Documentation regarding proper location of Prisma Schema including default naming and multiple files.

Location: ORM > v7 > Prisma Schema > Overview > Schema location

The default name for the Prisma Schema is a single file `schema.prisma` in your `prisma` folder. When your schema is named like this, the Prisma CLI will detect it automatically.

## Prisma Schema location

The Prisma CLI looks for the Prisma Schema in the following locations, in the following order:

1. The location specified by the [`--schema` flag](/guides/reference-6-v7-reference-prisma-cli-reference), which is available when you `introspect`, `generate`, `migrate`, and `studio`:

   ```bash
   prisma generate --schema=./alternative/schema.prisma
   ```

2. The location specified in the `prisma.config.ts` file:

   ```ts title="prisma.config.ts"
   import { defineConfig } from "prisma/config";

   export default defineConfig({
     schema: "prisma/",
     ...
   });
   ```

3. Default locations:
   - `./prisma/schema.prisma`
   - `./schema.prisma`

The Prisma CLI outputs the path of the schema that will be used. The following example shows the terminal output for `prisma db pull`:

```text
Environment variables loaded from .env
Prisma Schema loaded from prisma/schema.prisma

Introspecting based on datasource defined in prisma/schema.prisma …

✔ Introspected 4 models and wrote them into prisma/schema.prisma in 239ms

Run prisma generate to generate Prisma Client.
```

## Multi-file Prisma schema

### Watch video: Multi-file Prisma schema

[How to organize and use a multi-file Prisma schema](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGgoP2KK8Bo)

If you prefer splitting your Prisma schema into multiple files, you can have a setup that looks as follows:

```
prisma/
├── migrations
├── models
│   ├── posts.prisma
│   ├── users.prisma
│   └── ... other `.prisma` files
└── schema.prisma
```

### Usage

When using a multi-file Prisma schema, you must always explicitly specify the location of the directory that contains your schema files (including the main `schema.prisma` file with your `generator` block).

You can do this in two ways:

- pass the `--schema` option to your Prisma CLI command (e.g. `prisma migrate dev --schema ./prisma`)
- set the `schema` property in [`prisma.config.ts`](/guides/reference-6-v7-reference-prisma-config-reference#schema) (for Prisma ORM v7):

  ```ts title="prisma.config.ts"
  import { defineConfig, env } from "prisma/config";
  import "dotenv/config";

  export default defineConfig({
    schema: "prisma/",
    migrations: {
      path: "prisma/migrations",
      seed: "tsx prisma/seed.ts",
    },
    datasource: {
      url: env("DATABASE_URL"),
    },
  });
  ```

> \[!NOTE]
> We recommend using the [Prisma Config file](/guides/reference-6-v7-reference-prisma-config-reference#schema) to specify the location of your Prisma schema. This is the most flexible way to specify the location of your Prisma schema alongside other configuration options.

> \[!WARNING]
> The `schema.prisma` file (which contains your `generator` block) must be located in the same directory that you specify in your schema configuration. For example, if you configure `schema: 'prisma'`, your `schema.prisma` file must be at `prisma/schema.prisma`, not in a subdirectory like `prisma/models/schema.prisma`.

You must also place the `migrations` directory at the same level as your `schema.prisma` file.

For example, assuming `schema.prisma` defines the `generator` block, here's the correct directory structure:

```
# All files must be inside the `prisma/` directory
# `migrations` and `schema.prisma` must be at the same level
prisma/
├── migrations
├── models
│   ├── posts.prisma
│   └── users.prisma
└── schema.prisma  # Contains generator block
```

> \[!NOTE]
> If your schema files are in a `prisma/` directory (as shown above), the Prisma CLI commands like `prisma generate` and `prisma migrate dev` will work without additional configuration, as `./prisma/schema.prisma` is a default location.

### Tips for multi-file Prisma Schema

We've found that a few patterns work well with this feature and will help you get the most out of it:

- Organize your files by domain: group related models into the same file. For example, keep all user-related models in `user.prisma` while post-related models go in `post.prisma`.
- Use clear naming conventions: schema files should be named clearly and succinctly. Use names like `user.prisma` and `post.prisma` and not `myModels.prisma` or `CommentFeaturesSchema.prisma`.
- Have an obvious "main" schema file: while you can now have as many schema files as you want, you'll still need a place where you define your `generator` block. We recommend having a single schema file that's obviously the "main" file so that this block is easy to find. `main.prisma`, `schema.prisma`, and `base.prisma` are a few we've seen that work well.

## Related pages

- [`Data sources`](/guides/prisma-schema-v7-overview-data-sources): Data sources enable Prisma to connect to your database. This page explains how to configure data sources in your Prisma schema
- [`Generators`](/guides/prisma-schema-v7-overview-generators): Generators in your Prisma schema specify what assets are generated when the `prisma generate` command is invoked. This page explains how to configure generators

## 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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