Journey: Schema

Stage 3a of the guided journey. Apply the declarative table definitions from the plan.

When to use

• Dispatched by journey when current_stage: schema.
• Directly via /butterbase-skills:journey-schema.

Preflight

If docs/butterbase/03-preflight.md is missing, older than 24 hours, or 00-state.md has app_id: null, invoke butterbase-skills:journey-preflight first. Wait for it to return successfully before proceeding.

Inputs

• docs/butterbase/02-plan.md — the Tables section.
• docs/butterbase/00-state.md — for app_id, hackathon_mode.

Procedure

0. Refresh docs. Call butterbase_docs with topic: "schema". If the plan calls for advanced schema features (vectors, partial indexes, generated columns), also WebFetch https://docs.butterbase.ai/schema. Skip this step if docs/butterbase/03b-docs-cache.md was written less than 30 minutes ago and already covers schema.

1. Read the Tables section of 02-plan.md. Print it back: "About to apply schema: <N tables>. Proceed?". Wait for yes.

2. Invoke butterbase-skills:schema-design via the Skill tool, passing the Tables section and app_id. The wrapped skill will build the declarative schema, dry-run it with manage_schema action: dry_run, then apply with action: apply after user approval of the diff.

3. After it returns, optionally run a sanity manage_schema action: get and show the user the live shape.

4. Hackathon mode only: if 00-state.md has hackathon_mode: true, also invoke butterbase-skills:journey-rls inline now. After it returns, mark the rls checkbox as (folded) in 00-state.md rather than leaving it unchecked.

5. Append one line to docs/butterbase/04-build-log.md (create if absent): <ISO timestamp> schema manage_schema ok

6. Tick - [x] schema in 00-state.md, set current_stage: to the next unchecked stage (typically rls outside hackathon mode, otherwise the stage after rls), bump last_updated.

7. Return to journey orchestrator (or, if invoked directly, ask: "Continue to the next stage? (yes/no)").

Outputs

• Live schema in the Butterbase app.
• One line in 04-build-log.md.
• Updated 00-state.md.

Anti-patterns

• ❌ Calling manage_schema action: apply without showing the user the dry-run diff.
• ❌ Forgetting _drop: / _dropColumns: are needed for destructive changes — never set them without explicit user confirmation.
• ❌ Forgetting the hackathon-mode RLS fold.