Prisma CLI Reference

Reference for Prisma ORM CLI commands. This skill provides guidance on command usage, options, and best practices for current Prisma ORM releases.

Boundary: Compute

Do not use this skill for Prisma Compute app deployment. Use prisma-compute for @prisma/cli app deploy, compute:deploy, create-prisma --deploy, Compute apps, deployments, logs, domains, and framework deploy readiness.

When to Apply

Reference this skill when:

• Setting up a new Prisma project (prisma init)
• Generating Prisma Client (prisma generate)
• Running database migrations (prisma migrate)
• Managing database state (prisma db push/pull)
• Using local development database (prisma dev)
• Debugging Prisma issues (prisma debug)

Rule Categories by Priority

Command Categories

Quick Reference

Project Setup

# Initialize new project (creates prisma/ folder and prisma.config.ts)
prisma init

# Initialize with specific database
prisma init --datasource-provider postgresql
prisma init --datasource-provider mysql
prisma init --datasource-provider sqlite

# Initialize with Prisma Postgres (cloud)
prisma init --db

# Initialize with an example model
prisma init --with-model

Client Generation

# Generate Prisma Client
prisma generate

# Watch mode for development
prisma generate --watch

# Generate specific generator only
prisma generate --generator client

Bun Runtime

When using Bun, always add the --bun flag so Prisma runs with the Bun runtime (otherwise it falls back to Node.js because of the CLI shebang):

bunx --bun prisma init
bunx --bun prisma generate

Local Development Database

# Start local Prisma Postgres
prisma dev

# Start with specific name
prisma dev --name myproject

# Start in background (detached)
prisma dev --detach

# List all local instances
prisma dev ls

# Stop instance
prisma dev stop myproject

# Remove instance data
prisma dev rm myproject

Database Operations

# Pull schema from existing database
prisma db pull

# Push schema to database (no migrations)
prisma db push

# Seed database
prisma db seed

# Execute raw SQL
prisma db execute --file ./script.sql

Migrations (Development)

# Create and apply migration
prisma migrate dev

# Create migration with name
prisma migrate dev --name add_users_table

# Create migration without applying
prisma migrate dev --create-only

# Reset database and apply all migrations
prisma migrate reset

Migrations (Production)

# Apply pending migrations (CI/CD)
prisma migrate deploy

# Check migration status
prisma migrate status

# Compare schemas and generate diff
prisma migrate diff --from-config-datasource --to-schema schema.prisma --script

Utility Commands

# Open Prisma Studio (database GUI)
prisma studio

# Start Prisma's MCP server for AI tools
prisma mcp

# Show version info
prisma version
prisma -v

# Debug information
prisma debug

# Validate schema
prisma validate

# Format schema
prisma format

Current Prisma CLI Setup

New Configuration File

Use prisma.config.ts for CLI configuration:

import 'dotenv/config'
import { defineConfig, env } from 'prisma/config'

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

Current Command Behavior

• Run prisma generate explicitly after migrate dev, db push, or other schema syncs when you need fresh client output
• Run prisma db seed explicitly after migrate dev or migrate reset when you need seed data
• Use prisma db execute --file ... for raw SQL scripts

Environment Variables

Load environment variables explicitly in prisma.config.ts, commonly with dotenv:

// prisma.config.ts
import 'dotenv/config'

Rule Files

See individual rule files for detailed command documentation:

references/init.md           - Project initialization
references/generate.md       - Client generation
references/dev.md            - Local development database
references/db-pull.md        - Database introspection
references/db-push.md        - Schema push
references/db-seed.md        - Database seeding
references/db-execute.md     - Raw SQL execution
references/migrate-dev.md    - Development migrations
references/migrate-deploy.md - Production migrations
references/migrate-reset.md  - Database reset
references/migrate-status.md - Migration status
references/migrate-resolve.md - Migration resolution
references/migrate-diff.md   - Schema diffing
references/studio.md         - Database GUI
references/mcp.md            - Prisma MCP server
references/validate.md       - Schema validation
references/format.md         - Schema formatting
references/debug.md          - Debug info

How to Use

Use the command categories above for navigation, then open the specific command reference file you need.