diff --git a/.woodpecker.yml b/.woodpecker.yml
index 65dc8a8a6..f61da4ad8 100644
--- a/.woodpecker.yml
+++ b/.woodpecker.yml
@@ -132,17 +132,6 @@ steps:
       - diff config/defaults.hjson config/defaults_current.hjson
     when: *slow_check_paths
 
-  check_diesel_schema:
-    image: willsquire/diesel-cli
-    environment:
-      CARGO_HOME: .cargo_home
-      DATABASE_URL: postgres://lemmy:password@database:5432/lemmy
-    commands:
-      - diesel migration run
-      - diesel print-schema --config-file=diesel.toml > tmp.schema
-      - diff tmp.schema crates/db_schema/src/schema.rs
-    when: *slow_check_paths
-
   check_db_perf_tool:
     image: *rust_image
     environment:
@@ -173,6 +162,18 @@ steps:
       - mv target/debug/lemmy_server target/lemmy_server
     when: *slow_check_paths
 
+  check_diesel_schema:
+    image: *rust_image
+    environment:
+      LEMMY_DATABASE_URL: postgres://lemmy:password@database:5432/lemmy
+      RUST_BACKTRACE: "1"
+      CARGO_HOME: .cargo_home
+    commands:
+      - target/lemmy_server migration run
+      - diesel print-schema --config-file=diesel.toml > tmp.schema
+      - diff tmp.schema crates/db_schema/src/schema.rs
+    when: *slow_check_paths
+
   cargo_test:
     image: *rust_image
     environment:
diff --git a/crates/db_schema/src/lib.rs b/crates/db_schema/src/lib.rs
index 37c44e263..df9c41bcb 100644
--- a/crates/db_schema/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/db_schema/src/lib.rs
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ pub mod traits;
 pub mod utils;
 
 #[cfg(feature = "full")]
-mod schema_setup;
+pub mod schema_setup;
 
 use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
 use strum_macros::{Display, EnumString};
diff --git a/scripts/dump_schema.sh b/scripts/dump_schema.sh
index f783be26b..312061dd1 100755
--- a/scripts/dump_schema.sh
+++ b/scripts/dump_schema.sh
@@ -9,8 +9,8 @@ cd $CWD/../
 
 source scripts/start_dev_db.sh
 
-diesel migration run
-pg_dump --no-owner --no-privileges --no-table-access-method --schema-only --no-sync -f schema.sqldump
+cargo run --package lemmy_server -- migration run
+pg_dump --no-owner --no-privileges --no-table-access-method --schema-only --exclude-schema=r --no-sync -f schema.sqldump
 
 pg_ctl stop
 rm -rf $PGDATA
diff --git a/src/lib.rs b/src/lib.rs
index 61e8abd13..f3a192325 100644
--- a/src/lib.rs
+++ b/src/lib.rs
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ use actix_web::{
   HttpServer,
 };
 use actix_web_prom::PrometheusMetricsBuilder;
-use clap::Parser;
+use clap::{Parser, Subcommand};
 use lemmy_api_common::{
   context::LemmyContext,
   lemmy_db_views::structs::SiteView,
@@ -70,6 +70,7 @@ use url::Url;
   about = "A link aggregator for the fediverse",
   long_about = "A link aggregator for the fediverse.\n\nThis is the Lemmy backend API server. This will connect to a PostgreSQL database, run any pending migrations and start accepting API requests."
 )]
+#[command(args_conflicts_with_subcommands = true)]
 pub struct CmdArgs {
   /// Don't run scheduled tasks.
   ///
@@ -103,6 +104,23 @@ pub struct CmdArgs {
   /// If set, make sure to set --federate-process-index differently for each.
   #[arg(long, default_value_t = 1)]
   federate_process_count: i32,
+  #[command(subcommand)]
+  subcommand: Option<CmdSubcommand>,
+}
+
+#[derive(Subcommand, Debug)]
+enum CmdSubcommand {
+  /// Do something with migrations, then exit.
+  Migration {
+    #[command(subcommand)]
+    subcommand: MigrationSubcommand,
+  },
+}
+
+#[derive(Subcommand, Debug)]
+enum MigrationSubcommand {
+  /// Run all pending migrations.
+  Run,
 }
 
 /// Placing the main function in lib.rs allows other crates to import it and embed Lemmy
@@ -110,6 +128,16 @@ pub async fn start_lemmy_server(args: CmdArgs) -> LemmyResult<()> {
   // Print version number to log
   println!("Lemmy v{VERSION}");
 
+  if let Some(CmdSubcommand::Migration { subcommand }) = args.subcommand {
+    match subcommand {
+      MigrationSubcommand::Run => {}
+    }
+
+    lemmy_db_schema::schema_setup::run(&SETTINGS.get_database_url())?;
+
+    return Ok(());
+  }
+
   // return error 503 while running db migrations and startup tasks
   let mut startup_server_handle = None;
   if !args.disable_http_server {