# Prisma ORM

Prisma ORM 8 rewrites Prisma ORM in TypeScript. The schema-first workflow and model-first queries from earlier versions stay, but what changes is what your schema produces and how queries run. This page gives you the mental model, and the [quickstart](/guides/prisma-orm-2-prisma-orm-quickstart-postgresql) gets you to a running query.

:::callout{intent="note"}
Using Prisma ORM 7?

Prisma ORM 8 is the current release, as a release candidate. Prisma ORM 7 remains fully supported; its docs live at [/orm/v7](/guides/introduction-7-v7) and its setup paths at [/v7/getting-started](/guides/getting-started-2-getting-started).

For what release candidate means, when the final release is expected, and how to stay on version 7, see [Release status](/guides/prisma-orm-orm-release-status). For the Prisma ORM 8 name of every Prisma ORM 7 API, see [Coming from Prisma ORM 7](/guides/introduction-2-orm-coming-from-prisma-orm-7).
:::

## [Your schema becomes a contract](#your-schema-becomes-a-contract)

You still author models in a Prisma schema file (or in TypeScript), but instead of generating a client package, Prisma ORM emits the schema as a **contract**: a JSON document plus TypeScript types that your application, the migration tools, and coding agents all read. The contract is a plain artifact you can inspect and diff.

The workflow has three steps:

1. **Author your schema**: define your models in a Prisma schema (`.prisma`) or directly in TypeScript.
2. **Emit the contract**: a lightweight build step turns the schema into a deterministic JSON contract plus TypeScript types.
3. **Query with a composable DSL**: write queries inline against the typed contract. Each query compiles to a verifiable plan at runtime, with no hidden client methods.

## [What changed for developers](#what-changed-for-developers)

- **Better queries**: simpler nested queries, custom collection methods on your models, results you can iterate a record at a time, and a low-level type-safe SQL builder when you need raw control.
- **Extensible by design**: a minimal core exposed through a public SPI. Everything around it, including Postgres support itself, is an extension, so you can add databases, query builders, data types, and middleware.
- **Rethought migrations**: [graph-based migrations](/guides/migrations-the-migration-graph) that resolve branch conflicts automatically and make partial failures safe to retry, with both schema and data migrations written in TypeScript and validated against your contract.
- **AI-agent friendly**: the contract is machine-readable and each query produces an inspectable plan, which gives coding agents something concrete to check their work against. The installers also register agent skills for your editor's AI assistant.

### [Supported databases](#supported-databases)

Prisma ORM ships first-class support for **PostgreSQL** (the primary target), **MongoDB**, and **SQLite** (`@prisma/orm-sqlite`). **MySQL** support is planned next.

## [Get started](#get-started)

Scaffold a new project in one command:

::::tabs
:::tab{title="bun"}
```
bun create prisma@latest
```
:::

:::tab{title="pnpm"}
```bash
pnpm create prisma@latest
```
:::

:::tab{title="yarn"}
```bash
yarn create prisma@latest
```
:::

:::tab{title="npm"}
```bash
npm create prisma@latest
```

- [Quickstart with PostgreSQL](/guides/prisma-orm-2-prisma-orm-quickstart-postgresql): Scaffold a Prisma ORM app with PostgreSQL, seed it, and run your first query.

- [Add to an existing project](/guides/prisma-orm-2-prisma-orm-add-to-existing-project-postgresql): Add Prisma ORM to an existing app with the `orm init` command.

- [The full stack path](/guides/overview): Prisma ORM with Prisma Postgres and a Prisma Compute deploy, with guide and agent options.
:::
::::

[Quickstart with PostgreSQL Scaffold a Prisma ORM app with PostgreSQL, seed it, and run your first query.](/guides/prisma-orm-2-prisma-orm-quickstart-postgresql)[Add to an existing project Add Prisma ORM to an existing app with the `orm init` command.](/guides/prisma-orm-2-prisma-orm-add-to-existing-project-postgresql)[The full stack path Prisma ORM with Prisma Postgres and a Prisma Compute deploy, with guide and agent options.](/guides/overview)

## [Go deeper](#go-deeper)

[Learn the fundamentals Read, write, and relate data with the ORM, run transactions, and reach for advanced queries when you need them.](/guides/fundamentals-reading-data)[The data contract Learn how your schema becomes a verifiable contract, authored in PSL or TypeScript.](/guides/contract-authoring-the-data-contract)[CLI reference The contract, database, and migration commands in the Prisma ORM CLI.](/guides/reference-3-cli)[See your migrations in Studio Read your applied migration history in Prisma Studio: a visual diff, the executed SQL, and a schema diff per migration.](/guides/introduction-11-prisma-next)[Deploy the application Deploy your Prisma ORM app to Prisma Compute, next to your Prisma Postgres database.](/guides/start-prisma-compute-deploy)

## [Learn more about the design of Prisma ORM](#learn-more-about-the-design-of-prisma-orm)

The thinking behind Prisma ORM is documented on the [Prisma blog](https://www.prisma.io/blog). Start with these:

- **[The Next Evolution of Prisma ORM](https://www.prisma.io/blog/the-next-evolution-of-prisma-orm)**: why Prisma is being rebuilt, with a tour of the new query API, extensibility model, migrations, and AI-friendly design.
- **[Rethinking Database Migrations](https://www.prisma.io/blog/rethinking-database-migrations)**: how graph-based migrations replace timestamp ordering with schema state hashes.
- **[Prisma 8 Is \~90% As Fast as Raw PG](https://www.prisma.io/blog/prisma-next-performance-benchmark)**: benchmarks against the raw PostgreSQL driver.

The full series also covers [TypeScript migrations](https://www.prisma.io/blog/typescript-migrations-in-prisma-next), [data migrations](https://www.prisma.io/blog/data-migrations-in-prisma-next), [the extension API](https://www.prisma.io/blog/prisma-next-call-for-extension-authors), the [roadmap](https://www.prisma.io/blog/prisma-next-roadmap), and the [early-access launch](https://www.prisma.io/blog/prisma-next-early-access-write-your-contract-prompt-your-agent-ship-your-app). The source lives on [GitHub](https://github.com/prisma/orm).

## Related pages

- [Authentication & Tools](./authentication-tools-index.md)
- [Build](./build-index.md)
- [Changelog](../changelog.md)
- [Concepts](./concepts-index.md)
- [Console commands](./console-commands-index.md)
- [Contract Authoring](./contract-authoring-index.md)
- [Core Concepts](./core-concepts-index.md)
- [Data Modeling](./data-modeling-index.md)
- [Database](./database-index.md)
- [DB commands](./db-commands-index.md)

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