Prisma Database

For project-specific database schema and connection details, see database-config.md.

Commands

npx prisma init                    # Initialize Prisma in the project
npx prisma generate                # Generate Prisma Client from schema
npx prisma migrate dev             # Create and apply migration (dev)
npx prisma migrate deploy          # Apply pending migrations (production)
npx prisma migrate reset           # Reset database and apply all migrations
npx prisma db push                 # Push schema changes without migration
npx prisma db pull                 # Introspect database into schema
npx prisma db seed                 # Run seed script
npx prisma studio                  # Open visual database editor
npx prisma format                  # Format schema file
npx prisma validate                # Validate schema syntax

Schema Design

// prisma/schema.prisma
generator client {
  provider = "prisma-client-js"
}

datasource db {
  provider = "postgresql"
  url      = env("DATABASE_URL")
}

model User {
  id        String   @id @default(cuid())
  email     String   @unique
  name      String?
  posts     Post[]
  createdAt DateTime @default(now())
  updatedAt DateTime @updatedAt

  @@index([email])
  @@map("users")
}

model Post {
  id        String   @id @default(cuid())
  title     String
  content   String?
  published Boolean  @default(false)
  author    User     @relation(fields: [authorId], references: [id], onDelete: Cascade)
  authorId  String

  @@index([authorId])
  @@map("posts")
}

Schema Best Practices (Prisma gotchas)

• Use cuid() or uuid() for IDs in distributed systems (avoid serial increments).
• Always include createdAt and updatedAt timestamps for auditability and migrations.
• Prefer explicit @relation definitions and add @@index on frequently queried columns.
• Review @map/@@map uses when renaming to prevent accidental column/table mismatches.
• Avoid editing applied migration files; create corrective migrations instead.

Migration Rules (Prisma-specific)

1. Use npx prisma migrate dev during development to generate migrations; inspect the generated SQL before applying.
2. Use npx prisma migrate deploy in CI/CD; never run migrate dev in production.
3. Name migrations descriptively and include backfill steps for destructive changes.
4. Regenerate the client after schema changes: npx prisma generate.

Migration Workflow: validate → fix → retry (Prisma-focused)

1. Run npx prisma migrate dev --name <desc> locally to generate SQL.
2. Inspect prisma/migrations/<timestamp>/migration.sql for destructive operations and add backfills as needed.
3. Apply to a local/ephemeral DB and run tests; revert and adjust if failures occur.
4. Push migration to CI with npx prisma migrate deploy and assert clean application.

For query patterns, singleton client pattern, and runnable CRUD examples see REFERENCE.md in this directory.