id	summary	reporter	owner	description	type	status	component	version	severity	resolution	keywords	cc	stage	has_patch	needs_docs	needs_tests	needs_better_patch	easy	ui_ux
34510	sqlmigrate does not follows replaces in squashed migrations	NeodymiumFerBore	nobody	"Hello!

I actually don't know if this issue will end being a bug, a new feature or a documentation improvement.

The `sqlmigrate` command does not follow `replaces` in squashed migration, with original (squashed) migration files deleted. This ticket is roughly the same than #33583. In #31318, the issue is marked as solved with commit [https://github.com/django/django/commit/d88365708c554efe3c786c3be6da1d9de916360f d883657]. Since then, `MigrationLoader` accepts the argument `replace_migrations`. However, [https://github.com/django/django/blob/d88365708c554efe3c786c3be6da1d9de916360f/django/core/management/commands/sqlmigrate.py#L37 the loader instance here] has this option to `False`. I don't see a command option to set it to `True`.

Sample error (not mine, but actually the exact same, taken from #33583):

{{{
python3 manage.py sqlmigrate beta 0003
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File ""/Users/amin/sandbox/mysite/manage.py"", line 22, in <module>
    main()
  File ""/Users/amin/sandbox/mysite/manage.py"", line 18, in main
    execute_from_command_line(sys.argv)
  File ""/usr/local/lib/python3.9/site-packages/django/core/management/__init__.py"", line 446, in execute_from_command_line
    utility.execute()
  File ""/usr/local/lib/python3.9/site-packages/django/core/management/__init__.py"", line 440, in execute
    self.fetch_command(subcommand).run_from_argv(self.argv)
  File ""/usr/local/lib/python3.9/site-packages/django/core/management/base.py"", line 414, in run_from_argv
    self.execute(*args, **cmd_options)
  File ""/usr/local/lib/python3.9/site-packages/django/core/management/commands/sqlmigrate.py"", line 38, in execute
    return super().execute(*args, **options)
  File ""/usr/local/lib/python3.9/site-packages/django/core/management/base.py"", line 460, in execute
    output = self.handle(*args, **options)
  File ""/usr/local/lib/python3.9/site-packages/django/core/management/commands/sqlmigrate.py"", line 46, in handle
    loader = MigrationLoader(connection, replace_migrations=False)
  File ""/usr/local/lib/python3.9/site-packages/django/db/migrations/loader.py"", line 58, in __init__
    self.build_graph()
  File ""/usr/local/lib/python3.9/site-packages/django/db/migrations/loader.py"", line 276, in build_graph
    self.graph.validate_consistency()
  File ""/usr/local/lib/python3.9/site-packages/django/db/migrations/graph.py"", line 198, in validate_consistency
    [n.raise_error() for n in self.node_map.values() if isinstance(n, DummyNode)]
  File ""/usr/local/lib/python3.9/site-packages/django/db/migrations/graph.py"", line 198, in <listcomp>
    [n.raise_error() for n in self.node_map.values() if isinstance(n, DummyNode)]
  File ""/usr/local/lib/python3.9/site-packages/django/db/migrations/graph.py"", line 60, in raise_error
    raise NodeNotFoundError(self.error_message, self.key, origin=self.origin)
django.db.migrations.exceptions.NodeNotFoundError: Migration beta.0001_initial dependencies reference nonexistent parent node ('first', '0001_initial')
}}}

I tried to set it to `True` manually in 4.1.7, and it successfully showed SQL queries involved in the migration I wanted to inspect. `sqlmigrate.py` has not changed between 4.1.7 and 4.2, so I guess it also affects it.

[https://github.com/django/django/blob/4.1.7/django/core/management/commands/sqlmigrate.py#L46 Link: MigrationLoader instance in 4.1.7 L46]
[https://github.com/django/django/blob/4.2/django/core/management/commands/sqlmigrate.py#L46 Link: MigrationLoader instance in 4.2 L46]
[https://github.com/django/django/blob/main/django/core/management/commands/sqlmigrate.py#L46 Link: MigrationLoader instance in main L46]

I see that it always has been like this since commit `d883657`. Now maybe I don't understand why it works like so. Could you explain why it is set to `False` with no option to set it to `True` in `sqlmigrate`? Is it unreliable? In #33583, someone said:

> `replaces` is documented and supported only for ​squashing migrations so described flow was never officially supported

Why not adding a command option to `sqlmigrate` to enable following `replaces` in squashed migration, with a warning like ""experimental"" or something?

Thank you."	Uncategorized	new	Core (Management commands)	4.2	Normal		squashed migration replaces sqlmigrate command core management	NeodymiumFerBore	Unreviewed	1	0	0	0	0	0