pw seed

pw seed [--dir=testdata/seed] [name...]

For what seed data is, and where it stops being a migration, see Seed Data.

Seed data is useful only when it lands in the intended database. pw seed applies datasets to the database resolved from the application’s own configuration.

Options and arguments

Argument	Effect
(none)	apply every dataset in the seed directory
name...	apply only the named datasets, in the order given
--dir <path>	seed directory, defaulting to testdata/seed

Names are paths relative to the seed directory and the .yaml extension may be omitted, so pw seed users and pw seed users.yaml are the same request.

Each file is reported as it is applied:

seeding testdata/seed/users.yaml
seeding testdata/seed/orders.yaml

Dataset format

A dataset is a table name mapped to a list of rows:

member:
- { id: 1, name: Frank }
- { id: 2, name: Grace }
- { id: 3, name: Heidi }

One file may contain several tables. When rows reference one another, order matters both inside the file and across the dataset names passed to the command.

Each table is emptied before its rows are inserted. An _operation block selects something else per table — insert to add without clearing, upsert, truncate, or delete — and is documented with the rest of the dataset format under Fixtures.

Shared with tests

The test helpers load these exact files through testutil.WithSeed. The CLI and test suite therefore share one fixture instead of maintaining two versions:

server := testutil.TestRun(t, Handlers(), nil,
  testutil.WithMigrations("../migrations"),
  testutil.WithSeed("initial"),
)

See Testing. A browser suite reads the same files through the seed endpoint the pwdev application serves, falling back to this command only for a database outside the development environment — E2E Testing covers both routes.

Where the DSN comes from

As with pw migrate, pw asks the application for its resolved DSN instead of duplicating configuration precedence. Errors redact the value, while the DSN still determines the SQL dialect.

That consistency also raises the risk: seeding follows whatever APP_ENV selects. Confirm the environment before targeting any database that is not for development.