Prisma Database Setup

Comprehensive guides for configuring Prisma ORM with various database providers.

When to Apply

Reference this skill when:

Initializing a new Prisma project

Switching database providers

Configuring connection strings and environment variables

Troubleshooting database connection issues

Setting up database-specific features

Generating and instantiating Prisma Client

Rule Categories by Priority

Priority

Category

Impact

Prefix

1

Provider Guides

CRITICAL

provider names

2

Prisma Postgres

HIGH

prisma-postgres

3

Client Setup

CRITICAL

prisma-client-setup

System Prerequisites (Prisma ORM 7)

Node.js 20.19.0+

TypeScript 5.4.0+

Bun Runtime

If you're using Bun, run Prisma CLI commands with

bunx --bun prisma ...

so Prisma uses the Bun runtime instead of falling back to Node.js.

Supported Databases

Database

Provider String

Notes

PostgreSQL

postgresql

Default, full feature support

MySQL

mysql

Widespread support, some JSON diffs

SQLite

sqlite

Local file-based, no enum/scalar lists

MongoDB

mongodb

NOT SUPPORTED IN v7

(Use v6)

SQL Server

sqlserver

Microsoft ecosystem

CockroachDB

cockroachdb

Distributed SQL, Postgres-compatible

Prisma Postgres

postgresql

Managed serverless database

Configuration Files

Prisma v7 uses two main files for configuration:

prisma/schema.prisma

Defines the

datasource

block.

prisma.config.ts

Configures the connection URL (replaces env loading in schema). Driver Adapters (Prisma ORM 7) Prisma ORM 7 uses the query compiler by default, which requires a driver adapter . Choose the adapter and driver for your database and pass the adapter to PrismaClient . Database Adapter JS Driver PostgreSQL @prisma/adapter-pg pg CockroachDB @prisma/adapter-pg pg Prisma Postgres @prisma/adapter-ppg @prisma/ppg MySQL / MariaDB @prisma/adapter-mariadb mariadb SQLite @prisma/adapter-better-sqlite3 better-sqlite3 SQLite (Turso/LibSQL) @prisma/adapter-libsql @libsql/client SQL Server @prisma/adapter-mssql node-mssql Example (PostgreSQL): import 'dotenv/config' import { PrismaClient } from '../generated/client' import { PrismaPg } from '@prisma/adapter-pg' const adapter = new PrismaPg ( { connectionString : process . env . DATABASE_URL } ) const prisma = new PrismaClient ( { adapter } ) Prisma Client Setup (Required) Prisma Client must be installed and generated for any database. Install Prisma CLI and Prisma Client: npm install prisma --save-dev npm install @prisma/client Add a generator block (output is required in Prisma v7): generator client { provider = "prisma-client" output = "../generated" } Generate Prisma Client: npx prisma generate Instantiate Prisma Client with the database-specific driver adapter: import { PrismaClient } from '../generated/client' import { PrismaPg } from '@prisma/adapter-pg' const adapter = new PrismaPg ( { connectionString : process . env . DATABASE_URL } ) const prisma = new PrismaClient ( { adapter } ) Re-run prisma generate after every schema change. Quick Reference PostgreSQL datasource db { provider = "postgresql" } generator client { provider = "prisma-client" output = "../generated" } MySQL datasource db { provider = "mysql" } generator client { provider = "prisma-client" output = "../generated" } SQLite datasource db { provider = "sqlite" } generator client { provider = "prisma-client" output = "../generated" } MongoDB (Prisma v6 only) datasource db { provider = "mongodb" url = env("DATABASE_URL") } generator client { provider = "prisma-client-js" } Rule Files See individual rule files for detailed setup instructions: references/postgresql.md references/mysql.md references/sqlite.md references/mongodb.md references/sqlserver.md references/cockroachdb.md references/prisma-postgres.md references/prisma-client-setup.md How to Use Choose the provider reference file for your database, then apply references/prisma-client-setup.md to complete client generation and adapter setup.