chore(db): resync stale EF ModelSnapshot + fix fresh-DB schema gap

Backlog item 1. The committed ModelSnapshot was empty/stale (21 lines, no
entities) -- `dotnet ef migrations add` scaffolded the whole database from
scratch against it, including the ASP.NET Identity tables, which have never
been created by a real EF migration in this repo (always provisioned via the
raw-SQL reconciler in StartupInitializationExtensions.cs -- see
EnsureIdentityTables' own comment). Applying that diff for real would throw
"table/column already exists" on every environment.

Fix: added migration 20260711181039_SyncModelSnapshot with an intentionally
empty Up()/Down() (see its doc comment) -- it only records itself in
__EFMigrationsHistory and regenerates the snapshot to match the live model,
so `dotnet ef migrations add` produces a real diff for the next schema
change instead of the whole database again. Verified zero side effects
against a copy of the dev DB (only inserts one history row) and against a
fresh empty DB (full migration + reconciler chain runs clean).

That fresh-DB verification surfaced a real, previously-undiscovered bug:
EnsureColumn/EnsureMySqlColumn calls for JobApplications/Correspondences/
Companies/Attachments ad-hoc columns all no-op on a truly fresh database
(the tables don't exist yet -- Migrate() creates them afterward), so a
brand-new deployment's first boot would be missing dozens of columns
(LastReminderEmailSentAt, RecruiterMessageDraft, salary fields, Correspondence
Provider/Subject/Channel/etc.) until the next restart. Also caught: my own b4
change (Correspondence.Provider backfill, already merged) had the same
unguarded-on-fresh-DB bug in isolation.

Fixed by promoting the schema-reconciliation helpers (Exec/HasTable/
HasColumn/EnsureColumn and their MySQL equivalents) from local functions to
class-level statics, extracting the ad-hoc-column blocks into
ReconcileCoreAppColumns/ReconcileCoreAppColumnsMySql, and calling them a
second time right after Migrate() succeeds (reusing the connection already
opened for the CoreSchemaReady check) -- idempotent, so free on every boot
except the first one, where it's now required. No inline logic changed,
pure extraction + one additional call site.

Also added Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Design to JobTrackerApi.csproj
(dotnet-ef tooling requires it on the startup project since EF Core 6+;
previously only referenced by JobTrackerBackend, where the DbContext lives).

169/169 backend tests green. Verified live: full app boot against both a
fresh empty SQLite DB and a copy of the populated dev DB, both clean.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>

JobTrackerApi/JobTrackerApi.csproj

@@ -13,6 +13,12 @@
     <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.AspNetCore.Authentication.JwtBearer" Version="9.0.14" />
     <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.AspNetCore.OpenApi" Version="9.0.14" />
     <PackageReference Include="Pomelo.EntityFrameworkCore.MySql" Version="9.0.0" />
+    <!-- dotnet-ef design-time tooling requires this on the startup project (not just
+         JobTrackerBackend, where the DbContext actually lives) since EF Core 6+. -->
+    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Design" Version="9.0.14">
+      <IncludeAssets>runtime; build; native; contentfiles; analyzers; buildtransitive</IncludeAssets>
+      <PrivateAssets>all</PrivateAssets>
+    </PackageReference>
   </ItemGroup>
 
   <ItemGroup>

JobTrackerApi/Migrations/20260711181039_SyncModelSnapshot.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+using System;
+using Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Migrations;
+
+#nullable disable
+
+namespace JobTrackerApi.Migrations
+{
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Intentionally a no-op. The committed ModelSnapshot had drifted far behind the live schema
+    /// (empty -- see JobTrackerContextModelSnapshot.cs history): every table/column added since
+    /// the last real migration (2026-03-11) was provisioned exclusively through the idempotent
+    /// raw-SQL reconciler in StartupInitializationExtensions.cs, including the ASP.NET Identity
+    /// tables themselves, which have never been created by an EF migration in this repo -- see
+    /// EnsureIdentityTables' comment ("create Identity tables directly if dotnet ef isn't
+    /// available"). `dotnet ef migrations add` scaffolded the honest diff against that stale
+    /// snapshot: full CreateTable/AddColumn operations for schema that already exists on every
+    /// environment (fresh or established) via that reconciler. Applying that diff for real would
+    /// throw "table/column already exists" everywhere. This migration exists only to record itself
+    /// in __EFMigrationsHistory and regenerate JobTrackerContextModelSnapshot.cs to match the
+    /// current C# model, so `dotnet ef migrations add` produces a real (small) diff for the *next*
+    /// schema change instead of scaffolding the whole database again. It changes no data or schema.
+    /// </summary>
+    public partial class SyncModelSnapshot : Migration
+    {
+        protected override void Up(MigrationBuilder migrationBuilder)
+        {
+        }
+
+        protected override void Down(MigrationBuilder migrationBuilder)
+        {
+        }
+    }
+}

JobTrackerApi/Services/StartupInitializationExtensions.cs

@@ -9,6 +9,186 @@ namespace JobTrackerApi.Services;
 
 public static class StartupInitializationExtensions
 {
+    // SQLite-dialect schema helpers. Promoted from local functions to class-level statics so a
+    // second reconciliation pass can run after Migrate() creates the base tables on a brand-new
+    // database (see the CoreSchemaReady-adjacent block near the end of InitializeJobTrackerAsync):
+    // the ad-hoc EnsureColumn calls below no-op on a table that doesn't exist yet, so a genuinely
+    // fresh boot needs them re-run once Migrate() has created JobApplications/Correspondences.
+    private static bool HasTable(DbConnection c, string table)
+    {
+        using var cmd = c.CreateCommand();
+        cmd.CommandText = "SELECT 1 FROM sqlite_master WHERE type='table' AND name=$name LIMIT 1;";
+        var p = cmd.CreateParameter();
+        p.ParameterName = "$name";
+        p.Value = table;
+        cmd.Parameters.Add(p);
+        return cmd.ExecuteScalar() is not null;
+    }
+
+    private static bool HasColumn(DbConnection c, string table, string column)
+    {
+        using var cmd = c.CreateCommand();
+        cmd.CommandText = $"SELECT 1 FROM pragma_table_info('{table}') WHERE name = '{column}' LIMIT 1;";
+        return cmd.ExecuteScalar() is not null;
+    }
+
+    private static bool HasMigration(DbConnection c, string migrationId)
+    {
+        if (!HasTable(c, "__EFMigrationsHistory")) return false;
+        using var cmd = c.CreateCommand();
+        cmd.CommandText = "SELECT 1 FROM __EFMigrationsHistory WHERE MigrationId=$id LIMIT 1;";
+        var p = cmd.CreateParameter();
+        p.ParameterName = "$id";
+        p.Value = migrationId;
+        cmd.Parameters.Add(p);
+        return cmd.ExecuteScalar() is not null;
+    }
+
+    private static void Exec(DbConnection c, string sql)
+    {
+        using var cmd = c.CreateCommand();
+        cmd.CommandText = sql;
+        cmd.ExecuteNonQuery();
+    }
+
+    private static void EnsureColumn(DbConnection c, string table, string column, string ddl)
+    {
+        // Fresh databases won't have the table until EF migrations run.
+        if (!HasTable(c, table)) return;
+        if (!HasColumn(c, table, column)) Exec(c, ddl);
+    }
+
+    // Ad-hoc columns/backfills added over time without a matching EF migration (the reason the
+    // ModelSnapshot drifted -- see the SyncModelSnapshot migration's doc comment). Safe to call
+    // any number of times against any connection state: every check no-ops if the table or
+    // column doesn't exist yet or already matches.
+    private static void ReconcileCoreAppColumns(DbConnection conn)
+    {
+        EnsureColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "ShortSummary", "ALTER TABLE JobApplications ADD COLUMN ShortSummary TEXT NULL;");
+        EnsureColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "TailoredCvText", "ALTER TABLE JobApplications ADD COLUMN TailoredCvText TEXT NULL;");
+        EnsureColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "TailoredCvUpdatedAt", "ALTER TABLE JobApplications ADD COLUMN TailoredCvUpdatedAt TEXT NULL;");
+        EnsureColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "LastReminderEmailSentAt", "ALTER TABLE JobApplications ADD COLUMN LastReminderEmailSentAt TEXT NULL;");
+        EnsureColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "RecruiterMessageDraft", "ALTER TABLE JobApplications ADD COLUMN RecruiterMessageDraft TEXT NULL;");
+        EnsureColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "SalaryMin", "ALTER TABLE JobApplications ADD COLUMN SalaryMin TEXT NULL;");
+        EnsureColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "SalaryMax", "ALTER TABLE JobApplications ADD COLUMN SalaryMax TEXT NULL;");
+        EnsureColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "SalaryCurrency", "ALTER TABLE JobApplications ADD COLUMN SalaryCurrency TEXT NULL;");
+        EnsureColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "SalaryPeriod", "ALTER TABLE JobApplications ADD COLUMN SalaryPeriod TEXT NULL;");
+        EnsureColumn(conn, "Companies", "OwnerUserId", "ALTER TABLE Companies ADD COLUMN OwnerUserId TEXT NULL;");
+        EnsureColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "OwnerUserId", "ALTER TABLE JobApplications ADD COLUMN OwnerUserId TEXT NULL;");
+        EnsureColumn(conn, "Correspondences", "Subject", "ALTER TABLE Correspondences ADD COLUMN Subject TEXT NULL;");
+        EnsureColumn(conn, "Correspondences", "Channel", "ALTER TABLE Correspondences ADD COLUMN Channel TEXT NULL;");
+        EnsureColumn(conn, "Correspondences", "ExternalMessageId", "ALTER TABLE Correspondences ADD COLUMN ExternalMessageId TEXT NULL;");
+        EnsureColumn(conn, "Correspondences", "ExternalThreadId", "ALTER TABLE Correspondences ADD COLUMN ExternalThreadId TEXT NULL;");
+        EnsureColumn(conn, "Correspondences", "ExternalFrom", "ALTER TABLE Correspondences ADD COLUMN ExternalFrom TEXT NULL;");
+        EnsureColumn(conn, "Correspondences", "ExternalTo", "ALTER TABLE Correspondences ADD COLUMN ExternalTo TEXT NULL;");
+        EnsureColumn(conn, "Correspondences", "Direction", "ALTER TABLE Correspondences ADD COLUMN Direction TEXT NULL;");
+        EnsureColumn(conn, "Correspondences", "ExternalLabelsJson", "ALTER TABLE Correspondences ADD COLUMN ExternalLabelsJson TEXT NULL;");
+        EnsureColumn(conn, "Correspondences", "AttachmentMetadataJson", "ALTER TABLE Correspondences ADD COLUMN AttachmentMetadataJson TEXT NULL;");
+        EnsureColumn(conn, "Correspondences", "Provider", "ALTER TABLE Correspondences ADD COLUMN Provider TEXT NULL;");
+        if (HasTable(conn, "Correspondences"))
+        {
+            Exec(conn, "UPDATE Correspondences SET Provider = 'gmail' WHERE Provider IS NULL AND ExternalThreadId IS NOT NULL;");
+            Exec(conn, "UPDATE Correspondences SET Provider = 'manual' WHERE Provider IS NULL;");
+        }
+        EnsureColumn(conn, "Attachments", "Purpose", "ALTER TABLE Attachments ADD COLUMN Purpose TEXT NULL;");
+        EnsureColumn(conn, "Attachments", "UseForAi", "ALTER TABLE Attachments ADD COLUMN UseForAi INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 1;");
+    }
+
+    // MySQL/MariaDB-dialect equivalents of the helpers above.
+    private static bool HasMySqlTable(DbConnection c, string table)
+    {
+        using var cmd = c.CreateCommand();
+        cmd.CommandText = "SELECT 1 FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLES WHERE TABLE_SCHEMA = @schema AND TABLE_NAME = @table LIMIT 1;";
+        var p1 = cmd.CreateParameter(); p1.ParameterName = "@schema"; p1.Value = c.Database; cmd.Parameters.Add(p1);
+        var p2 = cmd.CreateParameter(); p2.ParameterName = "@table"; p2.Value = table; cmd.Parameters.Add(p2);
+        return cmd.ExecuteScalar() is not null;
+    }
+
+    private static bool MySqlColumnExists(DbConnection c, string table, string column)
+    {
+        using var cmd = c.CreateCommand();
+        cmd.CommandText = "SELECT 1 FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS WHERE TABLE_SCHEMA = @schema AND TABLE_NAME = @table AND COLUMN_NAME = @column LIMIT 1;";
+        var p1 = cmd.CreateParameter(); p1.ParameterName = "@schema"; p1.Value = c.Database; cmd.Parameters.Add(p1);
+        var p2 = cmd.CreateParameter(); p2.ParameterName = "@table"; p2.Value = table; cmd.Parameters.Add(p2);
+        var p3 = cmd.CreateParameter(); p3.ParameterName = "@column"; p3.Value = column; cmd.Parameters.Add(p3);
+        return cmd.ExecuteScalar() is not null;
+    }
+
+    private static void EnsureMySqlColumn(DbConnection c, string table, string column, string ddl)
+    {
+        if (!HasMySqlTable(c, table)) return;
+        if (MySqlColumnExists(c, table, column)) return;
+        using var ddlCmd = c.CreateCommand();
+        ddlCmd.CommandText = ddl;
+        ddlCmd.ExecuteNonQuery();
+    }
+
+    // MySQL mirror of ReconcileCoreAppColumns -- same rationale (re-run after Migrate() on a
+    // brand-new database, where these tables didn't exist yet during the pre-Migrate pass).
+    private static void ReconcileCoreAppColumnsMySql(DbConnection conn)
+    {
+        EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "Companies", "OwnerUserId", "ALTER TABLE `Companies` ADD COLUMN `OwnerUserId` varchar(255) NULL;");
+        EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "Companies", "Source", "ALTER TABLE `Companies` ADD COLUMN `Source` longtext NULL;");
+        EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "Companies", "RecruiterName", "ALTER TABLE `Companies` ADD COLUMN `RecruiterName` longtext NULL;");
+        EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "Companies", "RecruiterEmail", "ALTER TABLE `Companies` ADD COLUMN `RecruiterEmail` longtext NULL;");
+        EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "Companies", "RecruiterLinkedIn", "ALTER TABLE `Companies` ADD COLUMN `RecruiterLinkedIn` longtext NULL;");
+        EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "Companies", "LastContactedAt", "ALTER TABLE `Companies` ADD COLUMN `LastContactedAt` datetime NULL;");
+        EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "Companies", "NextContactAt", "ALTER TABLE `Companies` ADD COLUMN `NextContactAt` datetime NULL;");
+        EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "Companies", "PipelineStage", "ALTER TABLE `Companies` ADD COLUMN `PipelineStage` longtext NULL;");
+        EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "OwnerUserId", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `OwnerUserId` varchar(255) NULL;");
+        EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "IsDeleted", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `IsDeleted` tinyint(1) NOT NULL DEFAULT 0;");
+        EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "DeletedAt", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `DeletedAt` datetime NULL;");
+        EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "Location", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `Location` longtext NULL;");
+        EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "Salary", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `Salary` longtext NULL;");
+        EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "SalaryMin", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `SalaryMin` decimal(18,2) NULL;");
+        EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "SalaryMax", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `SalaryMax` decimal(18,2) NULL;");
+        EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "SalaryCurrency", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `SalaryCurrency` varchar(8) NULL;");
+        EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "SalaryPeriod", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `SalaryPeriod` varchar(16) NULL;");
+        EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "NextAction", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `NextAction` longtext NULL;");
+        EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "FollowUpAt", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `FollowUpAt` datetime NULL;");
+        EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "FeedbackRequestedAt", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `FeedbackRequestedAt` datetime NULL;");
+        EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "RecruiterMessageDraft", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `RecruiterMessageDraft` longtext NULL;");
+        EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "ResponseReceived", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `ResponseReceived` tinyint(1) NOT NULL DEFAULT 0;");
+        EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "ResponseDate", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `ResponseDate` datetime NULL;");
+        EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "Notes", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `Notes` longtext NULL;");
+        EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "CoverLetterText", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `CoverLetterText` longtext NULL;");
+        EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "JobUrl", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `JobUrl` longtext NULL;");
+        EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "Description", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `Description` longtext NULL;");
+        EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "TranslatedDescription", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `TranslatedDescription` longtext NULL;");
+        EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "DescriptionLanguage", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `DescriptionLanguage` longtext NULL;");
+        EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "Tags", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `Tags` longtext NULL;");
+        EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "Deadline", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `Deadline` datetime NULL;");
+        EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "ShortSummary", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `ShortSummary` longtext NULL;");
+        EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "TailoredCvText", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `TailoredCvText` longtext NULL;");
+        EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "TailoredCvUpdatedAt", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `TailoredCvUpdatedAt` datetime NULL;");
+        EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "LastReminderEmailSentAt", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `LastReminderEmailSentAt` datetime NULL;");
+        EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "Correspondences", "Subject", "ALTER TABLE `Correspondences` ADD COLUMN `Subject` longtext NULL;");
+        EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "Correspondences", "Channel", "ALTER TABLE `Correspondences` ADD COLUMN `Channel` longtext NULL;");
+        EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "Correspondences", "ExternalMessageId", "ALTER TABLE `Correspondences` ADD COLUMN `ExternalMessageId` longtext NULL;");
+        EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "Correspondences", "ExternalThreadId", "ALTER TABLE `Correspondences` ADD COLUMN `ExternalThreadId` longtext NULL;");
+        EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "Correspondences", "ExternalFrom", "ALTER TABLE `Correspondences` ADD COLUMN `ExternalFrom` longtext NULL;");
+        EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "Correspondences", "ExternalTo", "ALTER TABLE `Correspondences` ADD COLUMN `ExternalTo` longtext NULL;");
+        EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "Correspondences", "Direction", "ALTER TABLE `Correspondences` ADD COLUMN `Direction` varchar(100) NULL;");
+        EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "Correspondences", "ExternalLabelsJson", "ALTER TABLE `Correspondences` ADD COLUMN `ExternalLabelsJson` longtext NULL;");
+        EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "Correspondences", "AttachmentMetadataJson", "ALTER TABLE `Correspondences` ADD COLUMN `AttachmentMetadataJson` longtext NULL;");
+        EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "Correspondences", "Provider", "ALTER TABLE `Correspondences` ADD COLUMN `Provider` varchar(50) NULL;");
+        if (HasMySqlTable(conn, "Correspondences"))
+        {
+            using (var backfillGmail = conn.CreateCommand())
+            {
+                backfillGmail.CommandText = "UPDATE `Correspondences` SET `Provider` = 'gmail' WHERE `Provider` IS NULL AND `ExternalThreadId` IS NOT NULL;";
+                backfillGmail.ExecuteNonQuery();
+            }
+            using (var backfillManual = conn.CreateCommand())
+            {
+                backfillManual.CommandText = "UPDATE `Correspondences` SET `Provider` = 'manual' WHERE `Provider` IS NULL;";
+                backfillManual.ExecuteNonQuery();
+            }
+        }
+        EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "Attachments", "Purpose", "ALTER TABLE `Attachments` ADD COLUMN `Purpose` varchar(100) NULL;");
+        EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "Attachments", "UseForAi", "ALTER TABLE `Attachments` ADD COLUMN `UseForAi` tinyint(1) NOT NULL DEFAULT 1;");
+    }
+
     public static Task InitializeJobTrackerAsync(this WebApplication app)
     {
         // Apply EF migrations on startup (SQLite dev DB lives in the repo).
@@ -130,50 +310,6 @@ public static class StartupInitializationExtensions
                 using DbConnection conn = db.Database.GetDbConnection();
                 conn.Open();
 
-                static bool HasTable(DbConnection c, string table)
-                {
-                    using var cmd = c.CreateCommand();
-                    cmd.CommandText = "SELECT 1 FROM sqlite_master WHERE type='table' AND name=$name LIMIT 1;";
-                    var p = cmd.CreateParameter();
-                    p.ParameterName = "$name";
-                    p.Value = table;
-                    cmd.Parameters.Add(p);
-                    return cmd.ExecuteScalar() is not null;
-                }
-
-                static bool HasColumn(DbConnection c, string table, string column)
-                {
-                    using var cmd = c.CreateCommand();
-                    cmd.CommandText = $"SELECT 1 FROM pragma_table_info('{table}') WHERE name = '{column}' LIMIT 1;";
-                    return cmd.ExecuteScalar() is not null;
-                }
-
-                static bool HasMigration(DbConnection c, string migrationId)
-                {
-                    if (!HasTable(c, "__EFMigrationsHistory")) return false;
-                    using var cmd = c.CreateCommand();
-                    cmd.CommandText = "SELECT 1 FROM __EFMigrationsHistory WHERE MigrationId=$id LIMIT 1;";
-                    var p = cmd.CreateParameter();
-                    p.ParameterName = "$id";
-                    p.Value = migrationId;
-                    cmd.Parameters.Add(p);
-                    return cmd.ExecuteScalar() is not null;
-                }
-
-                static void Exec(DbConnection c, string sql)
-                {
-                    using var cmd = c.CreateCommand();
-                    cmd.CommandText = sql;
-                    cmd.ExecuteNonQuery();
-                }
-
-                static void EnsureColumn(DbConnection c, string table, string column, string ddl)
-                {
-                    // Fresh databases won't have the table until EF migrations run.
-                    if (!HasTable(c, table)) return;
-                    if (!HasColumn(c, table, column)) Exec(c, ddl);
-                }
-
                 static void EnsureIdentityTables(DbConnection c)
                 {
                     // EF migrations are used for the app schema. In some environments `dotnet ef` isn’t available,
@@ -530,39 +666,10 @@ public static class StartupInitializationExtensions
                 }
 
                 // Some dev DBs may not match the "legacy" fingerprint above but still lack
-                // the ShortSummary column. Ensure it exists unconditionally if missing.
-                EnsureColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "ShortSummary", "ALTER TABLE JobApplications ADD COLUMN ShortSummary TEXT NULL;");
-                EnsureColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "TailoredCvText", "ALTER TABLE JobApplications ADD COLUMN TailoredCvText TEXT NULL;");
-                EnsureColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "TailoredCvUpdatedAt", "ALTER TABLE JobApplications ADD COLUMN TailoredCvUpdatedAt TEXT NULL;");
-                EnsureColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "LastReminderEmailSentAt", "ALTER TABLE JobApplications ADD COLUMN LastReminderEmailSentAt TEXT NULL;");
-                EnsureColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "RecruiterMessageDraft", "ALTER TABLE JobApplications ADD COLUMN RecruiterMessageDraft TEXT NULL;");
-
-                // Structured salary fields (EF maps decimal to TEXT on SQLite).
-                EnsureColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "SalaryMin", "ALTER TABLE JobApplications ADD COLUMN SalaryMin TEXT NULL;");
-                EnsureColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "SalaryMax", "ALTER TABLE JobApplications ADD COLUMN SalaryMax TEXT NULL;");
-                EnsureColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "SalaryCurrency", "ALTER TABLE JobApplications ADD COLUMN SalaryCurrency TEXT NULL;");
-                EnsureColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "SalaryPeriod", "ALTER TABLE JobApplications ADD COLUMN SalaryPeriod TEXT NULL;");
-
-                // Ensure ownership columns exist even on non-legacy DBs.
-                EnsureColumn(conn, "Companies", "OwnerUserId", "ALTER TABLE Companies ADD COLUMN OwnerUserId TEXT NULL;");
-                EnsureColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "OwnerUserId", "ALTER TABLE JobApplications ADD COLUMN OwnerUserId TEXT NULL;");
-                EnsureColumn(conn, "Correspondences", "Subject", "ALTER TABLE Correspondences ADD COLUMN Subject TEXT NULL;");
-                EnsureColumn(conn, "Correspondences", "Channel", "ALTER TABLE Correspondences ADD COLUMN Channel TEXT NULL;");
-                EnsureColumn(conn, "Correspondences", "ExternalMessageId", "ALTER TABLE Correspondences ADD COLUMN ExternalMessageId TEXT NULL;");
-                EnsureColumn(conn, "Correspondences", "ExternalThreadId", "ALTER TABLE Correspondences ADD COLUMN ExternalThreadId TEXT NULL;");
-                EnsureColumn(conn, "Correspondences", "ExternalFrom", "ALTER TABLE Correspondences ADD COLUMN ExternalFrom TEXT NULL;");
-                EnsureColumn(conn, "Correspondences", "ExternalTo", "ALTER TABLE Correspondences ADD COLUMN ExternalTo TEXT NULL;");
-                EnsureColumn(conn, "Correspondences", "Direction", "ALTER TABLE Correspondences ADD COLUMN Direction TEXT NULL;");
-                EnsureColumn(conn, "Correspondences", "ExternalLabelsJson", "ALTER TABLE Correspondences ADD COLUMN ExternalLabelsJson TEXT NULL;");
-                EnsureColumn(conn, "Correspondences", "AttachmentMetadataJson", "ALTER TABLE Correspondences ADD COLUMN AttachmentMetadataJson TEXT NULL;");
-                EnsureColumn(conn, "Correspondences", "Provider", "ALTER TABLE Correspondences ADD COLUMN Provider TEXT NULL;");
-                // Backfill: historically the only import source was Gmail (rows with an
-                // ExternalThreadId); everything else was hand-entered. Idempotent — only touches
-                // rows the app hasn't tagged yet.
-                Exec(conn, "UPDATE Correspondences SET Provider = 'gmail' WHERE Provider IS NULL AND ExternalThreadId IS NOT NULL;");
-                Exec(conn, "UPDATE Correspondences SET Provider = 'manual' WHERE Provider IS NULL;");
-                EnsureColumn(conn, "Attachments", "Purpose", "ALTER TABLE Attachments ADD COLUMN Purpose TEXT NULL;");
-                EnsureColumn(conn, "Attachments", "UseForAi", "ALTER TABLE Attachments ADD COLUMN UseForAi INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 1;");
+                // later ad-hoc columns. Ensure them unconditionally if missing (also re-run once
+                // more after Migrate() below, in case this is a brand-new DB where these tables
+                // didn't exist yet at this point).
+                ReconcileCoreAppColumns(conn);
 
                 // Hot-path composite indexes for tenant-scoped list/board/stats/analytics
                 // (OwnerUserId + IsDeleted) and reminders (OwnerUserId + FollowUpAt). Guarded
@@ -586,18 +693,6 @@ public static class StartupInitializationExtensions
                     conn.Open();
                     EnsureIdentityTablesMySql(conn);
 
-                    static bool MySqlColumnExists(DbConnection c, string table, string column)
-                    {
-                        using var cmd = c.CreateCommand();
-                        cmd.CommandText = "SELECT 1 FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS WHERE TABLE_SCHEMA = @schema AND TABLE_NAME = @table AND COLUMN_NAME = @column LIMIT 1;";
-
-                        var p1 = cmd.CreateParameter(); p1.ParameterName = "@schema"; p1.Value = c.Database; cmd.Parameters.Add(p1);
-                        var p2 = cmd.CreateParameter(); p2.ParameterName = "@table"; p2.Value = table; cmd.Parameters.Add(p2);
-                        var p3 = cmd.CreateParameter(); p3.ParameterName = "@column"; p3.Value = column; cmd.Parameters.Add(p3);
-
-                        return cmd.ExecuteScalar() is not null;
-                    }
-
                     static bool MySqlIndexExists(DbConnection c, string table, string indexName)
                     {
                         using var cmd = c.CreateCommand();
@@ -610,28 +705,6 @@ public static class StartupInitializationExtensions
                         return cmd.ExecuteScalar() is not null;
                     }
 
-                    static bool HasMySqlTable(DbConnection c, string table)
-                    {
-                        using var cmd = c.CreateCommand();
-                        cmd.CommandText = "SELECT 1 FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLES WHERE TABLE_SCHEMA = @schema AND TABLE_NAME = @table LIMIT 1;";
-                        var p1 = cmd.CreateParameter(); p1.ParameterName = "@schema"; p1.Value = c.Database; cmd.Parameters.Add(p1);
-                        var p2 = cmd.CreateParameter(); p2.ParameterName = "@table"; p2.Value = table; cmd.Parameters.Add(p2);
-                        return cmd.ExecuteScalar() is not null;
-                    }
-
-                    static void EnsureMySqlColumn(DbConnection c, string table, string column, string ddl)
-                    {
-                        using var existsCmd = c.CreateCommand();
-                        existsCmd.CommandText = "SELECT 1 FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLES WHERE TABLE_SCHEMA = @schema AND TABLE_NAME = @table LIMIT 1;";
-                        var ep1 = existsCmd.CreateParameter(); ep1.ParameterName = "@schema"; ep1.Value = c.Database; existsCmd.Parameters.Add(ep1);
-                        var ep2 = existsCmd.CreateParameter(); ep2.ParameterName = "@table"; ep2.Value = table; existsCmd.Parameters.Add(ep2);
-                        if (existsCmd.ExecuteScalar() is null) return;
-
-                        if (MySqlColumnExists(c, table, column)) return;
-                        using var ddlCmd = c.CreateCommand();
-                        ddlCmd.CommandText = ddl;
-                        ddlCmd.ExecuteNonQuery();
-                    }
 
                     static bool MySqlIntPrimaryKeyIsAutoIncrement(DbConnection c, string table, string column)
                     {
@@ -671,63 +744,10 @@ public static class StartupInitializationExtensions
                     EnsureMySqlAutoIncrementPrimaryKey(conn, "CvExtractionRuns", "Id");
                     EnsureMySqlAutoIncrementPrimaryKey(conn, "TailoredCvDrafts", "Id");
 
-                    EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "Companies", "OwnerUserId", "ALTER TABLE `Companies` ADD COLUMN `OwnerUserId` varchar(255) NULL;");
-                    EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "Companies", "Source", "ALTER TABLE `Companies` ADD COLUMN `Source` longtext NULL;");
-                    EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "Companies", "RecruiterName", "ALTER TABLE `Companies` ADD COLUMN `RecruiterName` longtext NULL;");
-                    EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "Companies", "RecruiterEmail", "ALTER TABLE `Companies` ADD COLUMN `RecruiterEmail` longtext NULL;");
-                    EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "Companies", "RecruiterLinkedIn", "ALTER TABLE `Companies` ADD COLUMN `RecruiterLinkedIn` longtext NULL;");
-                    EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "Companies", "LastContactedAt", "ALTER TABLE `Companies` ADD COLUMN `LastContactedAt` datetime NULL;");
-                    EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "Companies", "NextContactAt", "ALTER TABLE `Companies` ADD COLUMN `NextContactAt` datetime NULL;");
-                    EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "Companies", "PipelineStage", "ALTER TABLE `Companies` ADD COLUMN `PipelineStage` longtext NULL;");
-                    EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "OwnerUserId", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `OwnerUserId` varchar(255) NULL;");
-                    EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "IsDeleted", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `IsDeleted` tinyint(1) NOT NULL DEFAULT 0;");
-                    EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "DeletedAt", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `DeletedAt` datetime NULL;");
-                    EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "Location", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `Location` longtext NULL;");
-                    EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "Salary", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `Salary` longtext NULL;");
-                    EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "SalaryMin", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `SalaryMin` decimal(18,2) NULL;");
-                    EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "SalaryMax", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `SalaryMax` decimal(18,2) NULL;");
-                    EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "SalaryCurrency", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `SalaryCurrency` varchar(8) NULL;");
-                    EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "SalaryPeriod", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `SalaryPeriod` varchar(16) NULL;");
-                    EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "NextAction", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `NextAction` longtext NULL;");
-                    EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "FollowUpAt", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `FollowUpAt` datetime NULL;");
-                    EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "FeedbackRequestedAt", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `FeedbackRequestedAt` datetime NULL;");
-                    EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "RecruiterMessageDraft", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `RecruiterMessageDraft` longtext NULL;");
-                    EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "ResponseReceived", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `ResponseReceived` tinyint(1) NOT NULL DEFAULT 0;");
-                    EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "ResponseDate", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `ResponseDate` datetime NULL;");
-                    EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "Notes", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `Notes` longtext NULL;");
-                    EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "CoverLetterText", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `CoverLetterText` longtext NULL;");
-                    EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "JobUrl", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `JobUrl` longtext NULL;");
-                    EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "Description", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `Description` longtext NULL;");
-                    EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "TranslatedDescription", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `TranslatedDescription` longtext NULL;");
-                    EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "DescriptionLanguage", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `DescriptionLanguage` longtext NULL;");
-                    EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "Tags", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `Tags` longtext NULL;");
-                    EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "Deadline", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `Deadline` datetime NULL;");
-                    EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "ShortSummary", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `ShortSummary` longtext NULL;");
-                    EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "TailoredCvText", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `TailoredCvText` longtext NULL;");
-                    EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "TailoredCvUpdatedAt", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `TailoredCvUpdatedAt` datetime NULL;");
-                    EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "JobApplications", "LastReminderEmailSentAt", "ALTER TABLE `JobApplications` ADD COLUMN `LastReminderEmailSentAt` datetime NULL;");
-                    EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "Correspondences", "Subject", "ALTER TABLE `Correspondences` ADD COLUMN `Subject` longtext NULL;");
-                    EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "Correspondences", "Channel", "ALTER TABLE `Correspondences` ADD COLUMN `Channel` longtext NULL;");
-                    EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "Correspondences", "ExternalMessageId", "ALTER TABLE `Correspondences` ADD COLUMN `ExternalMessageId` longtext NULL;");
-                    EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "Correspondences", "ExternalThreadId", "ALTER TABLE `Correspondences` ADD COLUMN `ExternalThreadId` longtext NULL;");
-                    EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "Correspondences", "ExternalFrom", "ALTER TABLE `Correspondences` ADD COLUMN `ExternalFrom` longtext NULL;");
-                    EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "Correspondences", "ExternalTo", "ALTER TABLE `Correspondences` ADD COLUMN `ExternalTo` longtext NULL;");
-                    EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "Correspondences", "Direction", "ALTER TABLE `Correspondences` ADD COLUMN `Direction` varchar(100) NULL;");
-                    EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "Correspondences", "ExternalLabelsJson", "ALTER TABLE `Correspondences` ADD COLUMN `ExternalLabelsJson` longtext NULL;");
-                    EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "Correspondences", "AttachmentMetadataJson", "ALTER TABLE `Correspondences` ADD COLUMN `AttachmentMetadataJson` longtext NULL;");
-                    EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "Correspondences", "Provider", "ALTER TABLE `Correspondences` ADD COLUMN `Provider` varchar(50) NULL;");
-                    using (var backfillGmail = conn.CreateCommand())
-                    {
-                        backfillGmail.CommandText = "UPDATE `Correspondences` SET `Provider` = 'gmail' WHERE `Provider` IS NULL AND `ExternalThreadId` IS NOT NULL;";
-                        backfillGmail.ExecuteNonQuery();
-                    }
-                    using (var backfillManual = conn.CreateCommand())
-                    {
-                        backfillManual.CommandText = "UPDATE `Correspondences` SET `Provider` = 'manual' WHERE `Provider` IS NULL;";
-                        backfillManual.ExecuteNonQuery();
-                    }
-                    EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "Attachments", "Purpose", "ALTER TABLE `Attachments` ADD COLUMN `Purpose` varchar(100) NULL;");
-                    EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "Attachments", "UseForAi", "ALTER TABLE `Attachments` ADD COLUMN `UseForAi` tinyint(1) NOT NULL DEFAULT 1;");
+                    // Ad-hoc columns for the tables Migrate() creates (Companies/JobApplications/
+                    // Correspondences/Attachments) -- re-run once more after Migrate() below via
+                    // ReconcileCoreAppColumnsMySql, in case this is a brand-new database.
+                    ReconcileCoreAppColumnsMySql(conn);
                     EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "AspNetUsers", "ProfileCvText", "ALTER TABLE `AspNetUsers` ADD COLUMN `ProfileCvText` longtext NULL;");
                     EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "AspNetUsers", "ProfileCvStructureJson", "ALTER TABLE `AspNetUsers` ADD COLUMN `ProfileCvStructureJson` longtext NULL;");
                     EnsureMySqlColumn(conn, "AspNetUsers", "CurrentCvUploadArtifactId", "ALTER TABLE `AspNetUsers` ADD COLUMN `CurrentCvUploadArtifactId` int NULL;");
@@ -1185,6 +1205,20 @@ public static class StartupInitializationExtensions
                 app.Logger.LogWarning("Core schema is incomplete after startup initialization. Background services will remain paused until required tables exist.");
                 return Task.CompletedTask;
             }
+
+            // On a brand-new database, the ad-hoc-column reconciliation above ran before
+            // Migrate() created JobApplications/Correspondences, so every EnsureColumn call
+            // no-opped. Now that CoreSchemaReady confirms the tables exist (created either just
+            // now by Migrate(), or already, on a prior boot), re-run it -- idempotent, so this is
+            // free on every boot except the very first one, where it's required.
+            if (runtimeProvider is "mysql" or "mariadb")
+            {
+                ReconcileCoreAppColumnsMySql(conn);
+            }
+            else
+            {
+                ReconcileCoreAppColumns(conn);
+            }
         }
 
         var readiness = app.Services.GetRequiredService<IStartupReadiness>();