`validate`

The validate command checks your changelog and identifies any possible errors with Liquibase syntax that may cause the update command to fail.

Note: The validate command examines Liquibase syntax and behaviors related to Liquibase operations. It does not check SQL for correctness and does not anticipate database deployment errors resulting from malformed SQL.

Uses

Use the validate command to detect if there are any issues with a changelog before running the update command. Validation helps you avoid a partial update, where only some changesets are applied due to an error in your changelog file.

Use the validate command to ensure:

The XML, YAML, JSON, or formatted SQL is structured correctly
Referenced files can be found
Any attributes you specify in your changelog match the XSD
There are no duplicated id, author, and file combinations
There are no checksum errors
The DATABASECHANGELOG and DATABASECHANGELOGLOCK tables exist (if not, it creates them)

Warning: The validate command only looks for possible errors in the changelog. It does not check for possible errors that might result from applying the changes to a specific database.

Syntax

To run the validate 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.

Then run the validate command:

liquibase validate --changelog-file=example-changelog.xml

Command parameters

Attribute	Definition	Requirement
`--changelog-file=<string>`	The root changelog	Required
`--url=<string>`	The JDBC database connection URL. See Using JDBC URL in Liquibase.	Required
`--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`. Tip: In Liquibase v4.23.0+, camelCase for `defaultSchemaName` works successfully. If you are on an earlier version, camelCase may not work as expected. Note: The syntax `liquibase.command.defaultSchemaName` is valid for v4.19.0+. For prior versions, use `defaultSchemaName`.	Optional
`--driver=<string>`	The JDBC driver class	Optional
`--driver-properties-file=<string>`	The JDBC driver properties file	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
`--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: { url: "<string>" }`	The JDBC database connection URL. See Using JDBC URL in Liquibase.	Required
`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`. Tip: In Liquibase v4.23.0+, camelCase for `defaultSchemaName` works successfully. If you are on an earlier version, camelCase may not work as expected. Note: The syntax `liquibase.command.defaultSchemaName` is valid for v4.19.0+. For prior versions, use `defaultSchemaName`.	Optional
`cmdArgs: { driver: "<string>" }`	The JDBC driver class	Optional
`cmdArgs: { driver-properties-file: "<string>" }`	The JDBC driver properties file	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: { 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.validate.changelogFile: <string>`	The root changelog	Required
`liquibase.command.url: <string>` `liquibase.command.validate.url: <string>`	The JDBC database connection URL. See Using JDBC URL in Liquibase.	Required
`liquibase.command.defaultCatalogName: <string>` `liquibase.command.validate.defaultCatalogName: <string>`	Name of the default catalog to use for the database connection	Optional
`liquibase.command.defaultSchemaName: <string>` `liquibase.command.validate.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`. Tip: In Liquibase v4.23.0+, camelCase for `defaultSchemaName` works successfully. If you are on an earlier version, camelCase may not work as expected. Note: The syntax `liquibase.command.defaultSchemaName` is valid for v4.19.0+. For prior versions, use `defaultSchemaName`.	Optional
`liquibase.command.driver: <string>` `liquibase.command.validate.driver: <string>`	The JDBC driver class	Optional
`liquibase.command.driverPropertiesFile: <string>` `liquibase.command.validate.driverPropertiesFile: <string>`	The JDBC driver properties file	Optional
`liquibase.command.password: <string>` `liquibase.command.validate.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.username: <string>` `liquibase.command.validate.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.validate.changelogFile=<string>`	The root changelog	Required
`JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.url=<string>` `JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.validate.url=<string>`	The JDBC database connection URL. See Using JDBC URL in Liquibase.	Required
`JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.defaultCatalogName=<string>` `JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.validate.defaultCatalogName=<string>`	Name of the default catalog to use for the database connection	Optional
`JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.defaultSchemaName=<string>` `JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.validate.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`. Tip: In Liquibase v4.23.0+, camelCase for `defaultSchemaName` works successfully. If you are on an earlier version, camelCase may not work as expected. Note: The syntax `liquibase.command.defaultSchemaName` is valid for v4.19.0+. For prior versions, use `defaultSchemaName`.	Optional
`JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.driver=<string>` `JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.validate.driver=<string>`	The JDBC driver class	Optional
`JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.driverPropertiesFile=<string>` `JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.validate.driverPropertiesFile=<string>`	The JDBC driver properties file	Optional
`JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.password=<string>` `JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.validate.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.username=<string>` `JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.command.validate.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_VALIDATE_CHANGELOG_FILE=<string>`	The root changelog	Required
`LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_URL=<string>` `LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_VALIDATE_URL=<string>`	The JDBC database connection URL. See Using JDBC URL in Liquibase.	Required
`LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_DEFAULT_CATALOG_NAME=<string>` `LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_VALIDATE_DEFAULT_CATALOG_NAME=<string>`	Name of the default catalog to use for the database connection	Optional
`LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_DEFAULT_SCHEMA_NAME=<string>` `LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_VALIDATE_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`. Tip: In Liquibase v4.23.0+, camelCase for `defaultSchemaName` works successfully. If you are on an earlier version, camelCase may not work as expected. Note: The syntax `liquibase.command.defaultSchemaName` is valid for v4.19.0+. For prior versions, use `defaultSchemaName`.	Optional
`LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_DRIVER=<string>` `LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_VALIDATE_DRIVER=<string>`	The JDBC driver class	Optional
`LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_DRIVER_PROPERTIES_FILE=<string>` `LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_VALIDATE_DRIVER_PROPERTIES_FILE=<string>`	The JDBC driver properties file	Optional
`LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_PASSWORD=<string>` `LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_VALIDATE_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_USERNAME=<string>` `LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_VALIDATE_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

* Liquibase will check nested changelogs for definitions of the changesets to validate.

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.

Output

Liquibase Version: 4.9.1
Liquibase Community 4.9.1 by Liquibase
No validation errors found.
Liquibase command 'validate' was executed successfully.