Maven rollback

rollback is a Maven goal that allows you to roll back change you made to the database. It also marks changesets that were deployed as unapplied. You can roll back changesets using the liquibase.rollbackCount, liquibase.rollbackTag, or liquibase.rollbackDate attributes.

Uses

rollback is typically used when you want to revert changes in your database. There are three rollback modes:

  • liquibase.rollbackCount - reverts a specified number of changesets sequentially, starting with the most recent changes and working backward until the value specified is reached
  • liquibase.rollbackTag - reverts all changes that were made to the database after the specified tag
  • liquibase.rollbackDate - reverts all changes made to your database from today's date to the date and time you specify

The impacts of rollback

Using the rollback goal comes with risks of unintended consequences. For this reason, it is a best practice to run the rollbackSQL goal because it allows you to inspect the rollback SQL and search for any potential mistakes before you execute rollback.

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.

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

Running the rollback Maven goal

Running the rollback goal requires a Maven project to be implemented. Also, before running the rollback goal, you can run the history goal to see all your previously executed changes.

  • To run the rollback goal with the liquibase.rollbackCount attribute, type the following in your command prompt:
mvn liquibase:rollback -Dliquibase.rollbackCount=3

Note: Enter the value you want to use in place of 3.

  • To run the rollback goal with the liquibase.rollbackTag attribute, type the following in your command prompt:
mvn liquibase:rollback -Dliquibase.rollbackTag=version1

Note: Enter the name of the tag you want to use in place of version1. Alternatively, you can specify two properties in your pom.xml file under the <properties></properties> in the <project></project> level:

<liquibase.tag>v3.2.1</liquibase.tag>
<liquibase.rollbackTag>${liquibase.tag}</liquibase.rollbackTag>
  • To run the rollback goal with the liquibase.rollbackDate attribute, type the following in your command prompt:
mvn liquibase:rollback -Dliquibase.rollbackDate=2020-11-26

Note: Enter the date you want to use in place of 2020-11-26. There are several ways to revert your changes with the liquibase.rollback-to-date attribute. You can use YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS or YYYY-MM-DD'T'HH:MM:SS formats to specify both date and time. Also, you can specify date or time only.

[INFO] Scanning for projects...
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[INFO] -------------------< com.example:liquibase-project >--------------------
[INFO] Building liquibase-project 05XII19
[INFO] --------------------------------[ jar ]---------------------------------
[INFO] --- liquibase-maven-plugin:4.1.1:rollback (default-cli) @ liquibase-project ---
[INFO] ------------------------------------------------------------------------
[INFO] Successfully installed license from Base64 string starting with 'ABwwGgQUvH' (property liquibaseProLicenseKey).
[INFO] Liquibase Pro 4.1.1 by Liquibase licensed to support until Wed Sep 22 23:59:59 CDT 2021
[INFO] Liquibase Pro 4.1.1 by Liquibase licensed to support until Wed Sep 22 23:59:59 CDT 2021
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##  \_____/_|\__, |\__,_|_|_.__/ \__,_|___/\___|  ##
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##  Get documentation at docs.liquibase.com       ##
##  Get certified courses at learn.liquibase.com  ##
##  Get advanced features and support at          ##
##      liquibase.com/support                     ##
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####################################################
Starting Liquibase at 08:06:13 (version 4.1.1 #10 built at 2020-10-12 19:24+0000)
[INFO] Parsing Liquibase Properties File local.liquibase.properties for changeLog parameters
[INFO] Executing on Database: jdbc:oracle:thin:@localhost:1521/ORCL
[INFO] Successfully acquired change log lock
[INFO] Reading from DATABASECHANGELOG
Rolling Back Changeset:dbchangelog.xml::1606322157619-2::Nataliya (generated)
Rolling Back Changeset:dbchangelog.xml::1606322157619-12::Nataliya (generated)
[INFO] Successfully released change log lock
[INFO] ------------------------------------------------------------------------
[INFO]
[INFO] ------------------------------------------------------------------------
[INFO] BUILD SUCCESS
[INFO] ------------------------------------------------------------------------
[INFO] Total time:  6.038 s
[INFO] Finished at: 2020-11-26T08:06:15-06:00
[INFO] ------------------------------------------------------------------------

rollback required Maven configuration attributes

Attribute Definition
liquibase.rollbackCount

Defines the number of changesets to roll back. Default value is: 1.
liquibase.rollbackDate

Defines the date for which you want to roll back the database. The format of the date must match either an ISO date format or that of the DateFormat.getDateInstance() for the platform the plugin is being executed on.
liquibase.rollbackTag

Defines the tag for which you want to roll back the database.

rollback optional Maven 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 DATABASECHANGELOGLOCK 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.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.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.