Prisma ORM - Type-Safe Database Operations

VerifiedCaution

Performs type-safe database operations using Prisma ORM with PostgreSQL. Ideal for defining schemas, writing type-safe queries, creating migrations, modeling relations, or replacing raw SQL with ORM patterns. Automatically generates TypeScript types and manages database schema changes.

Sby Skills Guide Bot
DevelopmentIntermediate
1706/2/2026
Claude Code
#prisma#orm#database#postgresql#type-safe

Recommended for

Our review

Uses Prisma ORM for type-safe and secure database operations with PostgreSQL, replacing raw SQL.

Strengths

  • Automatic TypeScript type generation for safe queries.
  • Built-in migration management.
  • Declarative schema modeling with relations and constraints.

Limitations

  • Requires initial setup and learning Prisma syntax.
  • Some complex or highly optimized queries may still need raw SQL.
  • Client generation can slow builds if not cached.
When to use it

When you need a type-safe ORM for PostgreSQL with migrations and declarative modeling.

When not to use it

For very simple projects or ad-hoc SQL queries without strong typing needs.

Security analysis

Caution
Quality score92/100

The skill uses Bash for npm install and Prisma initialization, which are standard setup steps. No destructive or exfiltrating commands; safe for listing.

Findings
  • Uses Bash to install npm packages - legitimate but requires system modification capability

Examples

Define Prisma schema
Create a Prisma schema for a Product model with translations and price fields, mapping to existing PostgreSQL tables.
Write type-safe query with fallback
Write a Prisma query to fetch a product by ID with its translations in a given language, falling back to base fields.
Run a transaction
Show how to use Prisma $transaction to atomically update inventory and create an order.

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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