prisma migrate dev

Name: prisma-cli-migrate-dev
Rating: 76
Author: prisma

Creates and applies migrations during development. Requires a shadow database.

Command

bash

prisma migrate dev [options]

What It Does

•Runs existing migrations in shadow database to detect drift
•Applies any pending migrations
•Generates new migration from schema changes
•Applies new migration to development database
•Updates _prisma_migrations table

Options

Option	Description
`--name` / `-n`	Name the migration
`--create-only`	Create a new migration but do not apply it
`--schema`	Custom path to your Prisma schema
`--config`	Custom path to your Prisma config file
`--url`	Override the datasource URL from the Prisma config file

Removed in v7

•--skip-generate - Run prisma generate explicitly
•--skip-seed - Run prisma db seed explicitly

Examples

Create and apply migration

bash

prisma migrate dev

Prompts for migration name if schema changed.

Named migration

bash

prisma migrate dev --name add_users_table

Create without applying

bash

prisma migrate dev --create-only

Useful for reviewing migration SQL before applying.

Full workflow (v7)

bash

prisma migrate dev --name my_migration
prisma generate  # Must run explicitly in v7
prisma db seed   # Must run explicitly in v7

Migration Files

Created in prisma/migrations/:

code

prisma/migrations/
├── 20240115120000_add_users_table/
│   └── migration.sql
├── 20240116090000_add_posts/
│   └── migration.sql
└── migration_lock.toml

Schema Drift Detection

If migrate dev detects drift (manual database changes or edited migrations), it prompts to reset:

code

Drift detected: Your database schema is not in sync.

Do you want to reset your database? All data will be lost.

When to Use

•Local development
•Adding new models/fields
•Changing relations
•Creating indexes

When NOT to Use

•Production deployments (use migrate deploy)
•CI/CD pipelines (use migrate deploy)
•MongoDB (use db push instead)

Common Patterns

After schema changes

prisma

// schema.prisma - Add new field
model User {
  id        Int      @id @default(autoincrement())
  email     String   @unique
  name      String?
  createdAt DateTime @default(now())  // New field
}

bash

prisma migrate dev --name add_created_at

Handling data loss warnings

When a migration would cause data loss:

bash

prisma migrate dev --name remove_field
# Warning: You are about to delete data...
# Accept with: --accept-data-loss

Shadow Database

migrate dev requires a shadow database for drift detection. Configure in prisma.config.ts:

typescript

export default defineConfig({
  datasource: {
    url: env('DATABASE_URL'),
    shadowDatabaseUrl: env('SHADOW_DATABASE_URL'),
  },
})

For local Prisma Postgres (prisma dev), shadow database is handled automatically.