molt-verify
Guide for using molt verify to compare source and target databases for schema and row-level consistency after a migration. Use when running verify commands, tuning concurrency/sharding, handling schema mismatches, or validating data integrity post-migration.
How do I install this agent skill?
npx skills add https://github.com/cockroachlabs/cockroachdb-skills --skill molt-verifyIs this agent skill safe to install?
- Gen Agent Trust Hubpass
The skill is a legitimate documentation guide for the molt verify database migration tool from CockroachDB. It contains no security issues, and it includes best-practice warnings regarding the handling of sensitive connection data in log files.
- Socketpass
No alerts
- Snykpass
Risk: LOW · No issues
What does this agent skill do?
molt verify
Compares source and target databases for schema (DDL) and row (data) consistency. Run after molt fetch to confirm migration integrity.
Basic Structure
molt verify \
--source "<source-conn>" \
--target "<crdb-conn>" \
[options]
Verification Phases
Phase 1 — Schema: Compares table presence, columns, types, NOT NULL constraints, and primary key structure.
Phase 2 — Rows (default, --rows=true): Iterates source rows in PK order and compares against target. Reports missing, extraneous, and mismatched rows per shard.
Modes
| Mode | Command | Use When |
|---|---|---|
| Full (default) | molt verify --source "..." --target "..." | Post-migration integrity check |
| Schema-only | molt verify ... --rows=false | Fast DDL check; no data I/O |
Concurrency & Sharding
# Default: CPU-count tables in parallel, 1 shard/table, 20k rows/batch
molt verify --source "..." --target "..."
# Large tables: parallelize within a single table
molt verify --source "..." --target "..." \
--concurrency 1 --concurrency-per-table 8 --row-batch-size 50000
# Rate-limited (minimize production impact)
molt verify --source "..." --target "..." \
--rows-per-second 1000 --concurrency 2
Sharding splits a table's PK range across workers. Supported PK types: INT, FLOAT, DECIMAL, UUID. Falls back to a single full-scan for unsupported types.
Common Workflows
1. Post-migration sanity check
molt verify \
--source "postgresql://<user>:<password>@pg:5432/db" \
--target "postgresql://root@crdb:26257/db"
2. Schema-only (CI gate)
molt verify \
--source "..." --target "..." \
--rows=false --non-interactive --log-file stdout
3. Filtered verification (subset of tables)
molt verify \
--source "..." --target "..." \
--table-filter "customers|orders"
4. Verify with column exclusions
# transformations.json: {"tables":[{"name":"users","excludedColumns":["temp_col"]}]}
molt verify \
--source "..." --target "..." \
--transformations-file transformations.json
Source-Specific Prerequisites
PostgreSQL: No special requirements. Partition tables (child partitions) are not supported — remove them before verifying.
MySQL: Queries current database only. ONLY_FULL_GROUP_BY may affect queries; disable if issues arise.
Oracle: Binary must be built with CGO_ENABLED=1 -tags="cgo source_all". Oracle Instant Client in LD_LIBRARY_PATH. Use --source-cdb for multi-tenant (CDB) setups. Selective data verification (--filter-path) is not supported.
Output & Reporting
Each table prints a summary per shard:
truth rows seen: 10000, success: 9950, missing: 5, mismatch: 45, extraneous: 0
- missing: rows present on source but absent on target
- extraneous: rows on target with no match on source
- mismatch: rows present on both but values differ
Schema issues (missing/extra tables or columns, type mismatches, PK differences) are logged as warnings and do not stop row verification.
Prometheus metrics available at --metrics-listen-addr (default 127.0.0.1:3030).
Error Recovery
| Error | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
missing table X on target | Table not migrated | Rerun fetch or check filters |
extraneous table X on target | Unexpected table | Clean up or adjust --table-filter |
column type mismatch | Type conversion issue | Check type mappings or use --transformations-file |
PRIMARY KEY does not match | PK structure differs | Inspect schema conversion output |
partition table X | Source has partition tables | Drop/move partitions before verifying |
missing a PRIMARY KEY | No PK on source table | Add PK or use --rows=false |
TLSModeDisableError | Insecure connection rejected | Add --allow-tls-mode-disable |
| Statement timeout | Query exceeds --verify-statement-timeout | Increase timeout or reduce --row-batch-size |
Gotchas
- Schema changes between source and target after migration are not automatically reconciled — fix schema first, then re-run
--concurrencyvalues exceeding 4× CPU count trigger a warning and may degrade performance- Row verification requires primary keys on both source and target tables; tables without PKs are skipped for row comparison
--filter-path(selective row filters) is not supported for Oracle sources- Log files contain sensitive query data; avoid
--show-connection-loggingin production logs - After fetch, always run verify before cutover to confirm data integrity
See flags reference for the full flag list.
How can the creator link this skill?
Add the canonical catalog link to the repository README so users can inspect current installs and available audits. The publishing guide covers the complete discovery path.
<a href="https://skillzs.dev/skills/cockroachlabs/cockroachdb-skills/molt-verify">View molt-verify on skillZs</a>