`generate-changeset-created-values`

The generate-changeset-created-values global parameter is a Boolean that determines whether Liquibase adds timestamps to changesets in the changelog it generates when you run the diff-changelog command and generate-changelog command. By default, it is set to false.

Uses

If you use the diff-changelog or generate-changelog commands to create a changelog with the contents of your database, you can set generate-changeset-created-values to true to include a timestamp in the header of each changeset in your changelog. The timestamp is stored as the value of the created parameter and uses the format YYYY-MM-DD hh:mm-ssss.

Setting the `generate-changeset-created-values` parameter

You can set generate-changeset-created-values in four ways:

In the Liquibase properties file
As a global parameter in the CLI
As a JVM system property
As an environment variable (Liquibase Pro)

Liquibase properties file parameter

In Liquibase 4.1+, add the following to Liquibase properties file:

liquibase.generateChangesetCreatedValues: <true|false>

CLI global parameter

In your command line, use a global parameter with a single Liquibase command:

liquibase --generate-changeset-created-values=<true|false> generate-changelog --changelog-file=dbchangelog.xml

Java system property

In your command line, use the JAVA_OPTS Environment Variable to set a JVM system property:

Mac/Linux syntax:

JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.generateChangesetCreatedValues=<true|false>

Windows syntax:

set JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.generateChangesetCreatedValues=<true|false>

Note: To use a Liquibase command alongside JAVA_OPTS, add && liquibase <command> to the end of your input.

Environment variable (Liquibase Pro)

In Liquibase Pro, set an environment variable:

Mac/Linux syntax:

LIQUIBASE_GENERATE_CHANGESET_CREATED_VALUES=<true|false>

Windows syntax:

set LIQUIBASE_GENERATE_CHANGESET_CREATED_VALUES=<true|false>

Note: These environment variable commands only apply to the current shell. If you need to pass an environment variable to a child process without affecting the parent process, you can use the export command on Mac/Linux or the setx command on Windows.

Output

If you run a command like generate-changelog with generate-changeset-created-values set to true, the output is:

BEST PRACTICE: The changelog generated by diff-changelog/generate-changelog should be inspected for correctness and completeness before being deployed.
Generated changelog written to C:\<filepath>\dbchangelog.xml
Liquibase command 'generate-changelog' was executed successfully.

The generated changelog includes a created parameter that has a timestamp:

<?xml version="1.1" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no"?>
<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-4.9.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-4.9.xsd">
	<changeSet author="adrian (generated)" created="2021-08-02 16:26-0400" id="1627936002055-1">
		<createTable tableName="TEST_TABLE">
			<column name="TEST_ID" type="INT">
				<constraints nullable="false" primaryKey="true" primaryKeyName="PK_TEST_TABLE"/>
			</column>
			<column name="TEST_COLUMN" type="VARCHAR(2147483647)"/>
		</createTable>
	</changeSet>
</databaseChangeLog>

generate-changeset-created-values