EF Core Migration from PHP ORM

Name: ef-core-migration
Rating: 92
Author: RobertoBorges

Use this skill when migrating PHP ORM (Eloquent/Doctrine) to Entity Framework Core.

When to Use This Skill

•Converting Eloquent models to EF Core entities
•Migrating Doctrine entities to EF Core
•Setting up relationships (hasMany, belongsTo, belongsToMany)
•Creating and running EF Core migrations
•Configuring soft deletes, timestamps, and scopes

Template Files

See the templates directory:

•Entity.cs - Sample entity with relationships
•DbContext.cs - DbContext with configuration
•Migration commands - Common EF Core commands

Eloquent to EF Core Mapping

Model Properties

Eloquent	EF Core
`protected $table = 'users'`	`[Table("users")]` or Fluent API
`protected $primaryKey = 'user_id'`	`[Key]` or `HasKey()`
`public $incrementing = false`	`ValueGeneratedNever()`
`protected $keyType = 'string'`	Use `string` type for key
`public $timestamps = false`	Don't add timestamp properties
`protected $fillable = [...]`	Not needed (use DTOs)
`protected $guarded = [...]`	Not needed (use DTOs)
`protected $hidden = [...]`	`[JsonIgnore]` or DTO mapping
`protected $casts = [...]`	Data annotations or value converters

Relationship Mapping

Eloquent Method	EF Core
`hasOne()`	Navigation property + `HasOne().WithOne()`
`hasMany()`	`ICollection<T>` + `HasMany().WithOne()`
`belongsTo()`	Navigation property + `HasOne().WithMany()`
`belongsToMany()`	Join entity + two `HasMany()`
`morphTo()`	Discriminator pattern
`morphMany()`	Polymorphic with discriminator

Common Patterns

Soft Deletes

csharp

// Entity
public DateTime? DeletedAt { get; set; }

// DbContext
entity.HasQueryFilter(e => e.DeletedAt == null);

Timestamps

csharp

public override Task<int> SaveChangesAsync(...)
{
    foreach (var entry in ChangeTracker.Entries<IHasTimestamps>())
    {
        if (entry.State == EntityState.Added)
            entry.Entity.CreatedAt = DateTime.UtcNow;
        entry.Entity.UpdatedAt = DateTime.UtcNow;
    }
    return base.SaveChangesAsync(...);
}

Scopes → Extension Methods

csharp

// Eloquent: $query->active()->inCategory($id)
// EF Core:
public static IQueryable<Product> Active(this IQueryable<Product> query)
    => query.Where(p => p.IsActive);

public static IQueryable<Product> InCategory(this IQueryable<Product> query, int id)
    => query.Where(p => p.CategoryId == id);

// Usage:
var products = await _context.Products
    .Active()
    .InCategory(5)
    .ToListAsync();

Migration Commands

powershell

# Create initial migration
dotnet ef migrations add InitialCreate

# Apply migrations
dotnet ef database update

# Generate SQL script
dotnet ef migrations script -o migration.sql

# Remove last migration (if not applied)
dotnet ef migrations remove

# Revert to specific migration
dotnet ef database update MigrationName

Data Type Mapping

PHP/MySQL	C#/.NET	SQL Server
`int`	`int`	`int`
`bigint`	`long`	`bigint`
`decimal(10,2)`	`decimal`	`decimal(18,2)`
`varchar(255)`	`string`	`nvarchar(255)`
`text`	`string`	`nvarchar(max)`
`boolean` / `tinyint(1)`	`bool`	`bit`
`datetime`	`DateTime`	`datetime2`
`date`	`DateOnly`	`date`
`time`	`TimeOnly`	`time`
`json`	`string` (with converter)	`nvarchar(max)`
`enum`	`enum`	`int` or `nvarchar`

Best Practices

•Use migrations - Never modify database schema manually
•Configure in Fluent API - Prefer Fluent API over data annotations for complex config
•Split configurations - Use IEntityTypeConfiguration<T> for large entities
•Use async - Always use ToListAsync(), FirstOrDefaultAsync(), etc.
•Project to DTOs - Use .Select() to project to DTOs instead of loading full entities
•Include explicitly - Use .Include() for eager loading, avoid lazy loading
•Use no-tracking - Use AsNoTracking() for read-only queries