Multiple databases

This guide shows you how to use multiple databases using Prisma ORM in a single Next.js app. You will learn how to connect to two different Prisma Postgres databases, manage migrations, and deploy your application to Vercel. This approach is useful for multi-tenant applications or when you need to separate concerns when managing connections to multiple databases.

Before you begin, make sure that you have the following:

• Node.js 20+ installed.
• A Prisma Data Platform account.
• A Vercel account (if you plan to deploy your application).

Create a new Next.js app using create-next-app from your desired directory:

bunx create-next-app@latest my-multi-client-app

pnpm dlx create-next-app@latest my-multi-client-app

yarn dlx create-next-app@latest my-multi-client-app

npx create-next-app@latest my-multi-client-app

You will be prompted to answer a few questions about your project. Select all of the defaults.

Then, navigate to the project directory:

cd my-multi-client-app

In this section, you will create two separate Prisma Postgres instances, one for user data and one for post data. You will also configure the Prisma schema and environment variables for each.

First, install Prisma and the required dependencies:

bun add prisma@prev tsx @types/pg --dev

pnpm add prisma@prev tsx @types/pg --save-dev

yarn add prisma@prev tsx @types/pg --dev

npm install prisma@prev tsx @types/pg --save-dev

bun add @prisma/client@7 @prisma/adapter-pg dotenv pg

pnpm add @prisma/client@7 @prisma/adapter-pg dotenv pg

yarn add @prisma/client@7 @prisma/adapter-pg dotenv pg

npm install @prisma/client@7 @prisma/adapter-pg dotenv pg

You have installed the required dependencies for the project.

Initialize Prisma with a Prisma Postgres instance by running:

bunx --bun prisma@prev init --db

pnpm dlx prisma@prev init --db

yarn dlx prisma@prev init --db

npx prisma@prev init --db

mv prisma prisma-user-database

DATABASE_URL="postgresql://user:password@host:5432/database?sslmode=require"PPG_USER_DATABASE_URL="postgresql://user:password@host:5432/database?sslmode=require"

generator client {  provider = "prisma-client"  output = "../prisma-user-database/user-database-client-types"}datasource db {  provider = "postgresql"}model User {  id    Int     @id @default(autoincrement())  email String  @unique  name  String?}

import "dotenv/config";import { defineConfig, env } from "prisma/config";export default defineConfig({  schema: "prisma-user-database/schema.prisma",  migrations: {    path: "prisma-user-database/migrations",  },  datasource: {    url: env("PPG_USER_DATABASE_URL"),  },});

Follow the prompts to name your project and choose a database region.

The prisma@prev init --db command:

• Connects your CLI to your Prisma Data Platform account. If you are not logged in or do not have an account, your browser will open to guide you through creating a new account or signing into your existing one.
• Creates a prisma directory containing a schema.prisma file for your database models.
• Creates a .env file with your DATABASE_URL (e.g., DATABASE_URL="postgresql://user:password@host:5432/database?sslmode=require").

Rename the prisma folder to prisma-user-database:

mv prisma prisma-user-database

Edit your .env file to rename DATABASE_URL to PPG_USER_DATABASE_URL:

DATABASE_URL="postgresql://user:password@host:5432/database?sslmode=require"

PPG_USER_DATABASE_URL="postgresql://user:password@host:5432/database?sslmode=require"

Open prisma-user-database/schema.prisma file and update it to define a User model. Also, set the environment variable and specify a custom output directory for the generated Prisma Client:

generator client {

  provider = "prisma-client"

  output = "../prisma-user-database/user-database-client-types"

}

datasource db {

  provider = "postgresql"

}

model User { 

  id    Int     @id @default(autoincrement()) 

  email String  @unique

  name  String?

} 

Create a prisma.config.ts file for the user database:

import "dotenv/config"; 

import { defineConfig, env } from "prisma/config"; 

export default defineConfig({

  schema: "prisma-user-database/schema.prisma", 

  migrations: {

    path: "prisma-user-database/migrations", 

  }, 

  datasource: {

    url: env("PPG_USER_DATABASE_URL"), 

  }, 

}); 

Your user database schema is now ready.

Repeat the initialization for the post database:

bunx --bun prisma init

bunx create-db

pnpm run migrate

yarn migrate

npm run migrate

Replace the generated DATABASE_URL in your .env file with the value from npx create-db, then rename the new prisma folder to prisma-post-database:

mv prisma prisma-post-database

Rename the DATABASE_URL variable in .env to PPG_POST_DATABASE_URL:

DATABASE_URL="postgresql://user:password@host:5432/database?sslmode=require"

PPG_POST_DATABASE_URL="postgresql://user:password@host:5432/database?sslmode=require"

Edit the prisma-post-database/schema.prisma file to define a Post model. Also, update the datasource URL and set a custom output directory:

generator client {

  provider = "prisma-client"

  output = "../prisma-post-database/post-database-client-types"

}

datasource db {

  provider = "postgresql"

}

model Post { 

  id    Int     @id @default(autoincrement()) 

  title String

  content  String?

} 

Create a prisma.config.ts file for the post database:

import "dotenv/config"; 

import { defineConfig, env } from "prisma/config"; 

export default defineConfig({

  schema: "prisma-post-database/schema.prisma", 

  migrations: {

    path: "prisma-post-database/migrations", 

  }, 

  datasource: {

    url: env("PPG_POST_DATABASE_URL"), 

  }, 

}); 

Your post database schema is now set.

So you don't have to pass --schema for each database on every command, add helper scripts to your package.json file that run Prisma commands for both databases:

"scripts": {

    "dev": "next dev --turbopack",

    "build": "next build",

    "start": "next start",

    "lint": "next lint",

    "postinstall": "npx prisma generate --config ./prisma-user-database/prisma.config.ts && npx prisma generate --config ./prisma-post-database/prisma.config.ts", 

    "generate": "npx prisma generate --config ./prisma-user-database/prisma.config.ts && npx prisma generate --config ./prisma-post-database/prisma.config.ts", 

    "migrate": "npx prisma migrate dev --config ./prisma-user-database/prisma.config.ts && npx prisma migrate dev --config ./prisma-post-database/prisma.config.ts", 

    "deploy": "npx prisma migrate deploy --config ./prisma-user-database/prisma.config.ts && npx prisma migrate deploy --config ./prisma-post-database/prisma.config.ts", 

    "studio": "npx prisma studio --config ./prisma-user-database/prisma.config.ts --port 5555 & npx prisma studio --config ./prisma-post-database/prisma.config.ts --port 5556"

}

Here is an explanation of the custom scripts:

• postinstall: Runs immediately after installing dependencies to generate Prisma Clients for both the user and post databases using their respective schema files.
• generate: Manually triggers the generation of Prisma Clients for both schemas, ensuring your client code reflects the latest models.
• migrate: Applies pending migrations in development mode for both databases using Prisma Migrate, updating their schemas based on changes in your Prisma files.
• deploy: Executes migrations in a production environment, synchronizing your live databases with your Prisma schemas.
• studio: Opens Prisma Studio for both databases simultaneously on different ports (5555 for the user database and 5556 for the post database) for visual data management.

Run the migrations:

bun run migrate

pnpm run studio

yarn studio

npm run studio

When prompted, name the migration for each database accordingly.

Next, create a lib folder to store helper files for instantiating and exporting your Prisma Clients:

mkdir -p lib && touch lib/user-prisma-client.ts lib/post-prisma-client.ts

In lib/user-prisma-client.ts, add the following code:

import { PrismaClient } from "../prisma-user-database/user-database-client-types/client"; import { PrismaPg } from "@prisma/adapter-pg"; const adapter = new PrismaPg({  connectionString: process.env.PPG_USER_DATABASE_URL, }); const getPrisma = () =>  new PrismaClient({    adapter,   }); const globalForUserDBPrismaClient = global as unknown as {  userDBPrismaClient: ReturnType<typeof getPrisma>; }; export const userDBPrismaClient = globalForUserDBPrismaClient.userDBPrismaClient || getPrisma();if (process.env.NODE_ENV !== "production")  globalForUserDBPrismaClient.userDBPrismaClient = userDBPrismaClient; 

In lib/post-prisma-client.ts, add this code:

import { PrismaClient } from "../prisma-post-database/post-database-client-types/client"; import { PrismaPg } from "@prisma/adapter-pg"; const adapter = new PrismaPg({  connectionString: process.env.PPG_POST_DATABASE_URL, }); const getPrisma = () =>  new PrismaClient({    adapter,   }); const globalForPostDBPrismaClient = global as unknown as {  postDBPrismaClient: ReturnType<typeof getPrisma>; }; export const postDBPrismaClient = globalForPostDBPrismaClient.postDBPrismaClient || getPrisma();if (process.env.NODE_ENV !== "production")  globalForPostDBPrismaClient.postDBPrismaClient = postDBPrismaClient; 

Modify your application code to fetch data from both databases. Update the app/page.tsx file as follows:

import { postDBPrismaClient } from "@/lib/post-prisma-client"; 

import { userDBPrismaClient } from "@/lib/user-prisma-client"; 

export default async function Home() { 

  const user = await userDBPrismaClient.user.findFirst(); 

  const post = await postDBPrismaClient.post.findFirst(); 

  return ( 

    <main className="min-h-screen bg-gray-50 py-12">

      <div className="max-w-4xl mx-auto px-4">

        <header className="mb-12 text-center">

          <h1 className="text-5xl font-extrabold text-gray-900">Multi-DB Showcase</h1>

          <p className="mt-4 text-xl text-gray-600">

            Data fetched from two distinct databases. 

          </p>

        </header>

        <section className="mb-8 bg-white shadow-md rounded-lg p-6">

          <h2 className="text-2xl font-semibold text-gray-800 border-b pb-2 mb-4">

            User Data 

          </h2>

          <pre className="whitespace-pre-wrap text-sm text-gray-700">

            {user ? JSON.stringify(user, null, 2) : "No user data available."} 

          </pre>

        </section>

        <section className="bg-white shadow-md rounded-lg p-6">

          <h2 className="text-2xl font-semibold text-gray-800 border-b pb-2 mb-4">

            Post Data 

          </h2>

          <pre className="whitespace-pre-wrap text-sm text-gray-700">

            {post ? JSON.stringify(post, null, 2) : "No post data available."} 

          </pre>

        </section>

      </div>

    </main>

  ); 

} 

In a separate terminal window, open two instances of Prisma Studio to add data to your databases by running the script:

• bun
• pnpm
• yarn
• npm

bun run studio

pnpm run dev

yarn dev

npm run dev

Navigate to http://localhost:3000 to see your Next.js app display data from both databases:

Congratulations, you have a Next.js app running with two Prisma Client instances querying different databases.

This will open up two browser windows, one in http://localhost:5555 and one in http://localhost:5556. Navigate to those windows and add sample data to both databases.

Before starting the development server, note that if you are using Next.js v15.2.0, do not use Turbopack as there is a known issue. Remove Turbopack from your dev script by updating your package.json:

"scripts": {

    "dev": "next dev --turbopack", 

    "dev": "next dev", 

    "build": "next build",

    "start": "next start",

    "lint": "next lint",

    "postinstall": "npx prisma generate --config ./prisma-user-database/prisma.config.ts && npx prisma generate --config ./prisma-post-database/prisma.config.ts",

    "generate": "npx prisma generate --config ./prisma-user-database/prisma.config.ts && npx prisma generate --config ./prisma-post-database/prisma.config.ts",

    "migrate": "npx prisma migrate dev --config ./prisma-user-database/prisma.config.ts && npx prisma migrate dev --config ./prisma-post-database/prisma.config.ts",

    "deploy": "npx prisma migrate deploy --config ./prisma-user-database/prisma.config.ts && npx prisma migrate deploy --config ./prisma-post-database/prisma.config.ts",

    "studio": "npx prisma studio --config ./prisma-user-database/prisma.config.ts --port 5555 & npx prisma studio --config ./prisma-post-database/prisma.config.ts --port 5556"

}

In a separate terminal window, start the development server by running:

bun run dev

Navigate to http://localhost:3000 to see your Next.js app display data from both databases:

Congratulations, you have a Next.js app running with two Prisma Client instances querying different databases.

Deploy your app by following these steps:

1. Ensure your project is version-controlled and pushed to a GitHub repository. If you do not have a repository yet, create one on GitHub. Once the repository is ready, run the following commands:

   git add .
   
   git commit -m "Initial commit with Prisma Postgres integration"
   
   git branch -M main
   
   git remote add origin https://github.com/<your-username>/<repository-name>.git
   
   git push -u origin main

2. Log in to Vercel and navigate to your Dashboard.

3. Create a new project. Follow Vercel's Import an existing project guide, but stop at step 3 where you will configure environment variables before clicking Deploy.

4. Configure the DATABASE_URL environment variable:

   1. Expand the Environment variables section.

   2. Add the PPG_USER_DATABASE_URL environment variable:

      • Key: PPG_USER_DATABASE_URL
      • Value: Paste your user database connection URL, e.g. by copying it from the .env file in your project.

   3. Add the PPG_POST_DATABASE_URL environment variable:

      • Key: PPG_POST_DATABASE_URL

      • Value: Paste your post database connection URL, e.g. by copying it from the .env file in your project.

5. Click the Deploy button. Vercel will build your project and deploy it to a live URL.

Open the live URL provided by Vercel and verify that your application is working.

Your application now runs on Vercel and uses two Prisma Clients to query two different databases.

In this guide, you learned how to use multiple databases using Prisma ORM in a single Next.js app by:

• Setting up separate Prisma schemas for user and post databases.
• Configuring custom output directories and environment variables.
• Creating helper scripts to generate and migrate each schema.
• Instantiating and integrating multiple Prisma Clients into your application.
• Deploying your multi-database application to Vercel.

This approach allows you to maintain a clear separation of data models and simplifies multi-tenant or multi-database scenarios.

For further improvements in managing your project, consider using a monorepo setup. Check out our related guides:

• How to use Prisma ORM in a pnpm workspaces monorepo
• How to use Prisma ORM with Turborepo