Maven changelogSync

Last updated: July 14, 2025

The changelogSync goal updates the DATABASECHANGELOG table to mark all changes that are not applied to the database as executed.

Uses

The changelogSync goal is typically used when you want to baseline a new database environment.

An example use case for the changelogSync goal is when you have a DEV environment with a set of objects used only in DEV and want to use the same changelog to manage a new TEST environment.

The TEST environment does not have or need those DEV-only objects. To avoid deploying the DEV-only objects, you can run the changelogSync command. The goal is to mark those changes as executed in the DATABASECHANGELOG, which tells Liquibase to treat these databases as equivalents.

You can also use the changelogSync The goal is to mark a change as executed if the object associated with the change was created manually in the database. By marking the changeset as executed, the next Liquibase update will not fail because it is trying to create an object that already exists.

Maven configuration

You can configure Liquibase Maven in multiple ways. You can pass arguments like <changeLogFile> in Maven directly in your pom.xml file, in a liquibase.properties file referenced in your POM, as environment variables, or as JVM system properties. To learn about each file's syntax, see Maven Properties.

Tip: For more information about the Maven configuration, see Configuring Maven.

Running the changelogSync Maven goal

Running the changelogSync goal requires a Maven project to be implemented. To run the goal, type the following in your command prompt:

mvn liquibase:changelogSync

Optional Maven changelogSync configuration attributes

Attribute	Definition
`liquibase.changeLogDirectory`	Specifies the path to the directory where Liquibase can find your changelog file.
`liquibase.changeLogFile`	The changelog file for Liquibase to use.
`liquibase.changelogCatalogName`	Specifies the catalog Liquibase will use to create your changelog tables.
`liquibase.changelogSchemaName`	Specifies the schema Liquibase will use to create your changelog tables.
`liquibase.clearCheckSums`	Boolean. Forces checksums to be cleared from the DATABASECHANGELOG table. Default value is: false.
`liquibase.contexts`	Specifies which contexts Liquibase will execute, which can be separated by a comma if multiple contexts are required. If a context is not specified, then all contexts will be executed.
`liquibase.databaseChangeLogLockTableName`	Specifies the table name to use for the DATABASECHANGELOG table.
`liquibase.databaseChangeLogTableName`	Specifies the table name to use for the DATABASECHANGELOG table.
`liquibase.databaseClass`	Specifies the database object class.
`liquibase.defaultCatalogName`	Specifies the default catalog name to use for the database connection.
`liquibase.defaultSchemaName`	Specifies the default schema name to use for the database connection.
`liquibase.driver`	Specifies the driver class name to use for the database connection.
`driverPropertiesFile`	Specifies the location of a JDBC connection properties file which contains properties the driver will use.
`liquibase.emptyPassword`	Deprecated. Boolean. Use an empty or null value for the password instead. Default value is: false.
`expressionVariables`	Specifies a map-based collection of changelog properties to apply.
`expressionVars`	Specifies a property-based collection of changelog properties to apply.
`liquibase.format`	Specifies the format in which to display the `diff` output. This format can be TXT or JSON.
`liquibase.includeArtifact`	Boolean. Includes a Maven project artifact in the class loader, which obtains the Liquibase properties file and changelog files. Default value is `true`.
`liquibase.includeTestOutputDirectory`	Boolean. Includes the Maven test output directory in the class loader which obtains the Liquibase properties file and changelog files. Default value is `true`.
`liquibase.labels`	Specifies which labels Liquibase runs, and which can be separated by a comma if multiple labels are required or you need to designate a more complex expression. If no label is specified, then all labels are run.
`liquibase.licenseKey`	Specifies your Liquibase Pro license key.
`liquibase.outputDefaultCatalog`	Boolean. Specifies whether to ignore the catalog or database name. Default value is: false.
`liquibase.outputDefaultSchema`	Boolean. Specifies whether to ignore the schema name. Default value is: false.
`liquibase.outputFile`	Writes the `diff` output to a file.
`liquibase.outputFileEncoding`	Indicates that you want to set the character encoding of the output file during the `updateSQL` phase.
`liquibase.password`	Specifies the database password for the database connection.
`liquibase.promptOnNonLocalDatabase`	Deprecated. Boolean. Controls whether users are prompted before executing changesets to a non-local database. Default value is: true.
`liquibase.propertyFile`	Specifies the Liquibase properties file to use for configuration, like `liquibase.properties`.
`liquibase.propertyFileWillOverride`	Boolean. Indicates that you want the `liquibase.properties` file to override any settings provided in the Maven plugin configuration. By default, if a property is explicitly specified, it is not overridden if it also appears in the properties file. Default value is: false.
`liquibase.propertyProviderClass`	Specifies the property provider, which must be a `java.util.Properties` implementation.
`liquibase.server`	Specifies the server ID in the Maven `settings.xml` to use when authenticating.
`liquibase.skip`	Boolean. Specifies whether to skip running Liquibase. The use of this attribute is not recommended but can be used when needed. Default value is: false.
`systemProperties`	Specifies a list of system properties you want to pass to the database.
`liquibase.url`	Specifies the database URL you want to use to execute Liquibase.
`liquibase.username`	Specifies the database username for the database connection.
`liquibase.verbose`	Boolean. Controls the amount of output detail when you call the plugin. Default value is: false.

Maven changelogSync output

Starting Liquibase at 10:19:36 (version 4.2.1 #35 built at 2020-12-04 16:07+0000)UPDATE testdb1.DATABASECHANGELOGLOCK SET `LOCKED` = 1, LOCKEDBY = 'gemfire-PC (172.30.128.1)', LOCKGRANTED = '2020-12-08 10:19:36.857' WHERE ID = 1 AND `LOCKED` = 0; [INFO] INSERT INTO testdb1.DATABASECHANGELOG (ID, AUTHOR, FILENAME, DATEEXECUTED, ORDEREXECUTED, MD5SUM, `DESCRIPTION`, COMMENTS, EXECTYPE, CONTEXTS, LABELS, LIQUIBASE, DEPLOYMENT_ID) VALUES ('1607441908742-1', 'gemfire', 'gclaws938.mariadb.sql', NOW(), 10, '8:b6aed7af6f4ad92675fd07f6ff6db46d', 'sql', '', 'EXECUTED', NULL, NULL, '4.2.1', '7444377065'); [INFO] [INFO] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [INFO] BUILD SUCCESS [INFO] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [INFO] Total time: 16.226 s [INFO] Finished at: 2020-11-24T05:58:55-06:00 [INFO] ------------------------------------------------------------------------