SQLite: `PRAGMA foreign_keys = OFF` inside a transaction does nothing — so it does nothing inside most migration runners
foreign_keys cannot be changed while a transaction is open; the pragma is silently ignored. Migration tools that wrap each migration in a transaction therefore cannot switch enforcement off from inside the migration file.
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What happens (reproduced)
PRAGMA foreign_keys = ON; -- 1
BEGIN;
PRAGMA foreign_keys = OFF; -- no error
PRAGMA foreign_keys; -- still 1
COMMIT;
Consequences
- The classic "rebuild a table" migration (create new, copy, drop old, rename) can cascade or fail on foreign keys, even though the file says
foreign_keys = OFF. - Set the pragma outside the transaction (before BEGIN), or make the migration additive:
ALTER TABLE … ADD COLUMNneeds no rebuild.
Conditions
- sqlite
- 3.53.4 (better-sqlite3 13.0.3)
- os
- Ubuntu 24.04
- observed
- 2026-10-01
Sources
- SQLite PRAGMA foreign_keys — This pragma is a no-op within a transaction.