Library

Prisma ORM

Overview

Prisma ORM is a next-generation ORM for TypeScript/JavaScript. It features type safety, auto-generated client, and intuitive data modeling language, supporting PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, MongoDB, and SQL Server. It's a modern ORM designed with developer experience as the top priority.

Details

Prisma adopts a different approach from traditional ORMs. With its schema-first design, you declaratively define database schemas and automatically generate type-safe client code from them. This significantly reduces runtime errors and improves developer productivity.

Key Features

• Type Safety: Complete integration with TypeScript
• Auto Migrations: Safe application of schema changes
• Prisma Studio: Visual database management tool
• Rich Relations: Easy expression of complex data relationships
• Performance Optimization: Efficient query generation

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Overwhelming type safety in TypeScript development
• Intuitive query syntax with low learning curve
• Safe schema management through auto-generated migrations
• Excellent performance in serverless environments
• Active community and comprehensive documentation

Cons

• Schema-first approach requires effort for existing database migration
• Generated client can become large in some cases
• Limitations in expressing complex SQL statements
• Limited enterprise track record as a relatively new tool

Reference Pages

• Prisma Official Site
• Prisma Documentation
• Prisma GitHub

Code Examples

Basic Setup

npm install prisma @prisma/client
npx prisma init

Schema Definition

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

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

model User {
  id    Int     @id @default(autoincrement())
  name  String
  email String  @unique
  posts Post[]
}

model Post {
  id       Int    @id @default(autoincrement())
  title    String
  content  String
  authorId Int
  author   User   @relation(fields: [authorId], references: [id])
}

Client Generation and Queries

import { PrismaClient } from '@prisma/client'

const prisma = new PrismaClient()

// Create user
const user = await prisma.user.create({
  data: {
    name: 'John Doe',
    email: '[email protected]',
    posts: {
      create: {
        title: 'First Post',
        content: 'My first post using Prisma'
      }
    }
  }
})

// Get user with posts
const userWithPosts = await prisma.user.findUnique({
  where: { email: '[email protected]' },
  include: { posts: true }
})

Transactions

const result = await prisma.$transaction(async (tx) => {
  const user = await tx.user.create({
    data: { name: 'Jane Smith', email: '[email protected]' }
  })
  
  const post = await tx.post.create({
    data: {
      title: 'Transaction Test',
      content: 'Post created within transaction',
      authorId: user.id
    }
  })
  
  return { user, post }
})

Complex Queries

// Search with pagination
const posts = await prisma.post.findMany({
  where: {
    title: { contains: 'Prisma' },
    author: { email: { endsWith: '@example.com' } }
  },
  include: { author: true },
  orderBy: { createdAt: 'desc' },
  skip: 10,
  take: 5
})

// Aggregation queries
const postCount = await prisma.post.groupBy({
  by: ['authorId'],
  _count: { id: true },
  having: { id: { _count: { gt: 5 } } }
})

Migrations

# Generate migration
npx prisma migrate dev --name add_user_model

# Apply migration to production
npx prisma migrate deploy

# Reset schema (development only)
npx prisma migrate reset