Skip to main content

Generators

A Prisma schema can have one or more generators, represented by the generator block:

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

A generator determines which assets are created when you run the prisma generate command.

There are two generators for Prisma Client:

  • prisma-client-js: Generates Prisma Client into node_modules
  • prisma-client (Early Access): Newer and more flexible version of prisma-client-js with ESM support; it outputs plain TypeScript code and requires a custom output path

Alternatively, you can configure any npm package that complies with our generator specification.

prisma-client-js​

The prisma-client-js is the default generator for Prisma ORM 6.X versions and before. It requires the @prisma/client npm package and generates Prisma Client into node_modules.

Field reference​

The generator for Prisma's JavaScript Client accepts multiple additional properties:

  • previewFeatures: Preview features to include
  • binaryTargets: Engine binary targets for prisma-client-js (for example, debian-openssl-1.1.x if you are deploying to Ubuntu 18+, or native if you are working locally)
generator client {
  provider        = "prisma-client-js"
  previewFeatures = ["sample-preview-feature"]
  binaryTargets   = ["debian-openssl-1.1.x"] // defaults to `"native"`
}

Binary targets​

note

As of v6.7.0, Prisma ORM has the queryCompiler Preview feature.

When enabled, your Prisma Client will be generated without a Rust-based query engine binary:

generator client {
  provider        = "prisma-client-js"
  previewFeatures = ["queryCompiler", "driverAdapters"] 
}

Note that the driver adapters Preview feature is required alongside queryCompiler.

When using the queryCompiler Preview feature, the binaryTargets field is obsolete and not needed.

The prisma-client-js generator uses several engines. Engines are implemented in Rust and are used by Prisma Client in the form of executable, platform-dependent engine files. Depending on which platform you are executing your code on, you need the correct file. "Binary targets" are used to define which files should be present for the target platform(s).

The correct file is particularly important when deploying your application to production, which often differs from your local development environment.

The native binary target​

The native binary target is special. It doesn't map to a concrete operating system. Instead, when native is specified in binaryTargets, Prisma Client detects the current operating system and automatically specifies the correct binary target for it.

As an example, assume you're running macOS and you specify the following generator:

prisma/schema.prisma
generator client {
  provider      = "prisma-client-js"
  binaryTargets = ["native"]
}

In that case, Prisma Client detects your operating system and finds the right binary file for it based on the list of supported operating systems . If you use macOS Intel x86 (darwin), then the binary file that was compiled for darwin will be selected. If you use macOS ARM64 (darwin-arm64), then the binary file that was compiled for darwin-arm64 will be selected.

Note: The native binary target is the default. You can set it explicitly if you wish to include additional binary targets for deployment to different environments.

prisma-client (Early Access)​

The new prisma-client generator offers greater control and flexibility when using Prisma ORM across different JavaScript environments (such as ESM, Bun, Deno, ...).

It generates Prisma Client into a custom directory in your application's codebase that's specified via the output field on the generator block. This gives you full visibility and control over the generated code. It also splits the generated Prisma Client library into multiple files.

Currently in Early Access, this generator ensures you can bundle your application code exactly the way you want, without relying on hidden or automatic behaviors.

Here are the main differences compared to prisma-client-js:

  • Requires an output path; no “magic” generation into node_modules any more
  • Supports ESM and CommonJS via the moduleFormat field
  • More flexible thanks to additional fields
  • Outputs plain TypeScript that's bundled just like the rest of your application code

The prisma-client generator will become the new default with Prisma ORM v7.

Getting started​

Follow these steps to use the new prisma-client generator in your project.

1. Configure the prisma-client generator in schema.prisma​

Update your generator block:

prisma/schema.prisma
generator client {
  provider = "prisma-client"            // Required
  output   = "../src/generated/prisma"  // Required path
}

The output option is required and tells Prisma ORM where to put the generated Prisma Client code. You can choose any location suitable for your project structure. For instance, if you have the following layout:

.
├── package.json
├── prisma
│   └── schema.prisma
├── src
│   └── index.ts
└── tsconfig.json

Then ../src/generated/prisma places the generated code in src/generated/prisma relative to schema.prisma.

2. Generate Prisma Client​

Generate Prisma Client by running:

npx prisma generate

This generates the code for Prisma Client (including the query engine binary) into the specified output folder.

3. Exclude the generated directory from version control​

The new generator includes both the TypeScript client code and the query engine. Including the query engine in version control can cause compatibility issues on different machines. To avoid this, add the generated directory to .gitignore:

.gitignore
# Keep the generated Prisma Client + query engine out of version control
/src/generated/prisma
note

In the future, you can safely include the generated directory in version control when Prisma ORM is fully transitioned from Rust to TypeScript.

4. Use Prisma Client in your application​

Importing Prisma Client​

After generating the Prisma Client, import it from the path you specified:

src/index.ts
import { PrismaClient } from "./generated/prisma/client.js"

const prisma = new PrismaClient()

Prisma Client is now ready to use in your project.

Importing generated model types​

If you're importing types generated for your models, you can do so as follows:

src/index.ts
import { User, Post } from "./generated/prisma/models.js"

Importing generated enum types​

If you're importing types generated for your enums, you can do so as follows:

src/index.ts
import { Role } from "./generated/prisma/enums.js"

Field reference​

Use the following options in the generator client { ... } block. Only output is required. The other fields have defaults or are inferred from your environment and tsconfig.json.

schema.prisma
generator client {
  // Required
  provider = "prisma-client"
  output   = "../src/generated/prisma"

  // Optional
  runtime                = "nodejs"
  moduleFormat           = "esm"
  generatedFileExtension = "ts"
  importFileExtension    = "ts"
}

Below are the options for the prisma-client generator:

OptionDefaultDescription
output (required)Directory where Prisma Client is generated, e.g. ../src/generated/prisma.
runtimenodejsTarget runtime environment.
Supported values:
nodejs (alias node), deno, bun, deno-deploy, workerd (alias cloudflare), edge-light (alias vercel), react-native.
moduleFormatInferred from environmentModule format (esm or cjs). Determines whether import.meta.url or __dirname is used.
generatedFileExtensiontsFile extension for generated TypeScript files (ts, mts, cts).
importFileExtensionInferred from environmentFile extension used in import statements. Can be ts, mts, cts, js, mjs, cjs, or empty (for bare imports).

Output splitting and importing types​

The prisma-client-js generator used to generate all typings into a single index.d.ts file, which could lead to slowing down editors (e.g. breaking auto-complete) with large schemas.

The new prisma-client generator now splits the generated Prisma Client library into multiple files and thus avoids the problems of a single, large output file.

Before (prisma-client-js)

generated/
└── prisma
    ├── client.ts
    ├── index.ts # -> this is split into multiple files in 6.7.0
    └── libquery_engine-darwin.dylib.node

After (prisma-client)

generated/
└── prisma
    ├── client.ts
    ├── commonInputTypes.ts
    ├── enums.ts
    ├── internal
    │   ├── class.ts
    │   └── prismaNamespace.ts
    ├── libquery_engine-darwin.dylib.node
    ├── models
    │   ├── Post.ts
    │   └── User.ts
    └── models.ts

Examples​

To see what the new prisma-client generator looks like in practice, check out our minimal and ready-to-run examples:

Community generators​

note

Existing generators or new ones should not be affected if you are using a multi-file Prisma schema, unless a generator reads the schema manually.

The following is a list of community created generators.