# CockroachDB (Prisma ORM v7) (/docs/v7/prisma-orm/quickstart/cockroachdb)

Create a new TypeScript project from scratch by connecting Prisma ORM to CockroachDB and generating a Prisma Client for database access

Location: v7 > Prisma ORM > Quickstart > CockroachDB

[CockroachDB](https://www.cockroachlabs.com) is a distributed SQL database built for cloud applications. In this guide, you will learn how to set up a new TypeScript project from scratch, connect it to CockroachDB using Prisma ORM, and generate a Prisma Client for type-safe access to your database.

## Prerequisites

You also need:

- A [CockroachDB](https://www.cockroachlabs.com/) database
- Database connection string from CockroachDB

## 1. Create a new project

```shell
mkdir hello-prisma
cd hello-prisma
```

Initialize a TypeScript project:

#### bun

```bash
bun init
bun add typescript tsx @types/node --dev
bunx tsc --init
```

#### pnpm

```bash
pnpm init
pnpm add typescript tsx @types/node --save-dev
pnpm tsc --init
```

#### yarn

```bash
yarn init
yarn add typescript tsx @types/node --dev
yarn tsc --init
```

#### npm

```bash
npm init
npm install typescript tsx @types/node --save-dev
npx tsc --init
```

## 2. Install required dependencies

Install the packages needed for this quickstart:

#### bun

```bash
bun add prisma@prev @types/pg --dev
bun add @prisma/client@7 @prisma/adapter-pg pg dotenv
```

#### pnpm

```bash
pnpm add prisma@prev @types/pg --save-dev
pnpm add @prisma/client@7 @prisma/adapter-pg pg dotenv
```

#### yarn

```bash
yarn add prisma@prev @types/pg --dev
yarn add @prisma/client@7 @prisma/adapter-pg pg dotenv
```

#### npm

```bash
npm install prisma@prev @types/pg --save-dev
npm install @prisma/client@7 @prisma/adapter-pg pg dotenv
```

Here's what each package does:

- **`prisma`** - The Prisma CLI for running commands like `prisma init`, `prisma migrate`, and `prisma generate`
- **`@prisma/client`** - The Prisma Client library for querying your database
- **`@prisma/adapter-pg`** - The [`node-postgres` driver adapter](/guides/core-concepts-v7-supported-databases-postgresql#using-driver-adapters) that connects Prisma Client to your database (CockroachDB is PostgreSQL-compatible)
- **`pg`** - The node-postgres database driver
- **`@types/pg`** - TypeScript type definitions for node-postgres
- **`dotenv`** - Loads environment variables from your `.env` file

## 3. Configure ESM support

Update `tsconfig.json` for ESM compatibility:

```json title="tsconfig.json"
{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "module": "ESNext",
    "moduleResolution": "bundler",
    "target": "ES2023",
    "strict": true,
    "esModuleInterop": true,
    "ignoreDeprecations": "6.0"
  }
}
```

Update `package.json` to enable ESM:

```json title="package.json"
{
  "type": "module" // [!code ++]
}
```

## 4. Initialize Prisma ORM

You can now run Prisma CLI commands using your package manager:

#### bun

```bash
bunx prisma
```

#### pnpm

```bash
pnpm prisma
```

#### yarn

```bash
yarn prisma
```

#### npm

```bash
npx prisma
```

Next, set up your Prisma ORM project by creating your [Prisma Schema](/guides/prisma-schema-v7-overview) file with the following command:

#### bun

```bash
bunx --bun prisma init --datasource-provider cockroachdb --output ../generated/prisma
```

#### pnpm

```bash
pnpm prisma init --datasource-provider cockroachdb --output ../generated/prisma
```

#### yarn

```bash
yarn prisma init --datasource-provider cockroachdb --output ../generated/prisma
```

#### npm

```bash
npx prisma init --datasource-provider cockroachdb --output ../generated/prisma
```

This command does a few things:

- Creates a `prisma/` directory with a `schema.prisma` file containing your database connection and schema models
- Creates a `.env` file in the root directory for environment variables
- Creates a `prisma7.config.ts` file for Prisma configuration

The generated `prisma7.config.ts` file looks like this:

```typescript title="prisma7.config.ts"
// This file was generated by Prisma, and assumes you have installed the following:
// npm install --save-dev prisma dotenv
import "dotenv/config";
import { defineConfig } from "prisma/config";

export default defineConfig({
  schema: "prisma/schema.prisma",
  migrations: {
    path: "prisma/migrations",
  },
  datasource: {
    url: process.env["DATABASE_URL"],
  },
});
```

> \[!NOTE]
> Prisma ORM 7.10 and later name this file `prisma7.config.ts` so that it does not clash with the Prisma 8 config format, which only accepts `prisma.config.ts`. The Prisma 7 CLI discovers either name, so a project that already has a `prisma.config.ts` keeps working.

The generated schema uses [the ESM-first `prisma-client` generator](/guides/prisma-schema-v7-overview-generators#prisma-client) with a custom output path:

```prisma title="prisma/schema.prisma"
generator client {
  provider = "prisma-client"
  output   = "../generated/prisma"
}

datasource db {
  provider = "cockroachdb"
}
```

Update your `.env` file with your CockroachDB connection string:

```text title=".env"
DATABASE_URL="postgresql://username:password@host:26257/mydb?sslmode=require"
```

Replace with your actual CockroachDB connection string from your cluster dashboard.

## 5. Define your data model

Open `prisma/schema.prisma` and add the following models:

```prisma title="prisma/schema.prisma"
generator client {
  provider = "prisma-client"
  output   = "../generated/prisma"
}

datasource db {
  provider = "cockroachdb"
}

model User { // [!code ++]
  id    Int     @id @default(autoincrement()) // [!code ++]
  email String  @unique // [!code ++]
  name  String? // [!code ++]
  posts Post[] // [!code ++]
} // [!code ++]

model Post { // [!code ++]
  id        Int     @id @default(autoincrement()) // [!code ++]
  title     String // [!code ++]
  content   String? // [!code ++]
  published Boolean @default(false) // [!code ++]
  author    User    @relation(fields: [authorId], references: [id]) // [!code ++]
  authorId  Int // [!code ++]
} // [!code ++]
```

## 6. Create and apply your first migration

Create your first migration to set up the database tables:

#### bun

```bash
bunx prisma migrate dev --name init
```

#### pnpm

```bash
pnpm prisma migrate dev --name init
```

#### yarn

```bash
yarn prisma migrate dev --name init
```

#### npm

```bash
npx prisma migrate dev --name init
```

This command creates the database tables based on your schema.

Now run the following command to generate the Prisma Client:

#### bun

```bash
bunx prisma generate
```

#### pnpm

```bash
pnpm prisma generate
```

#### yarn

```bash
yarn prisma generate
```

#### npm

```bash
npx prisma generate
```

## 7. Instantiate Prisma Client

Now that you have all the dependencies installed, you can instantiate Prisma Client. You need to pass an instance of the Prisma ORM driver adapter adapter to the `PrismaClient` constructor:

```typescript title="lib/prisma.ts"
import "dotenv/config";
import { PrismaPg } from "@prisma/adapter-pg";
import { PrismaClient } from "../generated/prisma/client";

const connectionString = `${process.env.DATABASE_URL}`;

const adapter = new PrismaPg({ connectionString });
const prisma = new PrismaClient({ adapter });

export { prisma };
```

## 8. Write your first query

Create a `script.ts` file to test your setup:

```typescript title="script.ts"
import { prisma } from "./lib/prisma";

async function main() {
  // Create a new user with a post
  const user = await prisma.user.create({
    data: {
      name: "Alice",
      email: "alice@prisma.io",
      posts: {
        create: {
          title: "Hello World",
          content: "This is my first post!",
          published: true,
        },
      },
    },
    include: {
      posts: true,
    },
  });
  console.log("Created user:", user);

  // Fetch all users with their posts
  const allUsers = await prisma.user.findMany({
    include: {
      posts: true,
    },
  });
  console.log("All users:", JSON.stringify(allUsers, null, 2));
}

main()
  .then(async () => {
    await prisma.$disconnect();
  })
  .catch(async (e) => {
    console.error(e);
    await prisma.$disconnect();
    process.exit(1);
  });
```

Run the script:

#### bun

```bash
bunx tsx script.ts
```

#### pnpm

```bash
pnpm dlx tsx script.ts
```

#### yarn

```bash
yarn dlx tsx script.ts
```

#### npm

```bash
npx tsx script.ts
```

You should see the created user and all users printed to the console.

## 9. Explore your data

Explore the options suggested by [CockroachDB](https://www.cockroachlabs.com/blog/cockroachdb-gui-options/) to view and manage your data.

> \[!WARNING]
> [Prisma Studio](/guides/tools-integrations-studio) does not currently support CockroachDB. Support may be added in a future release. See [Databases supported by Prisma Studio](/guides/tools-integrations-studio#supported-databases) for more information.

## Next steps

Prisma ORM is set up. These are the pages you are most likely to need next:

- **Learn more about Prisma Client**: Explore the [Prisma Client API](/guides/prisma-client-v7-setup-and-configuration-introduction) for advanced querying, filtering, and relations
- **Database migrations**: Learn about [Prisma Migrate](/guides/prisma-migrate-v7-prisma-migrate) for evolving your database schema
- **Performance optimization**: Discover [query optimization techniques](/guides/prisma-client-v7-queries-advanced-query-optimization-performance)
- **Build a full application**: Check out our [framework guides](/guides/guides-v7) to integrate Prisma ORM with Next.js, Express, and more
- **Join the community**: Connect with other developers on [Discord](https://pris.ly/discord)

## More info

- [CockroachDB database connector](/guides/core-concepts-v7-supported-databases-postgresql#cockroachdb)
- [Prisma Config reference](/guides/reference-6-v7-reference-prisma-config-reference)
- [Database connection management](/guides/prisma-client-v7-setup-and-configuration-databases-connections)

## Related pages

- [`MongoDB`](/guides/prisma-orm-2-v7-prisma-orm-quickstart-mongodb): Create a new TypeScript project from scratch by connecting Prisma ORM to MongoDB and generating a Prisma Client for database access
- [`MySQL`](/guides/prisma-orm-2-v7-prisma-orm-quickstart-mysql): Create a new TypeScript project from scratch by connecting Prisma ORM to MySQL and generating a Prisma Client for database access
- [`PlanetScale`](/guides/prisma-orm-2-v7-prisma-orm-quickstart-planetscale): Create a new TypeScript project from scratch by connecting Prisma ORM to PlanetScale and generating a Prisma Client for database access
- [`PostgreSQL`](/guides/prisma-orm-2-v7-prisma-orm-quickstart-postgresql): Create a new TypeScript project from scratch by connecting Prisma ORM to PostgreSQL and generating a Prisma Client for database access
- [`Prisma Postgres`](/guides/prisma-orm-2-v7-prisma-orm-quickstart-prisma-postgres): Create a new TypeScript project from scratch by connecting Prisma ORM to Prisma Postgres and generating a Prisma Client for database access

## 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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