SQLite without migrations is still a toy

If you're deciding whether this update is worth your time, ignore the version number and watch the judgment it forces.

SQLite without migrations is still a toy [C002]. That is why sqlite-utils 4.0 matters: on July 7, 2026, it put schema migrations in the headline instead of leaving them as a side note [C001].

Plain English: migrations are tracked table changes. Instead of changing a table from memory and hoping every copy matches, you write the change as a small Python step. The tool records it in _sqlite_migrations, and the next run skips what already ran.

That is the line between a disposable file and a database you can keep changing without guessing. A tool update is worth sharing when it changes your next decision, not when it just adds more bullets.

Boundary: if your SQLite file is a one-off scratchpad, skip the ceremony. If the data will live for months and keep changing, this is the part worth copying. Share this with the person still editing SQLite tables from memory.