Prisma ORM

VerifiedSafe

Type-safe ORM for database operations with PostgreSQL. Replace raw SQL queries with declarative schema modeling and automatic type generation.

Sby Skills Guide Bot
DevelopmentIntermediate
306/2/2026
Claude Code
#prisma#orm#postgresql#type-safe#migrations

Recommended for

Our review

This skill enables using Prisma ORM for type-safe database operations with PostgreSQL, replacing raw SQL.

Strengths

  • Automatic TypeScript type generation from the schema.
  • Declarative database migration management.
  • Eliminates SQL injection risks via typed queries.
  • Maps objects to tables without manual row mapping code.

Limitations

  • Learning curve for developers unfamiliar with ORMs.
  • Performance can be less than raw SQL for very complex queries.
  • Adds an additional dependency to the stack.
When to use it

Use this skill when you want type-safe database access and automated migrations in a Node.js/TypeScript project.

When not to use it

Avoid it when you need maximum performance for complex SQL queries or have a legacy raw SQL integration that is hard to migrate.

Security analysis

Safe
Quality score90/100

The skill describes standard Prisma ORM setup and usage, including npm install and schema generation. No destructive, exfiltration, or obfuscated actions. The Bash tool is used for legitimate package management and CLI commands.

No concerns found

Examples

Set up Prisma with initial schema
Set up Prisma ORM in our Node.js project with PostgreSQL. Install dependencies, run prisma init, define a User model with id, email, and name fields, and generate the Prisma client.
Create a migration for an existing table
Create a Prisma schema that matches the existing products table in our PostgreSQL database, including the product_translations relationship. Then generate a migration to sync the schema.
Write a type-safe query with translation fallback
Write a Prisma query to fetch a product by ID and include its translations for a given language code, falling back to the default product name and description if no translation exists.

name: prisma description: | Prisma ORM for type-safe database operations with PostgreSQL. Use when: Defining schemas, writing type-safe queries, creating migrations, modeling relations, or replacing raw SQL with ORM patterns. allowed-tools: Read, Edit, Write, Glob, Grep, Bash

Prisma Skill

Provides type-safe database operations as an alternative to raw SQL. This codebase currently uses the pg library with raw SQL queries. Prisma offers automatic type generation, declarative schema modeling, and migration management - eliminating the manual row mapping and SQL injection risks present in raw SQL approaches.

Quick Start

Install and Initialize

cd backend
npm install prisma @prisma/client
npx prisma init

Schema Definition

// prisma/schema.prisma
generator client {
  provider = "prisma-client-js"
}

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

model Product {
  id               Int                    @id @default(autoincrement())
  name             String
  shortDescription String                 @map("short_description")
  description      String
  price            Decimal                @db.Decimal(10, 2)
  salePrice        Decimal?               @map("sale_price") @db.Decimal(10, 2)
  imageUrl         String                 @map("image_url")
  inventory        Int                    @default(0)
  categories       Json
  highlights       Json?
  usage            String?
  isNew            Boolean                @default(false) @map("is_new")
  isFeatured       Boolean                @default(false) @map("is_featured")
  salesCount       Int                    @default(0) @map("sales_count")
  createdAt        DateTime               @default(now()) @map("created_at")
  updatedAt        DateTime               @updatedAt @map("updated_at")
  translations     ProductTranslation[]
  orderItems       OrderItem[]
  variants         ProductVariant[]

  @@map("products")
}

model ProductTranslation {
  id              Int      @id @default(autoincrement())
  productId       Int      @map("product_id")
  languageCode    String   @map("language_code") @db.VarChar(10)
  name            String   @db.VarChar(255)
  shortDescription String  @map("short_description")
  description     String
  highlights      Json?
  usage           String?
  slug            String?  @db.VarChar(255)
  createdAt       DateTime @default(now()) @map("created_at")
  updatedAt       DateTime @updatedAt @map("updated_at")
  product         Product  @relation(fields: [productId], references: [id], onDelete: Cascade)
  language        Language @relation(fields: [languageCode], references: [code], onDelete: Cascade)

  @@unique([productId, languageCode])
  @@map("product_translations")
}

Client Usage

// backend/src/db/prisma.ts
import { PrismaClient } from '@prisma/client';

const prisma = new PrismaClient({
  log: process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development' ? ['query', 'warn', 'error'] : ['error'],
});

export { prisma };

Key Concepts

| Concept | Usage | Example | |---------|-------|---------| | @map | Map field to snake_case column | @map("created_at") | | @@map | Map model to table name | @@map("products") | | Relations | Define FK relationships | product Product @relation(...) | | @db.Decimal | Specify PostgreSQL types | @db.Decimal(10, 2) | | @@unique | Composite unique constraints | @@unique([productId, languageCode]) | | Transactions | Atomic operations | prisma.$transaction([...]) |

Common Patterns

Fetching with Translation Fallback

When: Getting localized content with English fallback

const product = await prisma.product.findUnique({
  where: { id: productId },
  include: {
    translations: {
      where: { languageCode: lang },
    },
  },
});

// Apply translation or fallback to base
const name = product.translations[0]?.name ?? product.name;

Transactions for Orders

When: Creating orders with inventory updates

await prisma.$transaction(async (tx) => {
  const order = await tx.order.create({ data: orderData });
  
  for (const item of items) {
    await tx.orderItem.create({
      data: { orderId: order.id, ...item },
    });
    await tx.product.update({
      where: { id: item.productId },
      data: { inventory: { decrement: item.quantity } },
    });
  }
  
  return order;
});

See Also

  • patterns - Query patterns and model design
  • workflows - Migrations and schema management

Related Skills

  • See the postgresql skill for raw SQL patterns and PostgreSQL-specific features
  • See the typescript skill for type inference patterns with Prisma
  • See the zod skill for runtime validation of Prisma inputs
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