prisma dev

Name: prisma-cli-dev
Rating: 65
Author: prisma

Starts a local Prisma Postgres database for development. Provides a PostgreSQL-compatible database that runs entirely on your machine.

Command

bash

prisma dev [options]

What It Does

•Starts a local PostgreSQL-compatible database
•Runs in your terminal or as a background process
•Perfect for development and testing
•Easy migration to Prisma Postgres cloud in production

Options

Option	Description	Default
`--name` / `-n`	Name for the database instance	`default`
`--port` / `-p`	HTTP server port	`51213`
`--db-port` / `-P`	Database server port	`51214`
`--shadow-db-port`	Shadow database port (for migrations)	`51215`
`--detach` / `-d`	Run in background	`false`
`--debug`	Enable debug logging	`false`

Examples

Start local database

bash

prisma dev

Interactive mode with keyboard shortcuts:

•q - Quit
•h - Show HTTP URL
•t - Show TCP URLs

Named instance

bash

prisma dev --name myproject

Useful for multiple projects.

Background mode

bash

prisma dev --detach

Frees your terminal for other commands.

Custom ports

bash

prisma dev --port 5000 --db-port 5432

Instance Management

List all instances

bash

prisma dev ls

Shows all local Prisma Postgres instances with status.

Start existing instance

bash

prisma dev start myproject

Starts a previously created instance in background.

Stop instance

bash

prisma dev stop myproject

Stop with glob pattern

bash

prisma dev stop "myproject*"

Stops all instances matching pattern.

Remove instance

bash

prisma dev rm myproject

Removes instance data from filesystem.

Force remove (stops first)

bash

prisma dev rm myproject --force

Configuration

Configure your prisma.config.ts to use local Prisma Postgres:

typescript

import 'dotenv/config'
import { defineConfig, env } from 'prisma/config'

export default defineConfig({
  schema: 'prisma/schema.prisma',
  migrations: {
    path: 'prisma/migrations',
  },
  datasource: {
    // Local Prisma Postgres URL (from prisma dev output)
    url: env('DATABASE_URL'),
  },
})

Workflow

•
Start local database:
bash
```
prisma dev
```
•
In another terminal, run migrations:
bash
```
prisma migrate dev
```
•
Generate client:
bash
```
prisma generate
```
•
Run your application

Production Migration

When ready for production, switch to Prisma Postgres cloud:

bash

prisma init --db

Update your DATABASE_URL to the cloud connection string.