PostgreSQL

Create a Prisma 8 app with PostgreSQL and run your first query against seeded data.

Quick start

bunx create-prisma@latest --provider postgres

Run this from a Node.js 24 or newer environment. The command preselects PostgreSQL and prompts you for the contract authoring style (PSL or TypeScript) and your package manager.

Setup gives you the app template, a starter contract, prisma-next.md, project-level Prisma 8 skills for your coding agent, and package scripts for the database steps below. Sample users are seeded automatically the first time the app queries the database, so there is no separate seed step.

From here you have two paths: let Prisma Composer run a local Prisma Postgres database for you, or connect a PostgreSQL database you provide.

Path A: Run with a local database

Composer builds the app, starts a local Prisma Postgres database, and applies the starter contract for you, so you do not need a connection string.

bun run dev:composer

Open the URL the command prints. You should see the seeded users returned from PostgreSQL.

Path B: Connect your own database

1. Set the database connection

Export DATABASE_URL in the shell you run the commands from. The generated scripts read the variable from the environment, not from .env.

export DATABASE_URL="postgresql://username:password@host:5432/database?sslmode=require"

If you don't have a PostgreSQL database yet, npx create-db@latest creates a temporary Prisma Postgres database and prints its connection string, plus a claim URL if you want to keep it.

2. Initialize the database

From the generated project directory, run db:init to apply the starter contract to PostgreSQL and sign the database.

bun run db:init

The output ends with a summary like Applied 5 operation(s) across 1 space(s), database signed.

3. Run the app

Start the app and confirm the sample query runs successfully.

bun run dev

Use the URL or terminal output shown by your template. You should see the seeded users returned from PostgreSQL. If the response is Could not query users yet, DATABASE_URL is not set in the environment the app runs in; export it in the same shell and restart.

Next steps

• Open src/prisma/contract.prisma or src/prisma/contract.ts and change the starter model.
• Use the PostgreSQL existing-project guide if you already have an app and database.
• Read the Prisma 8 overview when you want the concepts behind contracts, query APIs, and migrations.