About Flyway
Flyway is a database migration tool, developed by Redgate, that evolves a database schema reliably across all of your instances. Changes are kept as versioned migrations, so development, test and production databases can be brought to the same state with one repeatable process instead of ad hoc scripts.
The open-source edition is a command-line tool and Java library that runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, Docker and the JVM, and integrates with the Maven and Gradle build tools. It supports over 50 database systems, among them PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle, SQL Server, MariaDB, SQLite, MongoDB, Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift, DB2 and CockroachDB, plus community-submitted ones such as ClickHouse, DuckDB and TiDB. Third-party plugins connect it to SBT, Ant, Spring Boot and other frameworks.
The open-source code is licensed under Apache-2.0. Redgate also maintains separate editions with a GUI and extra capabilities, including a free Community edition aimed at individual developers and an Enterprise edition, and these are not part of the open-source project. Flyway suits teams that want database changes treated like code in CI/CD pipelines.
Key features
- Versioned schema migrations
- Support for over 50 database systems
- Maven and Gradle integration
- Runs on Windows, macOS, Linux and Docker
- Java library and command-line interface
- Third-party plugins for Spring Boot and Ant
Good fit for
- →Automating schema changes in CI/CD
- →Keeping dev, test and production databases in sync
- →Managing migrations in Java applications
- Tags
- database-migrations
- schema-management
- devops
- ci-cd
- java
- sql
- redgate
- flyway
Flyway: questions and answers
- What is Flyway used for?
- Flyway is a database migration tool from Redgate that versions schema changes and applies them consistently across instances, supporting more than 50 database systems. It is a good fit for automating schema changes in CI/CD; keeping dev, test and production databases in sync; and managing migrations in Java applications.
- Is Flyway open source?
- Yes. Flyway is open source under the Apache-2.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at flyway/flyway and is written mainly in Java.
- Is Flyway free?
- Yes. Flyway is open source, so the software itself is free to use.
- What are some alternatives to Flyway?
- Similar open-source tools in the Database Tools category include Liquibase, Goose and DBLab Engine. SaaS products in the same category include AI2sql, Aqua Data Studio and DBCode.
- Is Flyway actively maintained?
- Yes. The most recent commit to Flyway was on 1 October 2026. The project has 10k stars on GitHub.
Open-source alternatives to Flyway
See all
Liquibase
Database Tools
Main Liquibase Source
OSS★ 5.6k
Goose
Database Tools
A database migration tool. Supports SQL migrations and Go functions.
OSS★ 12k
DBLab Engine
Database Tools
DBLab enables 🖖 database branching and ⚡️ thin cloning for any Postgres database and empo
Apache-2.0★ 2.7k
DBeaver
Database Tools
Free universal database tool and SQL client
Apache-2.0vs DataGrip★ 52k
Chat2DB
Database Tools
Chat2DB is a free, cross-platform, local-first database client and SQL workspace for devel
OSSvs DataGrip★ 28k
DB Browser for SQLite
Database Tools
Official home of the DB Browser for SQLite (DB4S) project. Previously known as "SQLite Dat
OSSvs TablePlus★ 25k
SaaS alternatives to Flyway
See all
AI2sql
Database Tools
Turns plain-English requests into SQL for your schema, and fixes or explains existing queries
SaaS
Aqua Data Studio
Database Tools
Cross-database IDE with query, visual analytics and data modeling features
SaaS
DBCode
Database Tools
VS Code extension for browsing and querying databases
SaaS
DbSchema
Database Tools
Visual database design and documentation tool for relational and NoSQL databases
SaaS
DbVisualizer
Database Tools
Universal database client with a free edition and a paid Pro tier
SaaS
DesignSQL
Database Tools
Workspace that keeps code, drag-and-drop tables and diagrams of a database schema in sync
SaaS

