How to change a MySQL column data type using migration in Laravel?

Web Development
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1

I’m working on a Laravel project, and I need to change the column data type in my MySQL database from VARCHAR to DECIMAL. However, there is already data in the column, so I can’t just run php artisan migrate:refresh and lose all the data. Is there a way to update the column’s data type without losing any data? What is the best way to achieve this in Laravel?

2

You can follow the steps below to change the data type of a MySQL column from VARCHAR to DECIMAL in Laravel without losing your data.

First, create a new migration using the make:migration Artisan command:

php artisan make:migration alter_table_[yourtablenamehere]_change_[somecolumnname] --table=[yourtablenamehere]

A new migration file will be created, there In the `up` method of the migration file, use the following code to change the column data type. 
public function up()
{
    Schema::table('table_name', function($table)
    {
        $table->decimal('column_name', 8, 2)->change();
    });

}

After creating the migration, run it using the migrate Artisan command:

php artisan migrate

Note: You need to install doctrine/dbal to make this work

composer require doctrine/dbal

This will apply the changes to the database, modifying the data type of the specified column.

3

I prefer this format

php artisan make:migration alter_table_[tablename]_table --table=[tablename]