Prisma CLI Reference

Name: prisma-cli
Rating: 92
Author: prisma

Complete reference for all Prisma CLI commands. This skill provides guidance on command usage, options, and best practices for Prisma ORM 7.x.

When to Apply

Reference this skill when:

•Setting up a new Prisma project (prisma init)
•Generating Prisma Client (prisma generate)
•Running database migrations (prisma migrate)
•Managing database state (prisma db push/pull)
•Using local development database (prisma dev)
•Debugging Prisma issues (prisma debug)

Command Categories

Category	Commands	Purpose
Setup	`init`	Bootstrap new Prisma project
Generation	`generate`	Generate Prisma Client
Validation	`validate`, `format`	Schema validation and formatting
Development	`dev`	Local Prisma Postgres for development
Database	`db pull`, `db push`, `db seed`, `db execute`	Direct database operations
Migrations	`migrate dev`, `migrate deploy`, `migrate reset`, `migrate status`, `migrate diff`, `migrate resolve`	Schema migrations
Utility	`studio`, `version`, `debug`	Development tools

Quick Reference

Project Setup

bash

# Initialize new project (creates prisma/ folder and prisma.config.ts)
prisma init

# Initialize with specific database
prisma init --datasource-provider postgresql
prisma init --datasource-provider mysql
prisma init --datasource-provider sqlite

# Initialize with Prisma Postgres (cloud)
prisma init --db

# Initialize with AI-generated schema
prisma init --prompt "E-commerce app with users, products, orders"

Client Generation

bash

# Generate Prisma Client
prisma generate

# Watch mode for development
prisma generate --watch

# Generate without engine (for Accelerate/edge)
prisma generate --no-engine

# Generate specific generator only
prisma generate --generator client

Bun Runtime

When using Bun, always add the --bun flag so Prisma runs with the Bun runtime (otherwise it falls back to Node.js because of the CLI shebang):

bash

bunx --bun prisma init
bunx --bun prisma generate

Local Development Database

bash

# Start local Prisma Postgres
prisma dev

# Start with specific name
prisma dev --name myproject

# Start in background (detached)
prisma dev --detach

# List all local instances
prisma dev ls

# Stop instance
prisma dev stop myproject

# Remove instance data
prisma dev rm myproject

Database Operations

bash

# Pull schema from existing database
prisma db pull

# Push schema to database (no migrations)
prisma db push

# Seed database
prisma db seed

# Execute raw SQL
prisma db execute --file ./script.sql

Migrations (Development)

bash

# Create and apply migration
prisma migrate dev

# Create migration with name
prisma migrate dev --name add_users_table

# Create migration without applying
prisma migrate dev --create-only

# Reset database and apply all migrations
prisma migrate reset

Migrations (Production)

bash

# Apply pending migrations (CI/CD)
prisma migrate deploy

# Check migration status
prisma migrate status

# Compare schemas and generate diff
prisma migrate diff --from-config-datasource --to-schema schema.prisma --script

Utility Commands

bash

# Open Prisma Studio (database GUI)
prisma studio

# Show version info
prisma version
prisma -v

# Debug information
prisma debug

# Validate schema
prisma validate

# Format schema
prisma format

Prisma 7 Changes

New Configuration File

Prisma 7 uses prisma.config.ts for CLI configuration:

typescript

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

export default defineConfig({
  schema: 'prisma/schema.prisma',
  migrations: {
    path: 'prisma/migrations',
    seed: 'tsx prisma/seed.ts',
  },
  datasource: {
    url: env('DATABASE_URL'),
  },
})

Removed Flags

•--skip-generate removed from migrate dev and db push
•--skip-seed removed from migrate dev
•--schema and --url removed from db execute
•Run prisma generate explicitly after migrations

Environment Variables

Environment variables are no longer auto-loaded. Use dotenv:

typescript

// prisma.config.ts
import 'dotenv/config'

Rule Files

See individual rule files for detailed command documentation:

code

rules/init.md           - Project initialization
rules/generate.md       - Client generation
rules/dev.md            - Local development database
rules/db-pull.md        - Database introspection
rules/db-push.md        - Schema push
rules/db-seed.md        - Database seeding
rules/db-execute.md     - Raw SQL execution
rules/migrate-dev.md    - Development migrations
rules/migrate-deploy.md - Production migrations
rules/migrate-reset.md  - Database reset
rules/migrate-status.md - Migration status
rules/migrate-resolve.md - Migration resolution
rules/migrate-diff.md   - Schema diffing
rules/studio.md         - Database GUI
rules/validate.md       - Schema validation
rules/format.md         - Schema formatting
rules/debug.md          - Debug info