# MISSING_SNAPSHOT

A migration file has no snapshot file beside it in `meta/`.

## Cause

A migration file has no snapshot file beside it in `meta/`.

`nextly migrate:create` writes a snapshot beside each migration, in `meta/`, describing the schema once it has run. This file has none: it was added by hand, its snapshot was deleted, or it predates snapshots.

## Fix

* Restore the snapshot from version control if it was deleted.
* Otherwise delete the file, or re-create it with `nextly migrate:create --blank` and copy the SQL across.

See [Production migrations](https://nextlyhq.com/docs/guides/production-migrations.md).

## Example

```text
✗ `20261020_120000_add_posts.sql` has no paired snapshot file in /home/you/app/migrations/meta.
  Why:  Nothing is at `20261020_120000_add_posts.snapshot.json`, which `migrate:create` writes beside every migration; a migration generated before it wrote snapshots has none.
  Next: Either delete it, or re-create it with `nextly migrate:create --blank` and copy the SQL across.
  Docs: https://nextlyhq.com/docs/cli/errors/missing-snapshot  (MISSING_SNAPSHOT)
```