database connection. If defaultSchemaName is set, then objects do not have to be fully qualified. This means you can refer to just mytable instead of myschema.mytable.

Note: In the properties file and JAVA_OPTS only: in 4.18.0 and earlier, specify this parameter using the syntax defaultSchemaName. In 4.19.0 and later, use the syntax liquibase.command.defaultSchemaName.

Note: In Liquibase 4.12.0 and later, you can use mixed-case schema names if you set --preserve-schema-case to true. However, in Liquibase 4.12.0–4.22.0, the Liquibase validator still throws a DatabaseException error if you specify a mixed-case value of defaultSchemaName. In 4.23.0 and later, the Liquibase validator accepts any casing.

 Optional

--driver=<string>

The JDBC driver class

 Optional

--driver-properties-file=<string>

The JDBC driver properties file

 Optional

--label-filter=<string>

Specifies the changeset labels to match. Labels are tags you can add to changesets to control which changesets will be executed in any migration run.

 Optional

--password=<string>

Password to connect to the target database.

Tip: It is a best practice to store sensitive data in a Secrets Management tool with Liquibase Pro.

 Optional

--report-enabled=<true|false>

Enables a report at the command level. Overrides the global parameter --reports-enabled. Default: true.

 Optional

--report-name=<string>

Specifies the name of the report file at the command level. Overrides the global parameter --reports-name. By default, Liquibase generates a new report file labeled with a timestamp (user's local time). If you set a custom name, Liquibase overwrites the existing file every time you generate a new report. Default: report-<DD-Mon-YYYY-HHmmss>.html.

 Optional

--report-path=<string>

Specifies the file path to the report file at the command level. Overrides the global parameter --reports-path. Default: ./.

 Optional

--report-suppress-exception=<true|false>

Liquibase 4.31.0+. Specifies whether to hide exceptions (which may contain SQL) from the operation report at the command level. Overrides the global parameter --reports-suppress-exception. Default: false. However:

  • If --report-suppress-exception is not set and --report-suppress-sql=true, Liquibase suppresses all SQL, including exception SQL.
  • If --report-suppress-exception=false and --report-suppress-sql=true, Liquibase suppresses most SQL but shows exception SQL.
 Optional

--report-suppress-sql=<true|false>

Liquibase 4.31.0+. Specifies whether to hide changeset SQL in operation reports at the command level. Overridden by the global parameter --reports-suppress-sql. Default: false.

 Optional

--rollback-script=<string>

The path to the script to use to perform the rollback. Only needed if the rollback is not already defined in the changelog, and if it is not a rollback statement that is automatically generated by Liquibase.

 Optional

--tag-version=<string>

Tag version to use for multiple occurrences of a tag. Valid values are NEWEST and OLDEST. If set to NEWEST, Liquibase rolls back changes up to the most recent instance of the tag. Any older instances of the tag remain in the DATABASECHANGELOG table. If set to OLDEST, Liquibase rolls back changes up to the first instance of the tag. Default: OLDEST

 Optional

--username=<string>

Username to connect to the target database.

Tip: It is a best practice to store sensitive data in a Secrets Management tool with Liquibase Pro.

 Optional
Attribute Definition Requirement

cmdArgs: { changelog-file: "<string>" }

The root changelog

 Required

cmdArgs: { tag: "<string>" }

The tag identifying which tagged changesets in the changelog to evaluate. Specify as --tag=myTag. Positional format <command> <tag> deprecated in 4.4+.

 Required

cmdArgs: { url: "<string>" }

The JDBC database connection URL. See Using JDBC URL in Liquibase.

 Required

cmdArgs: { change-exec-listener-class: "<string>" }

Fully-qualified class which specifies a ChangeExecListener. For more information, see Implementing a Custom ChangeExecListener Class with Liquibase and ChangeExecListenerCommandStep.

 Optional

cmdArgs: { change-exec-listener-properties-file: "<string>" }

Path to a properties file for the ChangeExecListener class. For more information, see Implementing a Custom ChangeExecListener Class with Liquibase and ChangeExecListenerCommandStep.

 Optional

cmdArgs: { context-filter: "<string>" }

Specifies the changeset contexts to match. Contexts are tags you can add to changesets to control which changesets are executed in any particular migration run.

Note: If you use Liquibase 4.23.0 or earlier, use the syntax --contexts instead of --context-filter.

 Optional

cmdArgs: { default-catalog-name: "<string>" }

Name of the default catalog to use for the database connection

 Optional

cmdArgs: { default-schema-name: "<string>" }

Name of the default schema to use for the database connection. If defaultSchemaName is set, then objects do not have to be fully qualified. This means you can refer to just mytable instead of myschema.mytable.

Note: In the properties file and JAVA_OPTS only: in 4.18.0 and earlier, specify this parameter using the syntax defaultSchemaName. In 4.19.0 and later, use the syntax liquibase.command.defaultSchemaName.

Note: In Liquibase 4.12.0 and later, you can use mixed-case schema names if you set --preserve-schema-case to true. However, in Liquibase 4.12.0–4.22.0, the Liquibase validator still throws a DatabaseException error if you specify a mixed-case value of defaultSchemaName. In 4.23.0 and later, the Liquibase validator accepts any casing.

 Optional

cmdArgs: { driver: "<string>" }

The JDBC driver class

 Optional

cmdArgs: { driver-properties-file: "<string>" }

The JDBC driver properties file

 Optional

cmdArgs: { label-filter: "<string>" }

Specifies the changeset labels to match. Labels are tags you can add to changesets to control which changesets will be executed in any migration run.

 Optional

cmdArgs: { password: "<string>" }

Password to connect to the target database.

Tip: It is a best practice to store sensitive data in a Secrets Management tool with Liquibase Pro.

 Optional

cmdArgs: { report-enabled: "<true|false>" }

Enables a report at the command level. Overrides the global parameter --reports-enabled. Default: true.

 Optional

cmdArgs: { report-name: "<string>" }

Specifies the name of the report file at the command level. Overrides the global parameter --reports-name. By default, Liquibase generates a new report file labeled with a timestamp (user's local time). If you set a custom name, Liquibase overwrites the existing file every time you generate a new report. Default: report-<DD-Mon-YYYY-HHmmss>.html.

 Optional

cmdArgs: { report-path: "<string>" }

Specifies the file path to the report file at the command level. Overrides the global parameter --reports-path. Default: ./.

 Optional

cmdArgs: { report-suppress-exception: "<true|false>" }

Liquibase 4.31.0+. Specifies whether to hide exceptions (which may contain SQL) from the operation report at the command level. Overrides the global parameter --reports-suppress-exception. Default: false. However:

  • If --report-suppress-exception is not set and --report-suppress-sql=true, Liquibase suppresses all SQL, including exception SQL.
  • If --report-suppress-exception=false and --report-suppress-sql=true, Liquibase suppresses most SQL but shows exception SQL.
 Optional

cmdArgs: { report-suppress-sql: "<true|false>" }

Liquibase 4.31.0+. Specifies whether to hide changeset SQL in operation reports at the command level. Overridden by the global parameter --reports-suppress-sql. Default: false.

 Optional

cmdArgs: { rollback-script: "<string>" }

The path to the script to use to perform the rollback. Only needed if the rollback is not already defined in the changelog, and if it is not a rollback statement that is automatically generated by Liquibase.

 Optional

cmdArgs: { tag-version: "<string>" }

Tag version to use for multiple occurrences of a tag. Valid values are NEWEST and OLDEST. If set to NEWEST, Liquibase rolls back changes up to the most recent instance of the tag. Any older instances of the tag remain in the DATABASECHANGELOG table. If set to OLDEST, Liquibase rolls back changes up to the first instance of the tag. Default: OLDEST

 Optional

cmdArgs: { username: "<string>" }

Username to connect to the target database.

Tip: It is a best practice to store sensitive data in a Secrets Management tool with Liquibase Pro.

 Optional
Attribute Definition Requirement

liquibase.command.changelogFile: <string>

liquibase.command.rollback.changelogFile: <string>

The root changelog

 Required

liquibase.command.tag: <string>

liquibase.command.rollback.tag: <string>

The tag identifying which tagged changesets in the changelog to evaluate. Specify as --tag=myTag. Positional format <command> <tag> deprecated in 4.4+.

 Required

liquibase.command.url: <string>

liquibase.command.rollback.url: <string>

The JDBC database connection URL. See Using JDBC URL in Liquibase.

 Required

liquibase.command.changeExecListenerClass: <string>

liquibase.command.rollback.changeExecListenerClass: <string>

Fully-qualified class which specifies a ChangeExecListener. For more information, see Implementing a Custom ChangeExecListener Class with Liquibase and ChangeExecListenerCommandStep.

 Optional

liquibase.command.changeExecListenerPropertiesFile: <string>

liquibase.command.rollback.changeExecListenerPropertiesFile: <string>

Path to a properties file for the ChangeExecListener class. For more information, see Implementing a Custom ChangeExecListener Class with Liquibase and ChangeExecListenerCommandStep.

 Optional

liquibase.command.contextFilter: <string>

liquibase.command.rollback.contextFilter: <string>

Specifies the changeset contexts to match. Contexts are tags you can add to changesets to control which changesets are executed in any particular migration run.

Note: If you use Liquibase 4.23.0 or earlier, use the syntax --contexts instead of --context-filter.

 Optional

liquibase.command.defaultCatalogName: <string>

liquibase.command.rollback.defaultCatalogName: <string>

Name of the default catalog to use for the database connection

 Optional

liquibase.command.defaultSchemaName: <string>

liquibase.command.rollback.defaultSchemaName: <string>

Name of the default schema to use for the database connection. If defaultSchemaName is set, then objects do not have to be fully qualified. This means you can refer to just mytable instead of myschema.mytable.

Note: In the properties file and JAVA_OPTS only: in 4.18.0 and earlier, specify this parameter using the syntax defaultSchemaName. In 4.19.0 and later, use the syntax liquibase.command.defaultSchemaName.

Note: In Liquibase 4.12.0 and later, you can use mixed-case schema names if you set --preserve-schema-case to true. However, in Liquibase 4.12.0–4.22.0, the Liquibase validator still throws a DatabaseException error if you specify a mixed-case value of defaultSchemaName. In 4.23.0 and later, the Liquibase validator accepts any casing.

 Optional

liquibase.command.driver: <string>

liquibase.command.rollback.driver: <string>

The JDBC driver class

 Optional

liquibase.command.driverPropertiesFile: <string>

liquibase.command.rollback.driverPropertiesFile: <string>

The JDBC driver properties file

 Optional

liquibase.command.labelFilter: <string>

liquibase.command.rollback.labelFilter: <string>

Specifies the changeset labels to match. Labels are tags you can add to changesets to control which changesets will be executed in any migration run.

 Optional

liquibase.command.password: <string>

liquibase.command.rollback.password: <string>

Password to connect to the target database.

Tip: It is a best practice to store sensitive data in a Secrets Management tool with Liquibase Pro.

 Optional

liquibase.command.reportEnabled: <true|false>

liquibase.command.rollback.reportEnabled: <true|false>

Enables a report at the command level. Overrides the global parameter --reports-enabled. Default: true.

 Optional

liquibase.command.reportName: <string>

liquibase.command.rollback.reportName: <string>

Specifies the name of the report file at the command level. Overrides the global parameter --reports-name. By default, Liquibase generates a new report file labeled with a timestamp (user's local time). If you set a custom name, Liquibase overwrites the existing file every time you generate a new report. Default: report-<DD-Mon-YYYY-HHmmss>.html.

 Optional

liquibase.command.reportPath: <string>

liquibase.command.rollback.reportPath: <string>

Specifies the file path to the report file at the command level. Overrides the global parameter --reports-path. Default: ./.

 Optional

liquibase.command.reportSuppressException: <true|false>

liquibase.command.rollback.reportSuppressException: <true|false>

Liquibase 4.31.0+. Specifies whether to hide exceptions (which may contain SQL) from the operation report at the command level. Overrides the global parameter --reports-suppress-exception. Default: false. However:

  • If --report-suppress-exception is not set and --report-suppress-sql=true, Liquibase suppresses all SQL, including exception SQL.
  • If --report-suppress-exception=false and --report-suppress-sql=true, Liquibase suppresses most SQL but shows exception SQL.
 Optional

liquibase.command.reportSuppressSql: <true|false>

liquibase.command.rollback.reportSuppressSql: <true|false>

Liquibase 4.31.0+. Specifies whether to hide changeset SQL in operation reports at the command level. Overridden by the global parameter --reports-suppress-sql. Default: false.

 Optional

liquibase.command.rollbackScript: <string>

liquibase.command.rollback.rollbackScript: <string>

The path to the script to use to perform the rollback. Only needed if the rollback is not already defined in the changelog, and if it is not a rollback statement that is automatically generated by Liquibase.

 Optional

liquibase.command.tagVersion: <string>

liquibase.command.rollback.tagVersion: <string>

Tag version to use for multiple occurrences of a tag. Valid values are NEWEST and OLDEST. If set to NEWEST, Liquibase rolls back changes up to the most recent instance of the tag. Any older instances of the tag remain in the DATABASECHANGELOG table. If set to OLDEST, Liquibase rolls back changes up to the first instance of the tag. Default: OLDEST

 Optional

liquibase.command.username: <string>

liquibase.command.rollback.username: <string>

Username to connect to the target database.

Tip: It is a best practice to store sensitive data in a Secrets Management tool with Liquibase Pro.

 Optional
Attribute Definition Requirement

JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.changelogFile=<string>

JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.rollback.changelogFile=<string>

The root changelog

 Required

JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.tag=<string>

JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.rollback.tag=<string>

The tag identifying which tagged changesets in the changelog to evaluate. Specify as --tag=myTag. Positional format <command> <tag> deprecated in 4.4+.

 Required

JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.url=<string>

JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.rollback.url=<string>

The JDBC database connection URL. See Using JDBC URL in Liquibase.

 Required

JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.changeExecListenerClass=<string>

JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.rollback.changeExecListenerClass=<string>

Fully-qualified class which specifies a ChangeExecListener. For more information, see Implementing a Custom ChangeExecListener Class with Liquibase and ChangeExecListenerCommandStep.

 Optional

JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.changeExecListenerPropertiesFile=<string>

JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.rollback.changeExecListenerPropertiesFile=<string>

Path to a properties file for the ChangeExecListener class. For more information, see Implementing a Custom ChangeExecListener Class with Liquibase and ChangeExecListenerCommandStep.

 Optional

JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.contextFilter=<string>

JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.rollback.contextFilter=<string>

Specifies the changeset contexts to match. Contexts are tags you can add to changesets to control which changesets are executed in any particular migration run.

Note: If you use Liquibase 4.23.0 or earlier, use the syntax --contexts instead of --context-filter.

 Optional

JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.defaultCatalogName=<string>

JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.rollback.defaultCatalogName=<string>

Name of the default catalog to use for the database connection

 Optional

JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.defaultSchemaName=<string>

JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.rollback.defaultSchemaName=<string>

Name of the default schema to use for the database connection. If defaultSchemaName is set, then objects do not have to be fully qualified. This means you can refer to just mytable instead of myschema.mytable.

Note: In the properties file and JAVA_OPTS only: in 4.18.0 and earlier, specify this parameter using the syntax defaultSchemaName. In 4.19.0 and later, use the syntax liquibase.command.defaultSchemaName.

Note: In Liquibase 4.12.0 and later, you can use mixed-case schema names if you set --preserve-schema-case to true. However, in Liquibase 4.12.0–4.22.0, the Liquibase validator still throws a DatabaseException error if you specify a mixed-case value of defaultSchemaName. In 4.23.0 and later, the Liquibase validator accepts any casing.

 Optional

JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.driver=<string>

JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.rollback.driver=<string>

The JDBC driver class

 Optional

JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.driverPropertiesFile=<string>

JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.rollback.driverPropertiesFile=<string>

The JDBC driver properties file

 Optional

JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.labelFilter=<string>

JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.rollback.labelFilter=<string>

Specifies the changeset labels to match. Labels are tags you can add to changesets to control which changesets will be executed in any migration run.

 Optional

JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.password=<string>

JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.rollback.password=<string>

Password to connect to the target database.

Tip: It is a best practice to store sensitive data in a Secrets Management tool with Liquibase Pro.

 Optional

JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.reportEnabled=<true|false>

JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.rollback.reportEnabled=<true|false>

Enables a report at the command level. Overrides the global parameter --reports-enabled. Default: true.

 Optional

JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.reportName=<string>

JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.rollback.reportName=<string>

Specifies the name of the report file at the command level. Overrides the global parameter --reports-name. By default, Liquibase generates a new report file labeled with a timestamp (user's local time). If you set a custom name, Liquibase overwrites the existing file every time you generate a new report. Default: report-<DD-Mon-YYYY-HHmmss>.html.

 Optional

JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.reportPath=<string>

JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.rollback.reportPath=<string>

Specifies the file path to the report file at the command level. Overrides the global parameter --reports-path. Default: ./.

 Optional

JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.reportSuppressException=<true|false>

JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.rollback.reportSuppressException=<true|false>

Liquibase 4.31.0+. Specifies whether to hide exceptions (which may contain SQL) from the operation report at the command level. Overrides the global parameter --reports-suppress-exception. Default: false. However:

  • If --report-suppress-exception is not set and --report-suppress-sql=true, Liquibase suppresses all SQL, including exception SQL.
  • If --report-suppress-exception=false and --report-suppress-sql=true, Liquibase suppresses most SQL but shows exception SQL.
 Optional

JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.reportSuppressSql=<true|false>

JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.rollback.reportSuppressSql=<true|false>

Liquibase 4.31.0+. Specifies whether to hide changeset SQL in operation reports at the command level. Overridden by the global parameter --reports-suppress-sql. Default: false.

 Optional

JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.rollbackScript=<string>

JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.rollback.rollbackScript=<string>

The path to the script to use to perform the rollback. Only needed if the rollback is not already defined in the changelog, and if it is not a rollback statement that is automatically generated by Liquibase.

 Optional

JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.tagVersion=<string>

JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.rollback.tagVersion=<string>

Tag version to use for multiple occurrences of a tag. Valid values are NEWEST and OLDEST. If set to NEWEST, Liquibase rolls back changes up to the most recent instance of the tag. Any older instances of the tag remain in the DATABASECHANGELOG table. If set to OLDEST, Liquibase rolls back changes up to the first instance of the tag. Default: OLDEST

 Optional

JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.username=<string>

JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.rollback.username=<string>

Username to connect to the target database.

Tip: It is a best practice to store sensitive data in a Secrets Management tool with Liquibase Pro.

 Optional
Attribute Definition Requirement

LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_CHANGELOG_FILE=<string>

LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_ROLLBACK_CHANGELOG_FILE=<string>

The root changelog

 Required

LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_TAG=<string>

LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_ROLLBACK_TAG=<string>

The tag identifying which tagged changesets in the changelog to evaluate. Specify as --tag=myTag. Positional format <command> <tag> deprecated in 4.4+.

 Required

LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_URL=<string>

LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_ROLLBACK_URL=<string>

The JDBC database connection URL. See Using JDBC URL in Liquibase.

 Required

LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_CHANGE_EXEC_LISTENER_CLASS=<string>

LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_ROLLBACK_CHANGE_EXEC_LISTENER_CLASS=<string>

Fully-qualified class which specifies a ChangeExecListener. For more information, see Implementing a Custom ChangeExecListener Class with Liquibase and ChangeExecListenerCommandStep.

 Optional

LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_CHANGE_EXEC_LISTENER_PROPERTIES_FILE=<string>

LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_ROLLBACK_CHANGE_EXEC_LISTENER_PROPERTIES_FILE=<string>

Path to a properties file for the ChangeExecListener class. For more information, see Implementing a Custom ChangeExecListener Class with Liquibase and ChangeExecListenerCommandStep.

 Optional

LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_CONTEXT_FILTER=<string>

LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_ROLLBACK_CONTEXT_FILTER=<string>

Specifies the changeset contexts to match. Contexts are tags you can add to changesets to control which changesets are executed in any particular migration run.

Note: If you use Liquibase 4.23.0 or earlier, use the syntax --contexts instead of --context-filter.

 Optional

LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_DEFAULT_CATALOG_NAME=<string>

LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_ROLLBACK_DEFAULT_CATALOG_NAME=<string>

Name of the default catalog to use for the database connection

 Optional

LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_DEFAULT_SCHEMA_NAME=<string>

LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_ROLLBACK_DEFAULT_SCHEMA_NAME=<string>

Name of the default schema to use for the database connection. If defaultSchemaName is set, then objects do not have to be fully qualified. This means you can refer to just mytable instead of myschema.mytable.

Note: In the properties file and JAVA_OPTS only: in 4.18.0 and earlier, specify this parameter using the syntax defaultSchemaName. In 4.19.0 and later, use the syntax liquibase.command.defaultSchemaName.

Note: In Liquibase 4.12.0 and later, you can use mixed-case schema names if you set --preserve-schema-case to true. However, in Liquibase 4.12.0–4.22.0, the Liquibase validator still throws a DatabaseException error if you specify a mixed-case value of defaultSchemaName. In 4.23.0 and later, the Liquibase validator accepts any casing.

 Optional

LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_DRIVER=<string>

LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_ROLLBACK_DRIVER=<string>

The JDBC driver class

 Optional

LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_DRIVER_PROPERTIES_FILE=<string>

LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_ROLLBACK_DRIVER_PROPERTIES_FILE=<string>

The JDBC driver properties file

 Optional

LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_LABEL_FILTER=<string>

LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_ROLLBACK_LABEL_FILTER=<string>

Specifies the changeset labels to match. Labels are tags you can add to changesets to control which changesets will be executed in any migration run.

 Optional

LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_PASSWORD=<string>

LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_ROLLBACK_PASSWORD=<string>

Password to connect to the target database.

Tip: It is a best practice to store sensitive data in a Secrets Management tool with Liquibase Pro.

 Optional

LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_REPORT_ENABLED=<true|false>

LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_ROLLBACK_REPORT_ENABLED=<true|false>

Enables a report at the command level. Overrides the global parameter --reports-enabled. Default: true.

 Optional

LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_REPORT_NAME=<string>

LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_ROLLBACK_REPORT_NAME=<string>

Specifies the name of the report file at the command level. Overrides the global parameter --reports-name. By default, Liquibase generates a new report file labeled with a timestamp (user's local time). If you set a custom name, Liquibase overwrites the existing file every time you generate a new report. Default: report-<DD-Mon-YYYY-HHmmss>.html.

 Optional

LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_REPORT_PATH=<string>

LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_ROLLBACK_REPORT_PATH=<string>

Specifies the file path to the report file at the command level. Overrides the global parameter --reports-path. Default: ./.

 Optional

LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_REPORT_SUPPRESS_EXCEPTION=<true|false>

LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_ROLLBACK_REPORT_SUPPRESS_EXCEPTION=<true|false>

Liquibase 4.31.0+. Specifies whether to hide exceptions (which may contain SQL) from the operation report at the command level. Overrides the global parameter --reports-suppress-exception. Default: false. However:

  • If --report-suppress-exception is not set and --report-suppress-sql=true, Liquibase suppresses all SQL, including exception SQL.
  • If --report-suppress-exception=false and --report-suppress-sql=true, Liquibase suppresses most SQL but shows exception SQL.
 Optional

LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_REPORT_SUPPRESS_SQL=<true|false>

LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_ROLLBACK_REPORT_SUPPRESS_SQL=<true|false>

Liquibase 4.31.0+. Specifies whether to hide changeset SQL in operation reports at the command level. Overridden by the global parameter --reports-suppress-sql. Default: false.

 Optional

LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_ROLLBACK_SCRIPT=<string>

LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_ROLLBACK_ROLLBACK_SCRIPT=<string>

The path to the script to use to perform the rollback. Only needed if the rollback is not already defined in the changelog, and if it is not a rollback statement that is automatically generated by Liquibase.

 Optional

LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_TAG_VERSION=<string>

LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_ROLLBACK_TAG_VERSION=<string>

Tag version to use for multiple occurrences of a tag. Valid values are NEWEST and OLDEST. If set to NEWEST, Liquibase rolls back changes up to the most recent instance of the tag. Any older instances of the tag remain in the DATABASECHANGELOG table. If set to OLDEST, Liquibase rolls back changes up to the first instance of the tag. Default: OLDEST

 Optional

LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_USERNAME=<string>

LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_ROLLBACK_USERNAME=<string>

Username to connect to the target database.

Tip: It is a best practice to store sensitive data in a Secrets Management tool with Liquibase Pro.

 Optional

Note: The username and password attributes are not required for connections and systems which use alternate means of authentication. Also, you can specify database credentials as part of the url attribute.

Additional rollback functionality

For more information, see Liquibase Rollback Workflow and Automatic and Custom Rollbacks.

Custom rollbacks

Liquibase cannot automatically roll back all Change Types. For example, Liquibase cannot automatically roll back dropTable changes because the inverse SQL could be more than one statement.

In these cases, you must specify custom rollback syntax in your changelog for every changeset that you might want to roll back. This way, when you run the rollback command, Liquibase knows what to do.

Note: When rolling back stored logic, Liquibase does not restore the previously stored version. Instead, Liquibase rolls back to the exact file/code specified in the custom rollback.

If you'd like to create a rollback that points to logic stored in an SQL file, use the sqlFile Change Type. For more information and example, see the sqlFile article.

Note: Liquibase does not support automatic rollback for any Formatted SQL changesets. To roll back Formatted SQL changes, you must always specify a custom rollback.

--changeset liquibaseuser:1
create table testTable ( id int primary key, name varchar(255) );
--rollback drop table testTable;

--changeset liquibaseuser:2
insert into testTable values ('1','The First', 'Country')
insert into testTable values ('2','The Second', 'Country2')
--rollback delete from testTable where id='1'
--rollback delete from testTable where id='2'

In Liquibase 4.19.0 and later, you can specify multiple rollback statements in a block comment:

--changeset liquibaseuser:2
insert into testTable values ('1','The First', 'Country')
insert into testTable values ('2','The Second', 'Country2')
/* liquibase rollback
rollback delete from testTable where id='1'
rollback delete from testTable where id='2'
*/

In Liquibase 4.26.0 and later, you can use a rollbackSqlFile statement to specify rollback SQL for a changeset in a separate file:

--changeset liquibase-user:1
DROP PROCEDURE hello_world;
--rollbackSqlFile path:release_1.0/rollback_45895.sql

In your rollbackSqlFile statement, you can specify parameters to change the behavior of your rollback, such as a unique end delimiter. For more information, see Example Changelogs: SQL Format.

databaseChangeLog:
- changeSet:
    id: 2
    author: liquibaseuser
    changes:
    - dropTable:
        tableName: person
    rollback:
      createTable:
        catalogName: cat
        columns:
        - column:
          name: address
          type: varchar(255)
        remarks: A String
        schemaName: public
        tableName: person

For more information, see Example Changelogs: YAML Format.

{
  "databaseChangeLog": [
    {
      "changeSet": {
        "id": "2",
        "author": "liquibaseuser",
        "changes": [
          {
            "dropTable": {
              "tableName": "person"
            }
          }
        ],
        "rollback": [
          {
            "createTable": {
              "catalogName": "cat",
              "columns": [
                {
                  "column": {
                    "name": "address",
                    "type": "varchar(255)"
                  }
                }
              ],
              "remarks": "A String",
              "schemaName": "public",
              "tableName": "person"
            }
          }
        ]
      }
    }
  ]
}

For more information, see Example Changelogs: JSON Format.

<databaseChangeLog
    xmlns="http://www.liquibase.org/xml/ns/dbchangelog"
    xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
    xmlns:ext="http://www.liquibase.org/xml/ns/dbchangelog-ext"
    xmlns:pro="http://www.liquibase.org/xml/ns/pro"
    xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.liquibase.org/xml/ns/dbchangelog
        http://www.liquibase.org/xml/ns/dbchangelog/dbchangelog-latest.xsd
        http://www.liquibase.org/xml/ns/dbchangelog-ext
        http://www.liquibase.org/xml/ns/dbchangelog/dbchangelog-ext.xsd
        http://www.liquibase.org/xml/ns/pro
        http://www.liquibase.org/xml/ns/pro/liquibase-pro-latest.xsd">

    <changeSet author="liquibaseuser" id="2">
        <dropTable tableName="person"/>

        <rollback>
            <createTable catalogName="department"
                  remarks="A String"
                  schemaName="public"
                  tableName="person"
                <column name="address" type="varchar(255)"/>
            </createTable>
        </rollback>
  </changeSet>

</databaseChangeLog>

For more information, see Example Changelogs: XML Format.

Override default rollback commands

The <rollback> tag describes how to roll back a change using SQL statements, Change Types, or a reference to a previous changeset. You can use any Change Type in the <rollback> element, such as dropTable, sql, and sqlFile:

- changeSet:
    id: 1
    author: liquibaseuser
    changes:
      - createTable:
          tableName: testTable
          columns:
            - column:
                name: id
    rollback:
      - dropTable:
          tableName: testTable
{
  "changeSet": {
    "id": 1,
    "author": "liquibaseuser",
    "changes": [
      {
        "createTable": {
          "tableName": "testTable"
        }
      }
    ],
    "rollback": [
      {
        "dropTable": {
          "tableName": "testTable"
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}
<changeSet id="1" author="liquibaseuser">
    <createTable tableName="testTable">
        <column name="id" type="int"/>
    </createTable>
    <rollback>
        <dropTable tableName="testTable"/>
    </rollback>
</changeSet>

Alternatively, you can have raw SQL in the content part of the <rollback> element. For example:

<changeSet id="1" author="liquibaseuser">
    <createTable tableName="testTable">
        <column name="id" type="int"/>
    </createTable>
    <rollback>
        drop table testTable
    </rollback>
</changeSet>

Liquibase treats the raw SQL within <rollback> the same as in the <sql> Change Type, with stripComments set to true, splitStatements set to true, and endDelimiter set to ;. For more details, see the XML example from the sql documentation.

Multiple rollbacks

You can also specify multiple Change Types within a single <rollback> statement or across multiple <rollback> statements:

- changeSet:
    id: multiRollbackTest
    author: liquibaseuser
    changes:
      - createTable:
          tableName: multiRollback1
          columns:
            - column:
                name: id
      - createTable:
          tableName: multiRollback2
          columns:
            - column:
                name: id
      - createTable:
          tableName: multiRollback3
          columns:
            - column:
                name: id
    rollback:
      - dropTable:
          tableName: multiRollback1
      - dropTable:
          tableName: multiRollback2
    rollback:
      - dropTable:
          tableName: multiRollback3
{
  "changeSet": {
    "id": multiRollbackTest,
    "author": "liquibaseuser",
    "changes": [
      {
        "createTable": {
          "tableName": "multiRollback1",
          "columns": [
            {
              "column": {
                "name": "id"
              }
            }
          ]
        },
        "createTable": {
          "tableName": "multiRollback2"
          "columns": [
            {
              "column": {
                "name": "id"
              }
            }
          ]
        },
        "createTable": {
          "tableName": "multiRollback3"
          "columns": [
            {
              "column": {
                "name": "id"
              }
            }
          ]
        }
      }
    ],
    "rollback": [
      {
        "dropTable": {
          "tableName": "multiRollback1"
        },
        "dropTable": {
          "tableName": "multiRollback2"
        }
      }
    ],
    "rollback": [
      {
        "dropTable": {
          "tableName": "multiRollback3"
        }
      }
    ],
  }
}

Change Type syntax:

<changeSet id="multiRollbackTest" author="liquibaseuser">
    <createTable tableName="multiRollback1">
        <column name="id" type="int"/>
    </createTable>
    <createTable tableName="multiRollback2">
        <column name="id" type="int"/>
    </createTable>
    <createTable tableName="multiRollback3">
        <column name="id" type="int"/>
    </createTable>
    <rollback>
        <dropTable tableName="multiRollback1"/>
        <dropTable tableName="multiRollback2"/>
    </rollback>
    <rollback>
      <dropTable tableName="multiRollback3"/>
    </rollback>
</changeSet>

Raw SQL:

<changeSet id="multiRollbackTest" author="liquibaseuser">
    <createTable tableName="multiRollback1">
        <column name="id" type="int"/>
    </createTable>
    <createTable tableName="multiRollback2">
        <column name="id" type="int"/>
    </createTable>
    <createTable tableName="multiRollback3">
        <column name="id" type="int"/>
    </createTable>
    <rollback>
        drop table multiRollback1;
        drop table multiRollback2;
    </rollback>
    <rollback>drop table multiRollback3</rollback>
</changeSet>

Directly reference changeset

The following example shows how you can use a <rollback> tag to reference the changeset that originally created a statement. This example uses changeset 2 to implement rollback logic against changeset 1:

--changeset liquibaseuser:1
create table testTable ( id int primary key, name varchar(255) );

--changeset liquibaseuser:2
--rollback drop table testTable;
--rollback changesetId:1 changesetAuthor:liquibaseuser changesetPath:optional/path/to/myChangeLog.sql
- changeSet:
    id: 1
    author: liquibaseuser
    changes:
      - createTable:
          tableName: testTable
          columns:
            - column:
                name: id
- changeSet:
    id: 2
    author: liquibaseuser
    rollback:
      - dropTable:
          tableName: testTable
      changeSetId: 1
      changeSetAuthor: liquibaseuser
      changeSetPath: optional/path/to/myChangeLog.yaml
{
  "changeSet": {
    "id": 1,
    "author": "liquibaseuser",
    "changes": [
      {
        "createTable": {
          "tableName": "testTable",
          "columns": [
            {
              "column": {
                "name": "id",
                "type": "varchar(255)"
              }
            }
          ]
        }
      }
    ]
{
  "changeSet": {
    "id": 2,
    "author": "liquibaseuser",
    "rollback": [
      {
        "dropTable": {
          "tableName": "testTable"
        }
      },
      "changeSetId": "1",
      "changeSetAuthor": "liquibaseuser",
      "changeSetPath": "optional/path/to/myChangeLog.json"
    ]
  }
}
<changeSet id="1" author="liquibaseuser">
    <createTable tableName="testTable"/>
        <column name="id" type="varchar(255)"/>
    </createTable>
</changeSet>

<changeSet id="2" author="liquibaseuser">
    <dropTable tableName="testTable"/>
    <rollback changesetId="1" changesetAuthor="liquibaseuser" changesetPath="optional/path/to/myChangeLog.xml"/>
</changeSet>

Empty rollback statements

If you do not want to revert a change in a rollback mode, use either the keyword empty or the keyword not required inside the rollback tag. In XML, YAML, and JSON changelogs, you can also use an empty string inside the rollback tag.

--changeset liquibaseuser:1
create table testTable ( id int primary key, name varchar(255) );
--rollback empty
- changeSet:
    id: 1
    author: liquibase
    changes:
      - createTable:
          tableName: testTable
          columns:
            - column:
                name: id
                type: int
    rollback: empty

You can also use an empty string (rollback: "") or an empty array (rollback: []).

{
  "changeSet": {
    "id": 1,
    "author": "example",
    "changes": [
      {
        "createTable": {
          "tableName": "testTable",
          "columns": [
            {
              "column": {
                "name": "id",
                "type": "int"
              }
            }
          ]
        }
      }
    ],
    "rollback": "empty"
  }
}

You can also use an empty string ("rollback": "") or an empty array ("rollback": []).

<changeSet id="3" author="liquibaseuser">
    <createTable tableName="testTable">
        <column name="id" type="int"/>
    </createTable>
    <rollback>empty</rollback>
</changeSet>

You can also use an empty string (<rollback></rollback>) or a self-closing-tag (<rollback/>).

Note: The output Change Type support automatic rollbacks.

Output

When successful, the rollback command produces the following output:

Liquibase Version: 4.9.1
Rolling Back Changeset: example-changelog.sql::2::Amber.Williams
Rolling Back Changeset: example-changelog.sql::1::Amber.Williams
Liquibase command 'rollback' was executed successfully.
Liquibase: Rollback has been successful.

Related links