Prisma Upgrade V7

Upgrade to Prisma ORM 7

Complete guide for migrating from Prisma ORM v6 to v7. This upgrade introduces significant breaking changes around the new prisma-client generator, driver adapters, prisma.config.ts, explicit environment loading, and generated client entrypoints.

When to Apply

Reference this skill when:

• Upgrading from Prisma v6 to v7
• Updating to the prisma-client generator
• Setting up driver adapters
• Configuring prisma.config.ts
• Fixing import errors after upgrade

Rule Categories by Priority

Quick Reference

• schema-changes - generator migration, required output paths, generated entrypoints, and Prisma.validator replacement
• driver-adapters - required adapter installation for SQL providers, pool differences, and Prisma Postgres adapter choices
• esm-support - ESM-first setup plus CommonJS fallback with moduleFormat = "cjs"
• prisma-config - creating and using prisma.config.ts
• env-variables - explicit environment loading
• removed-features - removed middleware, metrics, and legacy CLI behavior
• accelerate-users - migration notes for Accelerate users

Important Notes

• MongoDB projects should stay on Prisma 6.x - do not migrate MongoDB apps to Prisma 7's SQL client path
• Node.js 20.19.0+ required
• TypeScript 5.4.0+ required
• Latest stable Prisma ORM version: 7.8.0

Upgrade Steps Overview

1. Update packages to v7 2. Choose your module format (esm by default, cjs if needed) 3. Update TypeScript configuration 4. Update the schema generator block 5. Create prisma.config.ts 6. Install and configure a driver adapter for SQL providers 7. Update Prisma Client imports 8. Update client instantiation 9. Replace deprecated helper patterns like Prisma.validator 10. Run prisma generate and test

Quick Upgrade Commands

# Update packages
npm install @prisma/client@7
npm install -D prisma@7

# Install a driver adapter (PostgreSQL or Prisma Postgres via direct TCP)
npm install @prisma/adapter-pg pg

# Install dotenv for env loading
npm install dotenv

# Regenerate client
npx prisma generate

Breaking Changes Summary

Rule Files

Detailed migration guides for each breaking change:

references/esm-support.md        - ESM and CommonJS configuration
references/schema-changes.md     - Generator, output, imports, and generated entrypoints
references/driver-adapters.md    - Required driver adapter setup
references/prisma-config.md      - New configuration file
references/env-variables.md      - Environment variable loading
references/removed-features.md   - Middleware, metrics, and CLI flags
references/accelerate-users.md   - Special handling for Accelerate

Step-by-Step Migration

1. Update package.json for ESM-first projects

{
  "type": "module"
}

If you need to stay on CommonJS, keep your app as CJS and set moduleFormat = "cjs" in the generator block instead of forcing ESM.

2. Update tsconfig.json

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "module": "ESNext",
    "moduleResolution": "bundler",
    "target": "ES2023",
    "strict": true,
    "esModuleInterop": true
  }
}

3. Update schema.prisma

// Before (v6)
generator client {
  provider = "prisma-client-js"
}

// After (v7)
generator client {
  provider = "prisma-client"
  output   = "../generated/prisma"
  // Optional if you need CommonJS:
  // moduleFormat = "cjs"
}

4. Create prisma.config.ts

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

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

5. Install a driver adapter (SQL providers only)

# PostgreSQL
npm install @prisma/adapter-pg pg

# MySQL
npm install @prisma/adapter-mariadb mariadb

# SQLite
npm install @prisma/adapter-better-sqlite3 better-sqlite3

# Prisma Postgres in standard Node.js apps (recommended)
npm install @prisma/adapter-pg pg

# Prisma Postgres serverless driver (edge/serverless)
npm install @prisma/adapter-ppg @prisma/ppg

# Neon
npm install @prisma/adapter-neon

MongoDB does not have a SQL @prisma/adapter-* package in the published Prisma 7 packages. If you're upgrading a MongoDB project, stop and keep that project on the latest Prisma 6.x release instead of following the standard Prisma 7 migration path.

6. Update client instantiation

// Before (v6)
import { PrismaClient } from '@prisma/client'
const prisma = new PrismaClient()

// After (v7)
import { PrismaClient } from '../generated/prisma/client'
import { PrismaPg } from '@prisma/adapter-pg'

const adapter = new PrismaPg({
  connectionString: process.env.DATABASE_URL
})

const prisma = new PrismaClient({ adapter })

7. Replace Prisma.validator with satisfies

import { Prisma } from '../generated/prisma/client'

const userSelect = {
  id: true,
  email: true,
  name: true,
} satisfies Prisma.UserSelect

8. Run migrations and generate

npx prisma generate
npx prisma migrate dev  # if needed

Troubleshooting

"Cannot find module" errors

• Check that the generator output path matches your import path
• Ensure prisma generate ran successfully

SSL certificate errors

• Add ssl: { rejectUnauthorized: false } to the adapter config if you need to preserve old behavior
• Or configure your certificates properly with NODE_EXTRA_CA_CERTS / OpenSSL CA settings

Connection timeout issues

• Driver adapters use the underlying driver's defaults, which differ from v6
• Configure pool settings explicitly on the adapter if needed

Resources

• Official v7 Upgrade Guide
• Driver Adapters Documentation
• Prisma Config Reference

How to Use

Follow references/schema-changes.md and references/driver-adapters.md first, then apply the remaining reference files based on your project setup.

Prisma Accelerate Users

Special migration instructions for users of Prisma Accelerate or Prisma Postgres with prisma:// or prisma+postgres:// URLs.

Important

Do NOT pass Accelerate URLs to driver adapters.

Driver adapters (like PrismaPg) expect direct database connection strings. They will fail with prisma:// or prisma+postgres:// URLs.

Correct v7 Setup for Accelerate

1. Keep your Accelerate URL

# .env
DATABASE_URL="prisma://accelerate.prisma-data.net/?api_key=..."
# or
DATABASE_URL="prisma+postgres://accelerate.prisma-data.net/..."

2. Install Accelerate extension

npm install @prisma/extension-accelerate

3. Configure prisma.config.ts

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

export default defineConfig({
  schema: 'prisma/schema.prisma',
  datasource: {
    url: env('DATABASE_URL'),  // Accelerate URL works here
  },
})

4. Instantiate client with accelerateUrl

import { PrismaClient } from '../generated/client'
import { withAccelerate } from '@prisma/extension-accelerate'

// Use accelerateUrl instead of adapter
export const prisma = new PrismaClient({
  accelerateUrl: process.env.DATABASE_URL,
}).$extends(withAccelerate())

What NOT to Do

// ❌ WRONG - Don't use adapter with Accelerate URL
import { PrismaPg } from '@prisma/adapter-pg'

const adapter = new PrismaPg({
  connectionString: process.env.DATABASE_URL  // This will fail with prisma://
})

Migrations with Accelerate

For migrations, you may need a direct database connection:

Option 1: Use Accelerate URL for everything

Accelerate URLs work with Prisma CLI commands:

# Works with Accelerate URL
prisma migrate deploy
prisma db push

Option 2: Use direct URL for migrations

DATABASE_URL="prisma+postgres://..."  # For app
DIRECT_DATABASE_URL="postgresql://..."  # For migrations

// prisma.config.ts
export default defineConfig({
  datasource: {
    url: env('DIRECT_DATABASE_URL'),  // Direct URL for CLI
  },
})

Prisma Postgres (Cloud)

If using Prisma Postgres cloud database:

Same approach

import { PrismaClient } from '../generated/client'
import { withAccelerate } from '@prisma/extension-accelerate'

export const prisma = new PrismaClient({
  accelerateUrl: process.env.DATABASE_URL,  // prisma+postgres:// URL
}).$extends(withAccelerate())

Switching Away from Accelerate

If you later switch to direct TCP connection:

// Change from accelerateUrl to adapter
import { PrismaClient } from '../generated/client'
import { PrismaPg } from '@prisma/adapter-pg'

const adapter = new PrismaPg({
  connectionString: process.env.DATABASE_URL  // Direct postgres:// URL
})

export const prisma = new PrismaClient({ adapter })

Caching with Accelerate

The extension enables caching:

const users = await prisma.user.findMany({
  cacheStrategy: {
    ttl: 60,  // Cache for 60 seconds
    swr: 120, // Stale-while-revalidate for 120 seconds
  },
})

Edge Runtime

Accelerate works great in edge runtimes:

// Works in Vercel Edge, Cloudflare Workers, etc.
import { PrismaClient } from '../generated/client'
import { withAccelerate } from '@prisma/extension-accelerate'

export const prisma = new PrismaClient({
  accelerateUrl: process.env.DATABASE_URL,
}).$extends(withAccelerate())

Driver Adapters

Prisma v7 requires driver adapters for SQL database connections. This is the standard SQL execution path in current Prisma releases.

MongoDB should not follow this path. There is no published MongoDB @prisma/adapter-* package, and MongoDB projects should remain on the latest Prisma 6.x release instead of trying to fit into the Prisma 7 SQL adapter model.

Why Driver Adapters?

• No native engine binary in the Prisma Client SQL path
• Smaller bundle size
• Better serverless/edge compatibility
• Uses native Node.js database drivers
• More control over connection pooling

Available Adapters

Installation

PostgreSQL

npm install @prisma/adapter-pg

MySQL

npm install @prisma/adapter-mariadb mariadb

SQLite

npm install @prisma/adapter-better-sqlite3

Prisma Postgres

npm install @prisma/adapter-pg pg

SQL Server

npm install @prisma/adapter-mssql mssql

Configuration

PostgreSQL

import { PrismaClient } from '../generated/client'
import { PrismaPg } from '@prisma/adapter-pg'

const adapter = new PrismaPg({
  connectionString: process.env.DATABASE_URL
})

const prisma = new PrismaClient({ adapter })

MySQL

import { PrismaClient } from '../generated/client'
import { PrismaMariaDb } from '@prisma/adapter-mariadb'

const adapter = new PrismaMariaDb({
  host: 'localhost',
  port: 3306,
  connectionLimit: 5,
  user: process.env.MYSQL_USER,
  password: process.env.MYSQL_PASSWORD,
  database: process.env.MYSQL_DATABASE,
})

const prisma = new PrismaClient({ adapter })

SQLite

import { PrismaClient } from '../generated/client'
import { PrismaBetterSqlite3 } from '@prisma/adapter-better-sqlite3'

const adapter = new PrismaBetterSqlite3({
  url: process.env.DATABASE_URL || 'file:./dev.db'
})

const prisma = new PrismaClient({ adapter })

Neon (Serverless PostgreSQL)

import { PrismaClient } from '../generated/client'
import { PrismaNeon } from '@prisma/adapter-neon'

const adapter = new PrismaNeon({
  connectionString: process.env.DATABASE_URL
})

const prisma = new PrismaClient({ adapter })

Prisma Postgres

import { PrismaClient } from '../generated/client'
import { PrismaPg } from '@prisma/adapter-pg'

const adapter = new PrismaPg({
  connectionString: process.env.DATABASE_URL,
})

const prisma = new PrismaClient({ adapter })

Prisma Postgres serverless driver

import { PrismaClient } from '../generated/client'
import { PrismaPostgresAdapter } from '@prisma/adapter-ppg'

const prisma = new PrismaClient({
  adapter: new PrismaPostgresAdapter({
    connectionString: process.env.PRISMA_DIRECT_TCP_URL,
  }),
})

SQL Server

import { PrismaClient } from '../generated/client'
import { PrismaMssql } from '@prisma/adapter-mssql'

const adapter = new PrismaMssql({
  server: 'localhost',
  port: 1433,
  database: 'mydb',
  user: process.env.SQLSERVER_USER,
  password: process.env.SQLSERVER_PASSWORD,
  options: {
    encrypt: true,
    trustServerCertificate: true,
  },
})

const prisma = new PrismaClient({ adapter })

Connection Pool Configuration

Driver adapters use the underlying driver's pool settings, which differ from v6 defaults.

PostgreSQL with custom pool

import { PrismaPg } from '@prisma/adapter-pg'

const adapter = new PrismaPg({
  connectionString: process.env.DATABASE_URL,
  // Pool configuration
  max: 10,                    // Maximum connections
  idleTimeoutMillis: 30000,   // Close idle connections after 30s
  connectionTimeoutMillis: 5000, // Connection timeout (v6 default was 5s)
})

Matching v6 behavior

const adapter = new PrismaPg({
  connectionString: process.env.DATABASE_URL,
  connectionTimeoutMillis: 5000,  // v6 used 5 second timeout
})

SSL Configuration

Accept self-signed certificates

const adapter = new PrismaPg({
  connectionString: process.env.DATABASE_URL,
  ssl: {
    rejectUnauthorized: false  // Accept self-signed certs
  }
})

Proper SSL configuration

const adapter = new PrismaPg({
  connectionString: process.env.DATABASE_URL,
  ssl: {
    ca: fs.readFileSync('/path/to/ca-cert.pem'),
    rejectUnauthorized: true
  }
})

Migration from v6

Before (v6)

import { PrismaClient } from '@prisma/client'

const prisma = new PrismaClient({
  datasources: {
    db: { url: process.env.DATABASE_URL }
  }
})

After (v7)

import { PrismaClient } from '../generated/client'
import { PrismaPg } from '@prisma/adapter-pg'

const adapter = new PrismaPg({
  connectionString: process.env.DATABASE_URL
})

const prisma = new PrismaClient({ adapter })

Singleton Pattern

// lib/prisma.ts
import { PrismaClient } from '../generated/client'
import { PrismaPg } from '@prisma/adapter-pg'

const globalForPrisma = globalThis as unknown as {
  prisma: PrismaClient | undefined
}

const adapter = new PrismaPg({
  connectionString: process.env.DATABASE_URL!
})

export const prisma = globalForPrisma.prisma ?? new PrismaClient({ adapter })

if (process.env.NODE_ENV !== 'production') {
  globalForPrisma.prisma = prisma
}

Environment Variables

Prisma v7 no longer automatically loads environment variables. You must load them explicitly.

The Change

v6 Behavior

Prisma CLI automatically loaded .env files.

v7 Behavior

You must manually load environment variables using dotenv or similar.

Setup

1. Install dotenv

npm install dotenv

2. Import in prisma.config.ts

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

export default defineConfig({
  datasource: {
    url: env('DATABASE_URL'),
  },
})

Bun Users

Bun automatically loads .env files. No additional setup needed:

// prisma.config.ts (Bun)
import { defineConfig, env } from 'prisma/config'

export default defineConfig({
  datasource: {
    url: env('DATABASE_URL'),
  },
})

Multiple .env Files

Using dotenv-cli

npm install -D dotenv-cli

{
  "scripts": {
    "db:migrate": "dotenv -e .env.local -- prisma migrate dev",
    "db:push": "dotenv -e .env.development -- prisma db push"
  }
}

Using dotenv with path

// prisma.config.ts
import { config } from 'dotenv'
import path from 'path'

// Load specific .env file
config({ path: path.join(__dirname, '.env.local') })

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

export default defineConfig({
  datasource: {
    url: env('DATABASE_URL'),
  },
})

Application Code

For your application, load env vars at startup:

Entry point

// index.ts
import 'dotenv/config'

import { PrismaClient } from '../generated/client'
import { PrismaPg } from '@prisma/adapter-pg'

const adapter = new PrismaPg({
  connectionString: process.env.DATABASE_URL!
})

const prisma = new PrismaClient({ adapter })

Or use dotenv explicitly

import { config } from 'dotenv'
config()

// Now process.env.DATABASE_URL is available

Removed Environment Variables

These Prisma-specific env vars are removed in v7:

TypeScript env() Helper

The env() function from prisma/config provides type safety:

import { env } from 'prisma/config'

// Type-safe environment variable access
const url = env('DATABASE_URL')  // string

Note: This only works within prisma.config.ts, not in your application code.

CI/CD Considerations

Ensure environment variables are set in your CI environment:

# GitHub Actions
env:
  DATABASE_URL: ${{ secrets.DATABASE_URL }}

steps:
  - run: npx prisma migrate deploy

No need for dotenv in CI if variables are set directly.

ESM and CommonJS Support

Prisma ORM v7 is ESM-first, but the prisma-client generator can target either ESM or CommonJS. Use ESM by default, and opt into CommonJS with moduleFormat = "cjs" if your project still needs it.

ESM Projects

Add "type": "module" to package.json and use an ESM-compatible tsconfig.json:

{
  "type": "module",
  "scripts": {
    "build": "tsc",
    "start": "node dist/index.js"
  }
}

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "module": "ESNext",
    "moduleResolution": "bundler",
    "target": "ES2023",
    "strict": true,
    "esModuleInterop": true,
    "skipLibCheck": true,
    "outDir": "dist"
  },
  "include": ["src/**/*", "prisma/**/*"]
}

CommonJS Projects

If the rest of your app is still CommonJS, keep that setup and make the generated Prisma Client CommonJS too:

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "module": "CommonJS",
    "moduleResolution": "node",
    "target": "ES2022",
    "esModuleInterop": true
  }
}

generator client {
  provider     = "prisma-client"
  output       = "../generated/prisma"
  moduleFormat = "cjs"
}

Generator Fields That Matter

• moduleFormat: esm or cjs
• runtime: nodejs, bun, deno, workerd, vercel-edge, react-native
• generatedFileExtension: ts, mts, or cts
• importFileExtension: ts, mts, cts, js, mjs, cjs, or empty

Example:

generator client {
  provider               = "prisma-client"
  output                 = "../generated/prisma"
  runtime                = "nodejs"
  moduleFormat           = "esm"
  generatedFileExtension = "ts"
  importFileExtension    = "ts"
}

Import Paths

Server Code

import { PrismaClient } from '../generated/prisma/client'

Browser-Safe Types

import { Prisma } from '../generated/prisma/browser'
import { Role } from '../generated/prisma/enums'
import type { UserModel } from '../generated/prisma/models/User'

File Extensions

With moduleResolution: "Node16" or "NodeNext", use .js/.mjs/.cjs extensions that match your emitted files.

With moduleResolution: "bundler", bare relative imports are usually fine.

Minimum Versions

Framework Considerations

Next.js

Next.js works well with the default ESM output. If you need generated types in client components, import them from browser, models, or enums, not from client.

Bun

Bun loads .env files automatically, so ESM plus env() is the smoothest default. You can still choose moduleFormat = "cjs" if the rest of your project requires it.

Troubleshooting

"ERR_REQUIRE_ESM"

Your generated client is ESM, but your app is requiring it as CommonJS. Either switch the project to ESM or set moduleFormat = "cjs" and regenerate.

"Cannot use import statement outside a module"

Your app is still being executed as CommonJS. Add "type": "module" or use moduleFormat = "cjs" instead.

TypeScript compilation errors

Ensure module, moduleResolution, and your generator's moduleFormat agree with one another.

Prisma Config

Prisma v7 introduces prisma.config.ts as the central configuration file for the Prisma CLI.

Location

Place prisma.config.ts at your project root (next to package.json).

Basic Configuration

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

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

Configuration Options

schema

Path to your Prisma schema file:

schema: 'prisma/schema.prisma'

datasource.url

Database connection URL:

datasource: {
  url: env('DATABASE_URL'),
}

datasource.directUrl

Direct connection URL (bypassing connection pooler):

datasource: {
  url: env('DATABASE_URL'),
  directUrl: env('DIRECT_DATABASE_URL'),
}

datasource.shadowDatabaseUrl

Shadow database for migrations:

datasource: {
  url: env('DATABASE_URL'),
  shadowDatabaseUrl: env('SHADOW_DATABASE_URL'),
}

migrations.path

Directory for migration files:

migrations: {
  path: 'prisma/migrations',
}

migrations.seed

Seed command for prisma db seed:

migrations: {
  path: 'prisma/migrations',
  seed: 'tsx prisma/seed.ts',
}

Full Example

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

export default defineConfig({
  // Schema location
  schema: 'prisma/schema.prisma',
  
  // Migration configuration
  migrations: {
    path: 'prisma/migrations',
    seed: 'tsx prisma/seed.ts',
  },
  
  // Database connection
  datasource: {
    url: env('DATABASE_URL'),
    directUrl: env('DIRECT_DATABASE_URL'),
    shadowDatabaseUrl: env('SHADOW_DATABASE_URL'),
  },
})

Environment Variables

The env() helper

Use env() to reference environment variables:

import { env } from 'prisma/config'

datasource: {
  url: env('DATABASE_URL'),
}

This provides type safety but does NOT load .env files automatically.

Loading .env files

Install and import dotenv:

npm install dotenv

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

Migrating from v6

Before (v6) - schema.prisma

datasource db {
  provider  = "postgresql"
  url       = env("DATABASE_URL")
  directUrl = env("DIRECT_URL")
}

After (v7) - prisma.config.ts

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

export default defineConfig({
  schema: 'prisma/schema.prisma',
  datasource: {
    url: env('DATABASE_URL'),
    directUrl: env('DIRECT_URL'),
  },
})

And update schema.prisma:

datasource db {
  provider = "postgresql"
  // URLs now in prisma.config.ts
}

Custom Config Path

Use --config flag with CLI commands:

prisma migrate dev --config ./config/prisma.config.ts

Monorepo Configuration

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

export default defineConfig({
  schema: path.join(__dirname, 'packages/database/prisma/schema.prisma'),
  migrations: {
    path: path.join(__dirname, 'packages/database/prisma/migrations'),
  },
  datasource: {
    url: env('DATABASE_URL'),
  },
})

Removed Features

Several features have been removed in Prisma v7. Here's how to migrate.

Client Middleware

Removed

// ❌ No longer works in v7
prisma.$use(async (params, next) => {
  const before = Date.now()
  const result = await next(params)
  const after = Date.now()
  console.log(`Query took ${after - before}ms`)
  return result
})

Use Client Extensions Instead

// ✅ v7 approach
const prisma = new PrismaClient({ adapter }).$extends({
  query: {
    $allModels: {
      async $allOperations({ operation, model, args, query }) {
        const before = Date.now()
        const result = await query(args)
        const after = Date.now()
        console.log(`${model}.${operation} took ${after - before}ms`)
        return result
      },
    },
  },
})

Common Middleware Patterns

Soft delete

const prisma = new PrismaClient({ adapter }).$extends({
  query: {
    user: {
      async delete({ args, query }) {
        // Convert delete to soft delete
        return prisma.user.update({
          where: args.where,
          data: { deletedAt: new Date() },
        })
      },
      async findMany({ args, query }) {
        // Filter out soft-deleted records
        args.where = { ...args.where, deletedAt: null }
        return query(args)
      },
    },
  },
})

Logging

const prisma = new PrismaClient({ adapter }).$extends({
  query: {
    $allModels: {
      async $allOperations({ operation, model, args, query }) {
        console.log(`${model}.${operation}`, JSON.stringify(args))
        return query(args)
      },
    },
  },
})

Metrics

Removed

The Metrics preview feature has been removed.

// ❌ No longer works
const metrics = await prisma.$metrics.json()

Alternatives

Custom counter with extensions

let totalQueries = 0

const prisma = new PrismaClient({ adapter }).$extends({
  client: {
    async $totalQueries() {
      return totalQueries
    },
  },
  query: {
    $allModels: {
      async $allOperations({ query, args }) {
        totalQueries += 1
        return query(args)
      },
    },
  },
})

// Usage
const count = await prisma.$totalQueries()

Use driver-level metrics

Access metrics from the underlying driver adapter.

CLI Flags Removed

--skip-generate

Removed from migrate dev and db push.

# v6
prisma migrate dev --skip-generate

# v7 - generate is not run automatically
prisma migrate dev
prisma generate  # Run explicitly if needed

Verification against Prisma 7.8.0 showed no generated client files emitted by migrate dev or db push, even though some CLI help text still says migrate dev "trigger[s] generators".

--skip-seed

Removed from migrate dev. More importantly, Prisma v7 no longer auto-runs seeds during migrate dev or migrate reset, so seed explicitly when you need it.

# v6
prisma migrate dev --skip-seed

# v7 - seed is not run automatically
prisma migrate dev
prisma db seed  # Run explicitly if needed

--schema and --url from db execute

# v6
prisma db execute --file ./script.sql --url "$DATABASE_URL"

# v7 - configure in prisma.config.ts
prisma db execute --file ./script.sql

migrate diff Options

Example

# v6
prisma migrate diff --from-url "$DATABASE_URL" --to-schema schema.prisma

# v7
prisma migrate diff --from-config-datasource --to-schema schema.prisma

Automatic Behaviors Removed

Auto-generate after migrate

# v7 workflow
prisma migrate dev --name add_field
prisma generate  # Must run explicitly

Auto-seed after migrate

# v7 workflow
prisma migrate reset --force
prisma db seed  # Must run explicitly

Prisma.validator

The prisma-client generator no longer exposes Prisma.validator. Use TypeScript's satisfies operator instead.

import { Prisma } from '../generated/prisma/client'

const userSelect = {
  id: true,
  email: true,
} satisfies Prisma.UserSelect

rejectOnNotFound

Removed in v5.0.0 (already deprecated).

// ❌ Removed
const prisma = new PrismaClient({
  rejectOnNotFound: true,
})

// ✅ Use OrThrow methods
const user = await prisma.user.findUniqueOrThrow({
  where: { id: 1 },
})

const user = await prisma.user.findFirstOrThrow({
  where: { email: 'test@example.com' },
})

Schema Changes

Prisma v7 promotes prisma-client to the default generator. Update your generator block, output path, and imports accordingly.

This guide is for projects that are actually migrating to Prisma 7. Do not apply these schema changes to MongoDB projects; keep those on Prisma 6.x.

Generator Block (v7)

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

Key Changes

1. Provider name

Use prisma-client in Prisma v7. The older prisma-client-js generator still exists in the repo for legacy setups, but prisma-client is the default path for current projects.

2. Output is required

The output field is mandatory when using prisma-client. Prisma Client no longer generates to node_modules with this generator.

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

3. engineType changed

Legacy Rust engine settings are gone. With prisma-client, the relevant value is engineType = "client" if you want to state it explicitly, although it is typically inferred and can be omitted.

generator client {
  provider   = "prisma-client"
  output     = "../generated/prisma"
  engineType = "client"
}

4. moduleFormat is explicit when needed

If you must stay on CommonJS:

generator client {
  provider     = "prisma-client"
  output       = "../generated/prisma"
  moduleFormat = "cjs"
}

Example Output Paths

Standard project

output = "../generated/prisma"

Creates files like:

generated/prisma/
  client.ts
  browser.ts
  enums.ts
  models.ts
  models/

Monorepo

output = "../../packages/database/generated/prisma"

Same directory as schema

output = "./generated/prisma"

Creates: prisma/generated/prisma/client.ts

Datasource Block

The url, directUrl, and shadowDatabaseUrl fields in the datasource block are deprecated in Prisma v7. Move them to prisma.config.ts and keep only the provider in schema.prisma:

datasource db {
  provider = "postgresql"
}

export default defineConfig({
  datasource: {
    url: env('DATABASE_URL'),
    directUrl: env('DIRECT_URL'),
    shadowDatabaseUrl: env('SHADOW_DATABASE_URL'),
  },
})

After Schema Changes

1. Run prisma generate:

   npx prisma generate

2. Update imports throughout your codebase:

   import { PrismaClient } from '../generated/prisma/client'

3. Update .gitignore if you manage this manually:

   /generated/prisma

4. Replace Prisma.validator() with TypeScript satisfies when using prisma-client:

   import { Prisma } from '../generated/prisma/client'

   const userSelect = {
     id: true,
     email: true,
   } satisfies Prisma.UserSelect

Generated Entrypoints

• client - server-side Prisma Client and Prisma namespace
• browser - browser-safe types and enums without a real PrismaClient
• enums - slim enum-only entrypoint
• models - model types and derived helper types

Preview Features

Preview features still work as before:

generator client {
  provider        = "prisma-client"
  output          = "../generated/prisma"
  previewFeatures = ["relationJoins", "fullTextSearch"]
}

Recent preview-feature examples also include partialIndexes for PostgreSQL, SQLite, SQL Server, and CockroachDB:

generator client {
  provider        = "prisma-client"
  output          = "../generated/prisma"
  previewFeatures = ["partialIndexes"]
}