[ef-code-first] How to delete and recreate from scratch an existing EF Code First database

I am using EF Code First with EF 5 in VS 2012. I use PM update-database command and I have a simple seed method to fill some tables with sample data.

I would like to delete and recreate my x.mdb. The update history seems to be out of sync. If I comment out all my DBSets in my context, update-database runs with no error but leaves some tables in the DB. As I have no valuable data in the DB it seems to the simplest to reset the all thing.

How can I accomplish this?

How about ..

static void Main(string[] args)
{
    Database.SetInitializer(new DropCreateDatabaseIfModelChanges<ExampleContext>());  
    // C
    // o
    // d
    // i
    // n
    // g
}

I picked this up from Programming Entity Framework: Code First, Pg 28 First Edition.

Single Liner to Drop, Create and Seed from Package Manager Console:

update-database -TargetMigration:0 | update-database -force

Kaboom.

Take these steps:

1. Delete those object which should be deleted from the context // Dbset<Item> Items{get;set;} and in Nuget Console run these commands
2. add-migration [contextName]
3. update-database -verbose

It will drop table(s) that not exist in Context, but already created in database

Let me help in updating the answers here since new users will find it useful. I believe the aim is to delete the database itself and recreate it using EF Code First approach. 1.Open your project in Visual Studio using the ".sln" extention. 2.Select Server Explorer( it is oftentimes on the left) 3.Select SQL Server Object Explorer. 4.The database you want to delete would be listed under any of the localDB. Right-Click it and select delete.

For EntityFrameworkCore you can use the following:

Update-Database -Migration 0

This will remove all migrations from the database. Then you can use:

Remove-Migration

To remove your migration. Finally you can recreate your migration and apply it to the database.

Add-Migration Initialize
Update-Database

Tested on EFCore v2.1.0

dbctx.Database.EnsureDeleted(); dbctx.Database.EnsureCreated();

If you created your database following this tutorial: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-au/data/jj193542.aspx

... then this might work:

1. Delete all .mdf and .ldf files in your project directory
2. Go to View / SQL Server Object Explorer and delete the database from the (localdb)\v11.0 subnode. See also https://stackoverflow.com/a/15832184/2279059

Since this question is gonna be clicked some day by new EF Core users and I find the top answers somewhat unnecessarily destructive, I will show you a way to start "fresh". Beware, this deletes all of your data.

1. Delete all tables on your MS SQL server. Also delete the __EFMigrations table.
2. Type dotnet ef database update
3. EF Core will now recreate the database from zero up until your latest migration.

There re many ways to drop a database or update existing database, simply you can switched to previous migrations.

dotnet ef database update previousMigraionName    

But some databases have limitations like not allow to modify after create relationships, means you have not allow privileges to drop columns from ef core database providers but most of time in ef core drop database is allowed.so you can drop DB using drop command and then you use previous migration again.

dotnet ef database drop
PMC command 
PM> drop-database

OR you can do manually deleting database and do a migration.

If you worked the correct way to create your migrations by using the command Add-Migration "Name_Of_Migration" then you can do the following to get a clean start (reset, with loss of data, of course):

1. Update-database -TargetMigration:0

   Normally your DB is empty now since the down methods were executed.

2. Update-database

   This will recreate your DB to your current migration