DbUp vs Flyway for .NET: which migration tool to use (2026)

Using Flyway from C# / .NET

There is no official Flyway library for .NET. Flyway is a Java application, so from a .NET project you run its command line or its Docker image as a step in your deploy. Keep your scripts in a folder such as db/, named V1__create_orders.sql, V2__add_index.sql, and so on:

docker run --rm -v "$PWD/db:/flyway/sql" flyway/flyway \
  -url=jdbc:postgresql://localhost:5432/myapp \
  -user=myapp_migrator -password="$DB_PASSWORD" \
  migrate

Note the JDBC-style URL: Flyway does not take an Npgsql connection string. To launch it from C#, start the same command with System.Diagnostics.Process and check the exit code:

var psi = new ProcessStartInfo("flyway", "-url=jdbc:postgresql://localhost:5432/myapp -user=myapp_migrator migrate")
{
    RedirectStandardOutput = true,
};
psi.Environment["FLYWAY_PASSWORD"] = password;
using var p = Process.Start(psi)!;
Console.WriteLine(await p.StandardOutput.ReadToEndAsync());
await p.WaitForExitAsync();
if (p.ExitCode != 0) throw new Exception("Flyway migrate failed");

When to pick each

Pick DbUp when everyone on the team writes C#, you want migrations applied by a .NET process you already build and test, and you do not want a JVM or Docker image in the deploy path. Pick Flyway when your company already uses it for Java or Node services and wants one tool and one history table format everywhere, or when you want the option of Redgate's paid edition. If you want migrations generated from your model instead, see EF Core Migrations in the full .NET database migrations comparison.

FAQ