# Prisma Postgres (/docs/postgres)

> For the complete Prisma documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://www.prisma.io/docs/llms.txt). A markdown version of any docs page is available by appending `.md` to its URL.

Connect to Prisma Postgres from Prisma ORM, serverless runtimes, and PostgreSQL clients.

Location: Prisma Postgres

[Prisma Postgres](https://www.prisma.io/postgres?utm_source=docs) is managed PostgreSQL 17 with PgBouncer pooling on every plan and daily backups on paid plans, taken only on days the database has activity; host the app next to it on [Prisma Compute](https://www.prisma.io/docs/compute), or connect from any Postgres client.

Prisma Postgres autoscales: there is no instance to size or upgrade, and you pay for operations and storage. Coding agents can create databases, change the schema, run SQL and restore a backup into a new database through the [Prisma MCP server](https://www.prisma.io/docs/ai/tools/mcp-server).

To your application it is a regular PostgreSQL database behind a connection string:

```text no-copy
Your application
      ↓ DATABASE_URL
Prisma Postgres
```

Any PostgreSQL client works: Prisma ORM, `psql`, Kysely, Drizzle, `node-postgres`, or anything else that speaks Postgres.

## Getting started [#getting-started]

### 1. Create a database [#1-create-a-database]

The fastest way, with no account required:

  

#### bun

```bash
bunx create-db@latest
```

#### pnpm

```bash
pnpm dlx create-db@latest
```

#### yarn

```bash
yarn dlx create-db@latest
```

#### npm

```bash
npx create-db@latest
```

`create-db` creates a temporary Prisma Postgres database and prints a connection string plus a claim URL. Open the claim URL and claim it with a free Prisma account to keep the database in your workspace. See [create-db](https://www.prisma.io/docs/postgres/npx-create-db) for details. You can also create databases in the [Console](https://console.prisma.io/?utm_source=docs\&utm_medium=content\&utm_content=postgres) or with the [Prisma CLI](https://www.prisma.io/docs/cli/postgres) (`npx prisma postgres create`). If your data already lives in a PostgreSQL database on your laptop or another host, [migrate it to Prisma Postgres](https://www.prisma.io/docs/postgres/import-from-existing-database) in three steps: create the database, `pg_dump`, `pg_restore`.

### 2. Copy the connection string [#2-copy-the-connection-string]

`create-db` prints it once; for an existing database, open it in [Prisma Console](https://console.prisma.io/?utm_source=docs\&utm_medium=content\&utm_content=postgres) and click **Connect to your database**. Store it where your app reads configuration:

```text title=".env"
DATABASE_URL="postgres://...@db.prisma.io:5432/postgres?sslmode=require"
```

### 3. Connect and run a query [#3-connect-and-run-a-query]

Pick the client you use; each quickstart takes you from connection string to a first query:

- [Prisma ORM quickstart](https://www.prisma.io/docs/prisma-postgres/quickstart/prisma-orm): Define a data contract and query with Prisma ORM.

- [Prisma ORM 7 quickstart](https://www.prisma.io/docs/v7/prisma-orm/quickstart/prisma-postgres): Connect with the current GA release of Prisma ORM.

- [Kysely quickstart](https://www.prisma.io/docs/prisma-postgres/quickstart/kysely): Connect Prisma Postgres from Kysely.

- [Drizzle ORM quickstart](https://www.prisma.io/docs/prisma-postgres/quickstart/drizzle-orm): Connect Prisma Postgres from Drizzle ORM.

Also available: the [TypeORM quickstart](https://www.prisma.io/docs/prisma-postgres/quickstart/typeorm) and [Connecting to your database](https://www.prisma.io/docs/postgres/database/connecting-to-your-database), which covers connection strings for `psql`, GUI tools, and serverless runtimes.

If you work with a coding agent, copy this prompt:

```text
Create a Prisma Postgres database for this project.

1. Run `npx create-db@latest`. It creates a temporary Prisma Postgres database without an account and prints a connection string plus a claim URL.
2. Put the connection string in `.env` as DATABASE_URL and wire it into whichever of Prisma ORM, Kysely, Drizzle, TypeORM, or node-postgres the project already uses (detect it from package.json; if none, ask me). Verify the connection with one trivial query such as `select 1`.
3. Remind me to open the claim URL to keep the database in my Prisma workspace (claiming needs a free Prisma account).

Current docs: https://www.prisma.io/docs/postgres.md.
```

### Already have a Prisma schema? [#already-have-a-prisma-schema]

If your project already has a `prisma/schema.prisma` file for PostgreSQL (Prisma ORM 7 or earlier), skip the quickstarts and apply your schema to a new database. These steps create the tables, not the rows: to bring existing data from another PostgreSQL database, local or hosted, follow [Import from PostgreSQL](https://www.prisma.io/docs/prisma-postgres/import-from-existing-database-postgresql) instead. Install the project's dependencies first, so `npx prisma` runs the project's Prisma CLI. If `package.json` lists `@prisma/client` but not `prisma`, add `prisma` as a dev dependency at the same version as `@prisma/client`.

1. Create the database and write its connection string to `.env`. `create-db` needs Node.js 20.12 or later; on an older Node.js, create the database in the [Console](https://console.prisma.io/?utm_source=docs\&utm_medium=content\&utm_content=postgres) and copy its direct connection string into `.env` instead.

   
     

#### bun

```bash
bunx create-db@latest --env .env
```

#### pnpm

```bash
pnpm dlx create-db@latest --env .env
```

#### yarn

```bash
yarn dlx create-db@latest --env .env
```

#### npm

```bash
npx create-db@latest --env .env
```
   

   `--env .env` appends `DATABASE_URL` and `CLAIM_URL` to `.env`. If the file already had either line, delete the older one, so the claim URL you open belongs to the new database. In a Prisma ORM 6 project, also remove `DATABASE_URL` from `prisma/.env` if that file sets it: Prisma ORM 6 stops with an error when both files set the same variable. The connection string uses the direct host, `db.prisma.io`, which is the one migrations need.

2. Point the Prisma CLI at the new database before you run a migration:
   * If the config or the schema's `datasource` block reads another variable for migrations, such as `DIRECT_URL`, set it to the same connection string.
   * If your shell already sets `DATABASE_URL` or that variable, unset it: a value set in the shell is used instead of the one in `.env`.
   * If the project has a `prisma.config.ts` (every Prisma ORM 7 project does), it loads `.env` only when it starts with `import "dotenv/config"`, with `dotenv` installed. Add the line if it is missing ([Prisma Config reference](https://www.prisma.io/docs/orm/v7/reference/prisma-config-reference)).

3. Apply the schema:

   
     

#### bun

```bash
bunx prisma migrate deploy
```

#### pnpm

```bash
pnpm prisma migrate deploy
```

#### yarn

```bash
yarn prisma migrate deploy
```

#### npm

```bash
npx prisma migrate deploy
```
   

   `migrate deploy` applies the migrations in the project's migrations folder that the database has not run yet: `prisma/migrations`, unless `prisma.config.ts` sets another `migrations.path`. It applies nothing else, so if the schema has changes that no migration contains yet, create that migration first with `npx prisma migrate dev` against a development database. If the project has never used Prisma Migrate and has no migrations folder, `npx prisma db push` creates the tables from the schema instead.

Before the database serves production traffic:

* Open `CLAIM_URL` and claim the database with a free Prisma account. Unclaimed databases are deleted after 24 hours.
* Give the app the pooled connection string in `DATABASE_URL`, and put the direct one in a separate variable, such as `DIRECT_URL`, that the Prisma CLI reads for migrations. Migrations through the pooler can fail with lock or prepared-statement errors ([Recommended setups](https://www.prisma.io/docs/postgres/database/connecting-to-your-database#recommended-setups)).
* Pick a plan with backups: daily backups are kept for 7 days on Starter and Pro and for 30 days on Business. The Free plan has no backups.

## What's included [#whats-included]

Each Prisma Postgres database includes the following, with no extra services to configure:

* **Connection pooling**: a dedicated PgBouncer instance runs alongside your database, with nothing to set up or manage. It also works for serverless and edge deployments. See [Connection pooling](https://www.prisma.io/docs/postgres/database/connection-pooling).
* **Edge and serverless support**: connect from Cloudflare Workers, Vercel Functions on the Edge runtime, and other edge runtimes via the [serverless driver](https://www.prisma.io/docs/postgres/database/serverless-driver), which uses HTTP instead of TCP.
* **Automated backups** (Starter, Pro, and Business plans): daily snapshots, taken only on days the database has activity, kept for 7 or 30 days depending on the plan. The Console restores one in place, keeping the connection strings, or into a new database; the Prisma CLI and the REST API's restore endpoint restore in place, and the REST API and the MCP server can also restore into a new database. Point-in-time recovery is coming in November 2026. See [Backups](https://www.prisma.io/docs/postgres/database/backups).

## Local development [#local-development]

Run Prisma Postgres locally with `prisma dev`, then switch to cloud when ready.

* [Local Postgres](https://www.prisma.io/docs/local-development/postgres)

## Use with the rest of Prisma [#use-with-the-rest-of-prisma]

Each integration is optional, and Prisma Postgres works with any PostgreSQL client.

* If you use [Prisma ORM](https://www.prisma.io/docs/prisma-orm), the quickstart provisions a database and connects it to your data contract.
* If you deploy on [Prisma Compute](https://www.prisma.io/docs/compute), each branch of a Compute project can have its own Prisma Postgres database; pass the connection string through [environment variables](https://www.prisma.io/docs/compute/environment-variables).
* For a multi-service application, [Prisma Composer](https://www.prisma.io/docs/composer/databases) declares a database as a service dependency and injects the connection at runtime.

Comparing hosts? [Neon alternatives with app hosting and Postgres in one place](https://www.prisma.io/blog/neon-vs-prisma-postgres-app-hosting-in-one-place?utm_source=docs) and [App hosting platforms with managed Postgres compared (2026)](https://www.prisma.io/blog/app-hosting-platforms-with-managed-postgres-2026?utm_source=docs) compare Prisma Postgres + Prisma Compute with other app and database hosts.

## Manage [#manage]

* [Connecting to your database](https://www.prisma.io/docs/postgres/database/connecting-to-your-database)
* [Connection pooling](https://www.prisma.io/docs/postgres/database/connection-pooling)
* [Backups](https://www.prisma.io/docs/postgres/database/backups)
* [PostgreSQL extensions](https://www.prisma.io/docs/postgres/database/postgres-extensions)
* [Troubleshooting](https://www.prisma.io/docs/postgres/troubleshooting)
* [FAQ](https://www.prisma.io/docs/postgres/faq)

## Billing and limits [#billing-and-limits]

Prisma Postgres uses usage-based pricing and includes spend controls.

* [Pricing](https://www.prisma.io/pricing)
* [Operations-based billing explained](https://www.prisma.io/blog/operations-based-billing?utm_source=docs)
* [FAQ: estimating costs](https://www.prisma.io/docs/postgres/faq#is-there-a-sample-workload-to-estimate-my-expected-charges)

In Prisma Console, you can track usage, set spend limits, and view billing details.

![Billing and Usage dashboard metrics.](https://www.prisma.io/img/postgres/billing-metrics.png)

## Technical details [#technical-details]

Prisma Postgres is based on **PostgreSQL v17** and uses a unikernel-based architecture.

Learn more: [Prisma Postgres: Building a modern PostgreSQL service](https://pris.ly/ppg-early-access?utm_source=docs).

> [!NOTE]
> Note
> 
> Postgres, PostgreSQL, and the Slonik Logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of the PostgreSQL Community Association of Canada and are used with permission.

## Related pages

- [`Choose a Prisma ORM setup path`](https://www.prisma.io/docs/getting-started): Choose the fastest path to try Prisma ORM in a new or existing project.
- [`Console`](https://www.prisma.io/docs/console): Learn how to use the Console to manage and integrate Prisma products into your application.
- [`Introduction to Prisma ORM`](https://www.prisma.io/docs/prisma-orm): Prisma ORM 8 is a release candidate.
- [`Local development`](https://www.prisma.io/docs/local-development): Run the whole Prisma stack on your machine, with your app on Bun, a local Prisma Postgres database, and local object storage.
- [`Overview`](https://www.prisma.io/docs/cli): Prisma CLI reference