---
title: "Load a schema snapshot without abandoning migration tests"
description: "Linear’s API containers load a generated schema snapshot and bootstrap file when a pull request leaves the schema unchanged."
url: https://starsling.dev/ci-playbooks/techniques/schema-snapshots
canonicalUrl: https://starsling.dev/ci-playbooks/techniques/schema-snapshots
---

# Load a schema snapshot without abandoning migration tests

Linear’s API containers load a generated schema snapshot and bootstrap file when a pull request leaves the schema unchanged.

## How to choose an approach

This technique currently has one documented company example. Validate its prerequisites, tradeoffs and original CI environment against your repository before adapting it.

- **[Linear](https://starsling.dev/ci-playbooks/linear#schema-snapshots)**: Use it when Database initialization repeats the same migration history and consumes a material setup share. Check before adopting: Keep a required end-to-end migration replay, regenerate snapshots at the migration head and detect stale schema or seed state.

## Apply this technique

````text
Evaluate and apply this CI technique to my repository: Load a schema snapshot without abandoning migration tests.

Linear’s API containers load a generated schema snapshot and bootstrap file when a pull request leaves the schema unchanged.

Read the technique and its source-backed company examples: https://starsling.dev/ci-playbooks/techniques/schema-snapshots.md

Inspect this repository’s CI workflows, build and test commands, dependencies, and recent run timings. Identify where this technique applies and explain the expected benefit using this repository’s evidence.
Measure a baseline from recent comparable runs: elapsed time, queue time, runner minutes and failures where available. If data is unavailable, say what cannot be measured.
Compare relevant company approaches, checking prerequisites, platform differences and tradeoffs. Rank applicable options by evidence, fit and measurable opportunity; do not present company results as predictions for this repo.
Recommend the smallest safe change, show what checks and fallback paths remain, and ASK ME WHICH CHANGE TO APPROVE BEFORE EDITING ANY FILES.
Only after approval, work on a new feature branch, make one reversible change, and open a reviewable pull request. Never merge or push to a default or protected branch.
Keep required checks, test coverage, deployment and release behavior intact. Validate the change and compare equivalent runs where possible; report limitations and what should be monitored after merge.
````

## How Linear used this technique

Read what Linear changed and follow the original sources.

### Linear: Load a schema snapshot without abandoning migration tests

Linear’s API containers load a generated schema snapshot and bootstrap file when a pull request leaves the schema unchanged, which cut database setup from roughly 12 seconds to 1-2 seconds per container.

Evidence: Documented technique

Use it when: Database initialization repeats the same migration history and consumes a material setup share.

Before applying it: Keep a required end-to-end migration replay, regenerate snapshots at the migration head and detect stale schema or seed state.

[Read more in the Linear playbook](https://starsling.dev/ci-playbooks/linear#schema-snapshots)

[Primary source](https://linear.app/now/ci-bottleneck-reworked#avoid-replaying-unchanged-setup)

## CI optimization is continuous work.

Apply this technique yourself, or use StarSling Runners for faster GitHub Actions and optional agent-driven optimization PRs, which teams on eligible paid plans can turn on.

[Get self-improving CI](https://starsling.dev/products/runners)

## Company Playbooks

### [Anthropic](https://starsling.dev/ci-playbooks/anthropic)

Run only affected tests

### [DoorDash](https://starsling.dev/ci-playbooks/doordash)

Run build and test in parallel, sharded across CI agents

### [Linear](https://starsling.dev/ci-playbooks/linear)

Benchmark the same job on faster hardware

### [Mastra](https://starsling.dev/ci-playbooks/mastra)

StarSling runners for the slowest test workflow

### [OpenAI](https://starsling.dev/ci-playbooks/openai)

Rank CI fixes by the minutes they save

### [Ramp](https://starsling.dev/ci-playbooks/ramp)

Move a CPU-bound test suite to a faster CPU

### [Shopify](https://starsling.dev/ci-playbooks/shopify)

Let an agent iterate against one CI metric

### [Spotify](https://starsling.dev/ci-playbooks/spotify)

Build arm64 on native arm64 runners

### [Stripe](https://starsling.dev/ci-playbooks/stripe)

Run only the tests a change can reach

### [Uber](https://starsling.dev/ci-playbooks/uber)

Build the merge-queue speculations most likely to be needed

## Related guides

Implementation guides for this technique.

### [Cut repeated setup and teardown from your test suite](https://starsling.dev/best-practices/github-actions/cut-repeated-test-setup)

Find the setup and teardown work your tests repeat on every case, such as schema resets, CLI launches, cleanup and password hashing, and do it once.