CreateTableMustHavePrimaryKey
CreateTableMustHavePrimaryKey
is a custom policy check that requires every CREATE TABLE
statement to also have a PRIMARY KEY
. All Regex Custom Policy Checks can only run against the changelog, not against the database.
regex: (?is)(?=.*\b(create)\b)(?=.*\b(table)\b)(?!.*\b(primary)\b)(?!.*\b(key)\b).*
This example utilizes Cassandra. You can use this check as it is or customize it further to fit your needs in your NoSQL database.
Scope | Database |
---|---|
changelog | Cassandra |

- Install Liquibase 4.29.0+
- Configure a valid Liquibase Pro license key
- Ensure the Liquibase Checks extension is installed. In Liquibase 4.31.0+, it is already installed in the
/liquibase/internal/lib
directory, so no action is needed. If the checks JAR is not installed, downloadliquibase-checks-<version>.jar
and put it in theliquibase/lib
directory.- Maven users only: Add this dependency to your
pom.xml
file:
- Maven users only: Add this dependency to your
<dependency>
<groupId>org.liquibase.ext</groupId>
<artifactId>liquibase-checks</artifactId>
<version>2.0.0</version>
</dependency>

Before creating a custom policy check with Python, we recommend being familiar with:
- Python 3.10.14+. (See here for the official Python tutorial)
- Optional: General coding and Python best practices which will improve your check performance:
- Efficient handling of structured data objects
- Effective and targeted parsing of text, objects, and SQL
- Using regular expressions and other pattern-matching tools within Python
- Using Python virtual environments. Liquibase comes with a built-in virtual environment for Liquibase Custom Policy Checks. The built-in environment includes Liquibase Python modules and some common external Python modules—no configuration needed. However, if you want to install additional modules, or if you want your IDE to recognize the Liquibase modules, you must Create a Python Virtual Environment separately.
Tip: Downloading Python itself is not required to create custom checks in the Liquibase checks framework, but it may be useful to test checks against Python 3.10.14+.
Step-by-Step
Note: These steps describe how to create the custom policy check. It does not exist by default in Liquibase Pro.
- Enter this command into the CLI:
liquibase checks customize --check-name=SqlUserDefinedPatternCheck
- Give your check a short name for easier identification. In this example we will title the check:
CreateTableMustHavePrimaryKey
-
Set the Severity to return a code of 0-4 when triggered.
Options:'INFO'=0, 'MINOR'=1, 'MAJOR'=2, 'CRITICAL'=3, 'BLOCKER'=4
-
Set the SEARCH_STRING to this valid regular expression:
(?is)(?=.*\b(create)\b)(?=.*\b(table)\b)(?!.*\b(primary)\b)(?!.*\b(key)\b).*
-
Set the MESSAGE for when a match for regular expression <SEARCH_STRING> is found in a Changeset:
Example:
Error! CREATE TABLE statement must have a primary key included.
-
Set STRIP_COMMENTS to
true
if you want to remove the comments from the output.The regex custom policy check is created successfully.
Sample Passing Script
--changeset amalik:employee
CREATE TABLE EMPLOYEE (
EMPLOYEE_ID INT NOT NULL GENERATED ALWAYS AS IDENTITY CONSTRAINT PEOPLE_PK PRIMARY KEY,
FIRST_NAME VARCHAR(26),
LAST_NAME VARCHAR(26)
);
--changeset amalik:company
CREATE TABLE COMPANY (
COMPANY_ID INT NOT NULL,
BOOKING_DATE DATE NOT NULL,
ROOMS_TAKEN INT DEFAULT 0,
PRIMARY KEY (COMPANY_ID, BOOKING_DATE)
);
Sample Failing Scripts
--changeset amalik:employee
CREATE TABLE EMPLOYEE (
EMPLOYEE_ID INT NOT NULL GENERATED ALWAYS AS IDENTITY CONSTRAINT PEOPLE_PK,
FIRST_NAME VARCHAR(26),
LAST_NAME VARCHAR(26)
);
--changeset amalik:company
CREATE TABLE COMPANY (
COMPANY_ID INT NOT NULL,
BOOKING_DATE DATE NOT NULL,
ROOMS_TAKEN INT DEFAULT 0,
;
Sample Error Message
CHANGELOG CHECKS
----------------
Checks completed validation of the changelog and found the following issues:
Check Name: Check for specific patterns in sql (CreateTableMustHavePrimaryKey)
Changeset ID: employee
Changeset Filepath: changeLogs/1_tables/01_createTable1.sql
Check Severity: INFO (Return code: 0)
Message: Error! CREATE TABLE statement must have a primary key
included.