# PostgreSQL

[PostgreSQL](https://www.postgresql.org/) is an open-source relational database. In this guide, you will learn how to set up a new TypeScript project from scratch, connect it to PostgreSQL using Prisma ORM, and generate a Prisma Client for type-safe access to your database.

## [Prerequisites](#prerequisites)

You also need:

- A [PostgreSQL](https://www.postgresql.org/) database server running and accessible
- Database connection details (host, port, username, password, database name)

:::callout{intent="note"}
If you need a PostgreSQL database

If you don't already have a PostgreSQL database, follow the quickstart to set up a production-ready [Prisma Postgres](/guides/prisma-orm-2-v7-prisma-orm-quickstart-prisma-postgres) database with Prisma ORM in a new project.
:::

## [1. Create a new project](#1-create-a-new-project)

```
mkdir hello-prisma

cd hello-prisma
```

Initialize a TypeScript project:

:::code-group
```title="bun"
bun init

bun add typescript tsx @types/node --dev

bunx tsc --init
```

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

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

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

## [2. Install required dependencies](#2-install-required-dependencies)

Install the packages needed for this quickstart:

:::code-group
```title="bun"
bun add prisma@prev @types/pg --dev

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

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

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

```bash title="npm"
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
- **`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](#3-configure-esm-support)

Update `tsconfig.json` for ESM compatibility:

```title="tsconfig.json"
{

  "compilerOptions": {

    "module": "ESNext",

    "moduleResolution": "bundler",

    "target": "ES2023",

    "strict": true,

    "esModuleInterop": true,

    "ignoreDeprecations": "6.0"

  }

}
```

Update `package.json` to enable ESM:

```title="package.json"
{

  "type": "module"

}
```

## [4. Initialize Prisma ORM](#4-initialize-prisma-orm)

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

::::tabs
:::tab{title="bun"}
```
bunx prisma
```
:::

:::tab{title="pnpm"}
```bash
pnpm prisma
```
:::

:::tab{title="yarn"}
```bash
yarn prisma
```
:::

:::tab{title="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:
:::
::::

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

:::code-group
```title="bun"
bunx --bun prisma init --datasource-provider postgresql --output ../generated/prisma
```

```bash title="pnpm"
pnpm prisma init --datasource-provider postgresql --output ../generated/prisma
```

```bash title="yarn"
yarn prisma init --datasource-provider postgresql --output ../generated/prisma
```

```bash title="npm"
npx prisma init --datasource-provider postgresql --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:

```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"],

  },

});
```

:::callout{intent="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:

```title="prisma/schema.prisma"
generator client {

  provider = "prisma-client"

  output   = "../generated/prisma"

}

datasource db {

  provider = "postgresql"

}
```

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

```title=".env"
DATABASE_URL="postgresql://username:password@localhost:5432/mydb?schema=public"
```

Replace the placeholders with your actual database credentials:

- `username`: Your PostgreSQL username
- `password`: Your PostgreSQL password
- `localhost:5432`: Your PostgreSQL host and port
- `mydb`: Your database name

## [5. Define your data model](#5-define-your-data-model)

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

```title="prisma/schema.prisma"
generator client {

  provider = "prisma-client"

  output   = "../generated/prisma"

}

datasource db {

  provider = "postgresql"

}

model User { 

  id    Int     @id @default(autoincrement()) 

  email String  @unique

  name  String?

  posts Post[]

} 

model Post { 

  id        Int     @id @default(autoincrement()) 

  title     String

  content   String?

  published Boolean @default(false) 

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

  authorId  Int

} 
```

## [6. Create and apply your first migration](#6-create-and-apply-your-first-migration)

Create your first migration to set up the database tables:

:::code-group
```title="bun"
bunx prisma migrate dev --name init
```

```bash title="pnpm"
pnpm prisma migrate dev --name init
```

```bash title="yarn"
yarn prisma migrate dev --name init
```

```bash title="npm"
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:

:::code-group
```title="bun"
bunx prisma generate
```

```bash title="pnpm"
pnpm prisma generate
```

```bash title="yarn"
yarn prisma generate
```

```bash title="npm"
npx prisma generate
```
:::

## [7. Instantiate Prisma Client](#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 to the `PrismaClient` constructor:

```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](#8-write-your-first-query)

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

```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:

:::code-group
```title="bun"
bunx tsx script.ts
```

```bash title="pnpm"
pnpm dlx tsx script.ts
```

```bash title="yarn"
yarn dlx tsx script.ts
```

```bash title="npm"
npx tsx script.ts
```
:::

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

## [9. Explore your data with Prisma Studio](#9-explore-your-data-with-prisma-studio)

Prisma Studio is a visual editor for your database. Launch it with:

```
npx prisma studio
```

## [Next steps](#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](#more-info)

- [PostgreSQL database connector](/guides/core-concepts-v7-supported-databases-postgresql)
- [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

- [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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