Older versions

This page provides upgrade guidance for older Prisma ORM versions. For upgrading to the current version, see Upgrade to v7.

Prisma ORM v6 introduced breaking changes related to Node.js versions, TypeScript versions, and schema changes for PostgreSQL.

• Minimum Node.js: 18.18.0, 20.9.0, or 22.11.0
• Minimum TypeScript: 5.1.0
• PostgreSQL implicit m-n relations: Changed from unique index to primary key
• Full-text search on PostgreSQL: Now requires fullTextSearchPostgres preview feature
• Buffer replaced with Uint8Array: For Bytes fields
• NotFoundError removed: Use PrismaClientKnownRequestError with code P2025 instead

bun add prisma@6 @prisma/client@6

pnpm add prisma@6 @prisma/client@6

yarn add prisma@6 @prisma/client@6

npm install prisma@6 @prisma/client@6

After upgrading, run prisma migrate dev --name upgrade-to-v6 to apply schema changes for implicit m-n relations.

Prisma ORM v5 introduced the JSON Protocol for improved performance and removed deprecated APIs.

• Minimum Node.js: 16.13.0
• Minimum TypeScript: 4.7
• Minimum PostgreSQL: 9.6
• rejectOnNotFound removed: Use findFirstOrThrow() or findUniqueOrThrow() instead
• Array shortcuts removed: OR, in, notIn, and path now require array values
• CockroachDB: Requires cockroachdb provider (not postgresql)

// Before (v4 and earlier)

prisma.user.findFirst({

  where: { name: "Alice" },

  rejectOnNotFound: true,

});

// After (v5+)

prisma.user.findFirstOrThrow({

  where: { name: "Alice" },

});

// Before (v4 and earlier)

prisma.user.findMany({

  where: { OR: { email: "foo@example.com" } },

});

// After (v5+)

prisma.user.findMany({

  where: { OR: [{ email: "foo@example.com" }] },

});

bun add prisma@5 @prisma/client@5

pnpm add prisma@5 @prisma/client@5

yarn add prisma@5 @prisma/client@5

npm install prisma@5 @prisma/client@5

Prisma ORM v4 made extended indexes generally available and introduced changes to raw queries and JSON null handling.

• Minimum Node.js: 14.17.x

• Extended indexes GA: extendedIndexes preview feature removed

• Explicit @unique required: For 1

  relations

• Raw query type mapping: DateTime returns Date, Numeric returns Decimal

• DbNull, JsonNull, AnyNull: Now objects instead of strings

// Before (v3 and earlier)

prisma.log.findMany({

  where: { data: { meta: { equals: null } } },

});

// After (v4+)

import { Prisma } from "@prisma/client";

prisma.log.findMany({

  where: { data: { meta: { equals: Prisma.AnyNull } } },

});

bun add prisma@4 @prisma/client@4

pnpm add prisma@4 @prisma/client@4

yarn add prisma@4 @prisma/client@4

npm install prisma@4 @prisma/client@4

After upgrading, run npx prisma db pull to retrieve existing index configurations before creating new migrations.

Prisma ORM v3 introduced referential actions and named constraints, with significant changes to cascade delete behavior.

• Referential actions: Runtime cascade prevention removed; now handled at database level
• Named constraints: New naming convention for constraints and indexes
• $queryRaw changes: Only supports template literals (use $queryRawUnsafe for strings)
• JSON null types: Introduced Prisma.DbNull, Prisma.JsonNull, Prisma.AnyNull

In v2.x, Prisma Client prevented cascading deletes at runtime. In v3+, this is handled by the database. Review your schema's onDelete settings:

model Post {

  id       Int  @id

  author   User @relation(fields: [authorId], references: [id], onDelete: Cascade)

  authorId Int

}

After upgrading, run npx prisma db pull to sync constraint names, or run npx prisma migrate dev to update to Prisma's default naming convention.

bun add prisma@3 @prisma/client@3

pnpm add prisma@3 @prisma/client@3

yarn add prisma@3 @prisma/client@3

npm install prisma@3 @prisma/client@3

The @prisma/codemods package helps automate code changes when upgrading:

bunx @prisma/codemods <transform> <path>

pnpm dlx @prisma/codemods <transform> <path>

yarn dlx @prisma/codemods <transform> <path>

npx @prisma/codemods <transform> <path>

Available transforms:

• namespace - Update @prisma/client namespace changes
• findUnique - Convert findOne to findUnique
• to$ - Convert deprecated methods to $ prefixed versions
• update-2.12 - Apply all transforms for 2.12 upgrade

See the codemods repository for more details.