Prisma CLI Command Reference

This document describes the Prisma CLI commands, arguments, and options.

Synopsis

The prisma command can be called from command line once installed. When called without arguments, it will display its command usage and help document:

$prisma

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Prisma is a modern DB toolkit to query, migrate and model your database (https://prisma.io)

Usage

  $ prisma [command]

Commands

            init   Setup Prisma for your app
      introspect   Get the datamodel of your database
        generate   Generate artifacts (e.g. Prisma Client)
          studio   Open Prisma Studio
          format   Format your schema
         migrate   Migrate your database
              db   Manage your database schema and lifecycle (Preview)

Flags

     --preview-feature   Run Preview Prisma commands

Examples

  Setup a new Prisma project
  $ prisma init

  Introspect an existing database
  $ prisma introspect

  Generate artifacts (e.g. Prisma Client)
  $ prisma generate

  Browse your data
  $ prisma studio

  Create migrations from your Prisma schema, apply them to the database, generate artifacts (e.g. Prisma Client)
  $ prisma migrate dev

  Push the Prisma schema state to the database
  $ prisma db push --preview-feature

You can get additional help on any of the prisma commands by adding the --help flag after the command.

Commands

version (-v)

The version command outputs information about your current prisma version, platform, and engine binaries.

Options

The version command recognizes the following options to modify its behavior:

Option	Required	Description
`--json`	No	Outputs version information in JSON format.

Examples

Output version information

$prisma version

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Environment variables loaded from ./prisma/.env
prisma               : 2.21.0-dev.4
@prisma/client       : 2.21.0-dev.4
Current platform     : windows
Query Engine         : query-engine 2fb8f444d9cdf7c0beee7b041194b42d7a9ce1e6 (at C:\Users\veroh\AppData\Roaming\npm\node_modules\@prisma\cli\query-engine-windows.exe)
Migration Engine     : migration-engine-cli 2fb8f444d9cdf7c0beee7b041194b42d7a9ce1e6 (at C:\Users\veroh\AppData\Roaming\npm\node_modules\@prisma\cli\migration-engine-windows.exe)
Introspection Engine : introspection-core 2fb8f444d9cdf7c0beee7b041194b42d7a9ce1e6 (at C:\Users\veroh\AppData\Roaming\npm\node_modules\@prisma\cli\introspection-engine-windows.exe)
Format Binary        : prisma-fmt 60ba6551f29b17d7d6ce479e5733c70d9c00860e (at node_modules\@prisma\engines\prisma-fmt-windows.exe)
Default Engines Hash : 60ba6551f29b17d7d6ce479e5733c70d9c00860e
Studio               : 0.365.0

Output version information (-v)

$prisma -v

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Environment variables loaded from ./prisma/.env
prisma               : 2.21.0-dev.4
@prisma/client       : 2.21.0-dev.4
Current platform     : windows
Query Engine         : query-engine 2fb8f444d9cdf7c0beee7b041194b42d7a9ce1e6 (at C:\Users\veroh\AppData\Roaming\npm\node_modules\@prisma\cli\query-engine-windows.exe)
Migration Engine     : migration-engine-cli 2fb8f444d9cdf7c0beee7b041194b42d7a9ce1e6 (at C:\Users\veroh\AppData\Roaming\npm\node_modules\@prisma\cli\migration-engine-windows.exe)
Introspection Engine : introspection-core 2fb8f444d9cdf7c0beee7b041194b42d7a9ce1e6 (at C:\Users\veroh\AppData\Roaming\npm\node_modules\@prisma\cli\introspection-engine-windows.exe)
Format Binary        : prisma-fmt 60ba6551f29b17d7d6ce479e5733c70d9c00860e (at node_modules\@prisma\engines\prisma-fmt-windows.exe)
Default Engines Hash : 60ba6551f29b17d7d6ce479e5733c70d9c00860e
Studio               : 0.365.0

Output version information as JSON

$prisma version --json

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Environment variables loaded from prisma\.env
{
  "prisma": "2.21.0-dev.4",
  "@prisma/client": "2.21.0-dev.4",
  "current-platform": "windows",
  "query-engine": "query-engine 60ba6551f29b17d7d6ce479e5733c70d9c00860e (at node_modules\\@prisma\\engines\\query-engine-windows.exe)",
  "migration-engine": "migration-engine-cli 60ba6551f29b17d7d6ce479e5733c70d9c00860e (at node_modules\\@prisma\\engines\\migration-engine-windows.exe)",
  "introspection-engine": "introspection-core 60ba6551f29b17d7d6ce479e5733c70d9c00860e (at node_modules\\@prisma\\engines\\introspection-engine-windows.exe)",
  "format-binary": "prisma-fmt 60ba6551f29b17d7d6ce479e5733c70d9c00860e (at node_modules\\@prisma\\engines\\prisma-fmt-windows.exe)",
  "default-engines-hash": "60ba6551f29b17d7d6ce479e5733c70d9c00860e",
  "studio": "0.365.0"
}

init

Bootstraps a fresh Prisma project within the current directory.

The init command does not interpret any existing files. Instead, it creates a prisma directory containing a bare-bones schema.prisma file within your current directory.

Examples

Run `prisma init`

$prisma init

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✔ Your Prisma schema was created at prisma/schema.prisma.
  You can now open it in your favorite editor.

Next steps:
1. Set the provider of the datasource block in schema.prisma to match your database: postgresql, mysql or sqlite.
2. Set the DATABASE_URL in the .env file to point to your existing database. If your database has no tables yet, read https://pris.ly/d/getting-started.
3. Run prisma introspect to turn your database schema into a Prisma data model.
4. Run prisma generate to install Prisma Client. You can then start querying your database.

More information in our documentation:
https://pris.ly/d/getting-started

The command output contains helpful information on how to use the generated files and begin using Prisma with your project.

Generated Assets

prisma/schema.prisma

A minimal schema.prisma file to define your schema in:

// This is your Prisma schema file,
// learn more about it in the docs: https://pris.ly/d/prisma-schema

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

generator client {
  provider = "prisma-client-js"
}

prisma/.env

A file to define environment variables for your project:

# Environment variables declared in this file are automatically made available to Prisma.
# See the documentation for more detail: https://pris.ly/d/prisma-schema#using-environment-variables

# Prisma supports the native connection string format for PostgreSQL, MySQL and SQLite.
# See the documentation for all the connection string options: https://pris.ly/d/connection-strings

DATABASE_URL="postgresql://johndoe:johndoe@localhost:5432/mydb?schema=public"

generate

The generate command generates assets like Prisma Client based on the generator and data model blocks defined in your prisma/schema.prisma file.

The generate command is most often used to generate Prisma Client with the prisma-client-js generator. This does three things:

Searches the current directory and parent directories to find the applicable npm project. It will create a package.json file in the current directory if it cannot find one.
Installs the @prisma/client into the npm project if it is not already present.
Inspects the current directory to find a Prisma schema file to process. It will then generate a customized Prisma Client for your project.

Prerequisites

To use the generate command, you must add a generator definition in your schema.prisma file. The prisma-client-js generator, used to generate Prisma Client, can be added by including the following in your schema.prisma file:

generator client {
  provider = "prisma-client-js"
}

Options

Option	Required	Description	Default
`--watch`	No	The `generate` command will continue to watch the `schema.prisma` file and re-generate Prisma Client on file changes.

Arguments

Argument	Required	Description	Default
`--schema`	No	Specifies the path to the desired `schema.prisma` file to be processed instead of the default path. Both absolute and relative paths are supported.	`./schema.prisma`, `./prisma/schema.prisma`

Examples

Generate Prisma Client using the default `schema.prisma` path

$prisma generate

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✔ Generated Prisma Client to ./node_modules/@prisma/client in 61ms

You can now start using Prisma Client in your code:

import { PrismaClient } from '@prisma/client'
// or const { PrismaClient } = require('@prisma/client')

const prisma = new PrismaClient()

Explore the full API: https://pris.ly/d/client

Generate Prisma Client using a non-default `schema.prisma` path

$prisma generate --schema=./alternative/schema.prisma

Continue watching the `schema.prisma` file for changes to automatically re-generate Prisma Client

$prisma generate --watch

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Watching... /home/prismauser/prisma/prisma-play/prisma/schema.prisma

✔ Generated Prisma Client to ./node_modules/@prisma/client in 45ms

Generated Assets

The prisma-client-js generator creates a customized client for working with your database within the ./node_modules/@prisma/client directory.

introspect

The introspect command connects to your database and adds Prisma models to your Prisma schema that reflect the current database schema.

To run the introspect command, a schema.prisma file with a valid datasource must be available.

Warning: The command will overwrite the current schema.prisma file with the new schema. Any manual changes or customization will be lost. Be sure to back up your current schema.prisma file before running introspect if it contains important modifications.

Prerequisites

Before using the introspect command, you must define a valid datasource within your schema.prisma file.

For example, the following datasource defines a SQLite database file within the current directory:

datasource db {
  provider = "sqlite"
  url      = "file:my-database.db"
}

Options

Option	Required	Description	Default
`--force`	No	Force overwrite of manual changes made to schema. The generated schema will be based on the introspected schema only.
`--print`	No	Prints the created `schema.prisma` to the screen instead of writing it to the filesystem.

Arguments

Argument	Required	Description	Default
`--schema`	No	Specifies the path to the desired `schema.prisma` file to be processed instead of the default path. Both absolute and relative paths are supported.	`./schema.prisma`, `./prisma/schema.prisma`

Examples

Analyze the database and write its schema to the `schema.prisma` file

$prisma introspect

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Introspecting based on datasource defined in schema.prisma …

✔ Wrote Prisma data model into schema.prisma in 38ms

Run prisma generate to generate Prisma Client.

Specify an alternative `schema.prisma` file to read and write to

$prisma introspect --schema=./alternative/schema.prisma

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Introspecting based on datasource defined in alternative/schema.prisma …

✔ Wrote Prisma data model into alternative/schema.prisma in 60ms

Run prisma generate to generate Prisma Client.

Display the generated `schema.prisma` file instead of writing it to the filesystem

$prisma introspect --print

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generator client {
  provider = "prisma-client-js"
}

datasource db {
  provider = "sqlite"
  url      = "file:./hello-prisma.db"
}

model User {
  email   String    @unique
  name    String?
  user_id Int       @default(autoincrement()) @id
  post    Post[]
  profile Profile[]
}

model Post {
  content   String?
  post_id   Int     @default(autoincrement()) @id
  title     String
  author_id User?
}

model Profile {
  bio        String?
  profile_id Int     @default(autoincrement()) @id
  user_id    User
}

format

Formats the Prisma schema file, which includes validating, formatting, and persisting the schema.

Arguments

Argument	Required	Description	Default
`--schema`	No	Specifies the path to the desired `schema.prisma` file to be processed instead of the default path. Both absolute and relative paths are supported.	`./schema.prisma`, `./prisma/schema.prisma`

Examples

Validate a schema without errors

$npx prisma format

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Formatting a schema with validation errors

$npx prisma format

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db

Note: db push and db seed are currently in Preview. Features in Preview may still have some issues, and are not recommended for use in production environments. To access commands in Preview, you must opt-in via the --preview-feature flag.

db pull

db pull was introduced in 2.18.0 and will eventually replace introspect.

db push (Preview)

The db push command pushes the state of your Prisma schema file to the database without using migrations. It creates the database if the database does not exist.

This command is a good choice when you do not need to version schema changes, such as during prototyping and local development.

Prerequisites

Before using the db push command, you must define a valid datasource within your schema.prisma file.

For example, the following datasource defines a SQLite database file within the current directory:

datasource db {
  provider = "sqlite"
  url      = "file:my-database.db"
}

Options

Options	Required	Description
`--preview-feature`	Yes	Enables use of Preview feature commands
`--skip-generate`	No	Skip generation of artifacts such as Prisma Client
`—-force-reset`	No	Resets the database and then updates the schema - useful if you need to start from scratch due to unexecutable migrations.
`--accept-data-loss`	No	Ignore data loss warnings. This option is required if as a result of making the schema changes, data may be lost.
`--help` / `--h`	No	Displays the help message

Arguments

Argument	Required	Description	Default
`--schema`	No	Specifies the path to the desired schema.prisma file to be processed instead of the default path. Both absolute and relative paths are supported.	`./schema.prisma` `./prisma/schema.prisma`

Examples

Push the schema:

$npx prisma db push --preview-feature

Push the schema, accepting data loss:

$npx prisma db push --preview-feature --accept-data-loss

Push the schema with a custom schema location:

$npx prisma db push --preview-feature --schema=/tmp/schema.prisma

db seed (Preview)

Note: For a simple and integrated way to re-create data in your development database as often as needed, check out our seeding guide.

Remarks

In 2.18.0 and later you can pass --compiler-options into the ts-node command that runs seed scripts (for example, if you are working with Next.js, whic has specific requirements for ts-node.) Prisma's script is specifically named ts-node:

"scripts": {
 "ts-node": "ts-node --compiler-options '{\"module\":\"CommonJS\"}'"
},

Arguments

Argument	Required	Description	Default
`--schema`	No	Specifies the path to the desired schema.prisma file to be processed instead of the default path. Both absolute and relative paths are supported.	`./schema.prisma` `./prisma/schema.prisma`

Options

Options	Required	Description
`--preview-feature`	Yes	Enables use of Preview feature commands
`--help` / `--h`	No	Displays the help message

Arguments

Argument	Required	Description	Default
`--schema`	No	Specifies the path to the desired schema.prisma file to be processed instead of the default path. Both absolute and relative paths are supported.	`./schema.prisma` `./prisma/schema.prisma`

Examples

$npx prisma db seed --preview-feature

Prisma Migrate

Prisma Migrate changed from Preview to Generally Available (GA) in 2.19.0.

migrate dev

For use in development environments only, requires shadow database

The migrate dev command updates your database using migrations during development and creates the database if it does not exist. See also:

Options

Option	Required	Description	Default
`--create-only`	No	Creates a new migration based on the changes in the schema but does not apply that migration. Run `migrate dev` to apply migration.

Arguments

Argument	Required	Description	Default
`--name`	No	The name of the migration. If no name is provided, the CLI will prompt you.

Examples

Apply all migrations, then create and apply any new migrations:

$prisma migrate dev

Apply all migrations and create a new migration if there are schema changes, but do not apply it:

$prisma migrate dev --create-only

migrate reset

For use in development environments only

This command deletes and recreates the database, or performs a 'soft reset' by removing all data, tables, indexes, and other artifacts.

Options

Option	Required	Description
`--force`	No	Skip the confirmation prompt
`--skip-generate`	No	Skip triggering generators (for example, Prisma Client)
`--skip-seed`	No	Skip triggering seed

Arguments

Argument	Required	Description	Default
`--schema`	No	Specifies the path to the desired schema.prisma file to be processed instead of the default path. Both absolute and relative paths are supported.	`./schema.prisma` `./prisma/schema.prisma`

Examples

$prisma migrate reset

migrate deploy

The migrate deploy command applies all pending migrations, and creates the database if it does not exist. Primarily used in non-development environments. This command:

Does not look for drift in the database or changes in the Prisma schema
Does not reset the database or generate artifacts
Does not rely on a shadow database

Arguments

Argument	Required	Description	Default
`--schema`	No	Specifies the path to the desired schema.prisma file to be processed instead of the default path. Both absolute and relative paths are supported.	`./schema.prisma` `./prisma/schema.prisma`

Examples

$prisma migrate deploy

migrate resolve

The migrate resolve command allows you to solve migration history issues in production by marking a migration as already applied (supports baselining) or rolled back.

Arguments

Argument	Required	Description	Default
`--applied`	No*	Record a specific migration as applied - for example `--applied "20201231000000_add_users_table"`
`--rolled-back`	No*	Record a specific migration as rolled back - for example `--rolled-back "20201231000000_add_users_table"`	`./schema.prisma` `./prisma/schema.prisma`
`--schema`	No	Specifies the path to the desired schema.prisma file to be processed instead of the default path. Both absolute and relative paths are supported.	`./schema.prisma` `./prisma/schema.prisma`

You must specify either --rolled-back or --applied.

Examples

$prisma migrate resolve --applied 20201231000000_add_users_table

$prisma migrate resolve --rolled-back 20201231000000_add_users_table

migrate status

The prisma migrate status command looks up the migrations in /prisma/migrations/* folder and the entries in the _prisma_migrations table and compiles information about the state of the migrations in your database. For example:

Status
3 migrations found in prisma/migrations

Your local migration history and the migrations table from your database are different:

The last common migration is: 20201127134938_new_migration

The migration have not yet been applied:
20201208100950_test_migration

The migrations from the database are not found locally in prisma/migrations:
20201208100950_new_migration

Arguments

Argument	Required	Description	Default
`--schema`	No	Specifies the path to the desired schema.prisma file to be processed instead of the default path. Both absolute and relative paths are supported.	`./schema.prisma` `./prisma/schema.prisma`

Examples

$prisma migrate status

Studio

studio

The studio command allows you to interact with and manage your data interactively. It does this by starting a local web server with a web app configured with your project's data schema and records.

Prerequisites

Before using the studio command, you must define a valid datasource within your schema.prisma file.

For example, the following datasource defines a SQLite database file within the current directory:

datasource db {
  provider = "sqlite"
  url      = "file:my-database.db"
}

Options

The studio command recognizes the following options:

Option	Required	Description	Default
`-b`, `--browser`	No	The browser to auto-open Studio in.	`<your-default-browser>`
`-h`, `--help`	No	Show all available options and exit
`-p`, `--port`	No	The port number to start Studio on.	5555

Examples

Start Studio on the default port and open a new browser tab to it

$prisma studio

Start Studio on a different port and open a new browser tab to it

$prisma studio --port 7777

Start Studio and open a Firefox tab to it

$prisma studio --browser firefox

Start Studio without opening a new browser tab to it

$prisma studio --browser none

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Prisma CLI reference

Synopsis

Commands

version (-v)

Options

Examples

Output version information

Output version information (-v)

Output version information as JSON

init

Examples

Run prisma init

Generated Assets

generate

Prerequisites

Options

Arguments

Examples

Generate Prisma Client using the default schema.prisma path

Generate Prisma Client using a non-default schema.prisma path

Continue watching the schema.prisma file for changes to automatically re-generate Prisma Client

Generated Assets

introspect

Prerequisites

Options

Arguments

Examples

Analyze the database and write its schema to the schema.prisma file

Specify an alternative schema.prisma file to read and write to

Display the generated schema.prisma file instead of writing it to the filesystem

format

Arguments

Examples

Validate a schema without errors

Formatting a schema with validation errors

db

db pull

db push (Preview)

Prerequisites

Options

Arguments

Examples

db seed (Preview)

Remarks

Arguments

Options

Arguments

Examples

Prisma Migrate

migrate dev

Options

Arguments

Examples

migrate reset

Options

Arguments

Examples

migrate deploy

Arguments

Examples

migrate resolve

Arguments

Examples

migrate status

Arguments

Examples

Studio

studio

Prerequisites

Options

Examples

Start Studio on the default port and open a new browser tab to it

Start Studio on a different port and open a new browser tab to it

Start Studio and open a Firefox tab to it

Start Studio without opening a new browser tab to it

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Products

Resources

Prisma With

Community

Run `prisma init`

Generate Prisma Client using the default `schema.prisma` path

Generate Prisma Client using a non-default `schema.prisma` path

Continue watching the `schema.prisma` file for changes to automatically re-generate Prisma Client

Analyze the database and write its schema to the `schema.prisma` file

Specify an alternative `schema.prisma` file to read and write to

Display the generated `schema.prisma` file instead of writing it to the filesystem