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Prisma CLI

Next-generation ORM for Node.js and TypeScript

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Cloud & Services Development Data & JSON linuxmacoswindows Rust Apache-2.0

Description

Prisma CLI is the command-line interface for Prisma, the next-generation ORM for Node.js and TypeScript. It handles database migrations, schema management, data seeding, and provides Prisma Studio for visual database browsing. Prisma generates a type-safe client from your schema definition.

Install

npmnpm i -g prisma

AI Summary

CLI for the Prisma ORM. Manages database schemas, runs migrations, generates type-safe clients, seeds data, and provides a visual database browser (Prisma Studio).

Capabilities

  • + Generate type-safe database client from Prisma schema
  • + Create and run database migrations
  • + Introspect existing databases to generate Prisma schema
  • + Seed databases with initial or test data
  • + Launch Prisma Studio for visual database browsing
  • + Validate and format Prisma schema files
  • + Support for PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, SQL Server, MongoDB, and CockroachDB

Use When

  • → Managing database schemas and migrations in Node.js/TypeScript projects
  • → Need a type-safe ORM with auto-generated client code
  • → Introspecting an existing database to generate a schema
  • → Want a visual database browser without installing separate tools

Avoid When

  • x Not using Node.js or TypeScript
  • x Working with non-supported databases
  • x Prefer writing raw SQL without an ORM layer

Usage Patterns

Initialize Prisma in a project

prisma init --datasource-provider postgresql

Sets up Prisma with a PostgreSQL datasource and creates schema.prisma

Create and apply a migration

prisma migrate dev --name add-users-table

Creates a named migration from schema changes and applies it

Generate the Prisma Client

prisma generate

Generates the type-safe client from the current schema

Open visual database browser

prisma studio

Launches Prisma Studio in the browser for viewing and editing data

Input / Output

stdin: Accepts interactive input for migration naming and confirmations
stdout: Migration status, generation output, and schema validation results
stderr: Error messages, schema validation errors, and migration conflicts

Typical Pipelines

prisma migrate dev --name init && prisma generate to create migration and regenerate client
prisma db pull && prisma generate to introspect an existing database and generate the client
railway run prisma migrate deploy to run migrations against a Railway-hosted database

Related Tools

railway complementary

Railway can host Prisma-backed apps with managed databases
litecli complementary

litecli provides interactive SQLite access for Prisma SQLite databases
pgcli complementary

pgcli provides interactive PostgreSQL access alongside Prisma
View AGENTS.md for Prisma CLI