# migration ref (/docs/cli/migration-ref)

Manage named Prisma ORM refs that point at contracts.

Location: CLI > migration ref

Use `migration ref` commands to manage named refs stored with your migration history. A ref maps a logical environment name, such as `staging` or `production`, to a contract hash. Other commands can then target that environment by name: [`db migrate --to production`](/guides/orm-db-migrate), [`db update --to production`](/guides/orm-db-update), or [`db sign production`](/guides/orm-db-sign).

Refs live on disk as `migrations/app/refs/<name>.json`, so they are versioned with your migrations. The commands are offline. The contract a ref points at must already be part of the on-disk migration graph, which is why `migration ref set` does not accept `@db`: that token stands for the live database's marker, and the offline commands never read one.

## The db ref

The `db` ref has a special meaning: it records the contract state you expect your local database to match. When you run [`migration plan`](/guides/migration-migration-plan) without `--from`, Prisma ORM assumes you mean from the `db` ref, so as long as the ref is kept up to date, each plan contains only your latest change.

The `db` ref is updated automatically in the following situations:

- [`db init`](/guides/orm-db-init) and [`db update`](/guides/orm-db-update) update it when you run them without `--db`, so that the connection comes from `prisma.config.ts`. With `--db`, they leave it alone unless you also pass `--advance-ref db`.
- [`db sign`](/guides/orm-db-sign) updates it after a successful signature, with or without `--db`. `--no-advance-ref` turns that off.
- [`db migrate --advance-ref db`](/guides/orm-db-migrate) updates it after an apply. Plain `db migrate` never touches it, on purpose: a deploy or CI run should not change a file in your repository.

You can also set it by hand with `migration ref set db <contract>`.

## Usage

#### bun

```bash
bunx prisma migration ref set production 4cb4256
bunx prisma migration ref list
bunx prisma migration ref delete production
```

#### pnpm

```bash
pnpm prisma migration ref set production 4cb4256
pnpm prisma migration ref list
pnpm prisma migration ref delete production
```

#### yarn

```bash
yarn prisma migration ref set production 4cb4256
yarn prisma migration ref list
yarn prisma migration ref delete production
```

#### npm

```bash
npx prisma migration ref set production 4cb4256
npx prisma migration ref list
npx prisma migration ref delete production
```

## Subcommands

| Subcommand              | What it does                                                                                                                                                  |
| ----------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `set <name> <contract>` | Points a ref at a contract. The contract is a hash or prefix, another ref name, a migration directory name, or `<dir>^` for that migration's source contract. |
| `list`                  | Lists every ref with the contract hash it points at and the invariants recorded against it.                                                                   |
| `delete <name>`         | Deletes a ref. The contract it pointed at is untouched.                                                                                                       |

## Example workflow

#### bun

```bash
bunx prisma migration ref set production 20260101T1000_add_user
bunx prisma migration status --db "$DATABASE_URL" --to production
bunx prisma db migrate --db "$DATABASE_URL" --to production
```

#### pnpm

```bash
pnpm prisma migration ref set production 20260101T1000_add_user
pnpm prisma migration status --db "$DATABASE_URL" --to production
pnpm prisma db migrate --db "$DATABASE_URL" --to production
```

#### yarn

```bash
yarn prisma migration ref set production 20260101T1000_add_user
yarn prisma migration status --db "$DATABASE_URL" --to production
yarn prisma db migrate --db "$DATABASE_URL" --to production
```

#### npm

```bash
npx prisma migration ref set production 20260101T1000_add_user
npx prisma migration status --db "$DATABASE_URL" --to production
npx prisma db migrate --db "$DATABASE_URL" --to production
```

Use refs when you want to name the contract state an environment should match, instead of always applying up to the latest migration on disk. If you pass `--advance-ref <name>` to a command that changes the database, that command also points the ref at the state it applied, once it succeeds.

## Related pages

- [`auth`](/guides/platform-auth): Sign in to your Prisma account from the CLI, sign out, and manage workspace sessions.
- [`branch`](/guides/platform-branch): List platform branches for a project.
- [`bucket`](/guides/platform-bucket): Create and manage object-store buckets.
- [`Configuration`](/guides/introduction-6-configuration): Configure Prisma ORM CLI commands with prisma.config.ts and global flags.
- [`contract emit`](/guides/orm-contract-emit): Emit Prisma ORM contract artifacts.

## Related pages

- [Authentication & Tools](./authentication-tools-index.md)
- [Build](./build-index.md)
- [Changelog](../changelog.md)
- [Concepts](./concepts-index.md)
- [Console commands](./console-commands-index.md)
- [Contract Authoring](./contract-authoring-index.md)
- [Core Concepts](./core-concepts-index.md)
- [Data Modeling](./data-modeling-index.md)
- [Database](./database-index.md)
- [DB commands](./db-commands-index.md)

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