Entity Framework Core - How to check if database exists?

Question

For EF6, I can check whether a database exists in the following way:

context.Database.Exists()

How can I do this in EF Core?

Don Tomato · Accepted Answer · 2019-02-15T13:19:58.627

55

I have found the solution on my own:

(context.GetService<IDatabaseCreator>() as RelationalDatabaseCreator).Exists()

It works for EF 7.0.0-rc1-final version for SqlServer

UPDATE:

Entity Framework Core 2.0:

(context.Database.GetService<IDatabaseCreator>() as RelationalDatabaseCreator).Exists()

edited Feb 15 '19 at 13:19

answered Nov 26 '15 at 06:31

Don Tomato

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Entity Framework Core 2.0: `(context.Database.GetService() as RelationalDatabaseCreator).Exists()` – Marcel Sep 13 '17 at 16:51
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For EF Core 2.0: There is no need for casting, just use context.Database.GetService() instead – Jeroen Apr 08 '19 at 08:28
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I had wierd problem with EF Core 3.1. I needed to add manually `using Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Infrastructure;` in my code. Intellisense didnt tells me what i need to do to get `GetService()` method. – michasaucer Jan 09 '20 at 07:10
It don't correct working in EF 3.1 for me. For example database exists but Exists() method return false – Ramil Aliyev 007 Mar 07 '20 at 08:01
@Don Tomatto Not working for us. We're using 3.1.8. – Venkatesh Oct 29 '20 at 13:13
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Note that this will also report false if the database is simply offline or inaccessible to the user due to permissions. In other words, this is really not "exists", but instead more like "can I connect to it right now". – DonBoitnott Apr 28 '21 at 19:42

score 43 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 07 '20 at 16:43

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UPDATE .Net Core 3.1

To check if a database exists and can be contacted:

dbContext.Database.CanConnect()

answered Jun 07 '20 at 16:43

flip

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This throw `SqlException` error if the database does not exist. – Rachanee Saengkrajai Aug 18 '20 at 11:16
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@RachaneeSaengkrajai It would throw an exception if it cannot connect with the SQL server. If the database does not exists but the server is accessible, it just returns false. – emp Oct 22 '20 at 19:35
For me it returns false in both cases. No exceptions are thrown. – Augusto Barreto Mar 14 '21 at 00:29
Frankly I like this answer better than the accepted one simply because it's clear what you're asking. The Exists() method is really no better than this. – DonBoitnott Apr 28 '21 at 19:43
This works on EF Core 7 with SQL Server – John Pittaway Dec 14 '22 at 18:13
Works with EF Core 7 and Sqlite – barakisbrown Apr 29 '23 at 02:53

lonix · Answer 3 · 2021-11-29T03:39:40.467

The other solutions tell you whether the database is connectable:

context.Database.GetService<IRelationalDatabaseCreator>().Exists();  //true
context.Database.EnsureDeleted();
context.Database.GetService<IRelationalDatabaseCreator>().Exists();  //true

I want to know whether the database exists:

context.Database.GetService<IRelationalDatabaseCreator>().HasTables();  //true
context.Database.EnsureDeleted();
context.Database.GetService<IRelationalDatabaseCreator>().HasTables();  //false

Note this weird behavior:

context.Database.EnsureDeleted();
context.Database.GetService<IRelationalDatabaseCreator>().HasTables();  //false
context.Database.EnsureCreated();
context.Database.GetService<IRelationalDatabaseCreator>().HasTables();  //true
context.Database.EnsureDeleted();
context.Database.GetService<IRelationalDatabaseCreator>().HasTables();  //true !!

So it's not perfect, but depending on your use case it could be useful.

`Exists()` does return `false` for me after `EnsureDeleted()` is called. — James Poulose, Feb 17 '22 at 05:58

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Jul 29 '22 at 11:40

Entity Framework Core 6.0.7:

dbContext.GetService<IDatabaseCreator>().CanConnect();

works for NpgsqlDatabaseConnector - the Npgsql.EntityFrameworkCore.PostgreSQL 6.0.5 provider and probably for all RelationalDatabaseCreator descendants since it tests if database really exists as the default/base implmentation.

Entity Framework Core - How to check if database exists?

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