Prisma 2.0 is Now in Beta: Type-safe Database Access with Prisma Client

Contents Modern database access with Prisma Client 2.0 What’s in this release? Renaming the `prisma2 (repository to` `prisma)` Renaming the prisma2 CLI

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I currently use Prisma 1, what should I do? Try out Prisma 2.0 and share your feedback

TLDR

The Prisma 2.0

Beta is ready. With the new website and documentation, it’s now the default for new developers getting started with Prisma.

Prisma 2.0 mainly consists of Prisma Client, an auto-generated and type-safe query builder for Node.js and TypeScript. Prisma Migrate is considered experimental The `prisma / prisma2` `repo was renamed to prisma / prisma (and the former Prisma 1 repo prisma / prisma repo is now called prisma / prisma1 . Try the new Prisma Client in 5 minutes by following the Quickstart in the new docs .`
`Modern database access with Prisma Client 2.0`

The new version of Prisma Client is a modern database access libary for Node.js and TypeScript. It can be used as an alternative to traditional ORMs and SQL query builders to read and write data in your database.

To setup, you need a (Prisma schema file and must add Prisma Client as a dependency to your project: npm install @prisma / client `Prisma Client can be used in any Node.js or TypeScript backend application (including serverless applications and microservices). This can be a` `REST API , a (GraphQL API` a gRPC API or anything else that needs a database.

This approach enables simpler reasoning about database queries and increases the confidence with predictibable (and type-safe) query results. Here are a couple of the major benefits Prisma Client provides:

Auto-completion in code editors instead of needing to look up documentation Thinking in objects instead of mapping relational data
Type-safe database queries that can be validated at compile time

(Single source of truth

for database and application models

(Healthy constraints) that prevent common pitfalls and antipatterns

An abstraction that make the right thing easy (“pit of success”) Queries not classes to avoid complex model objects (Less boilerplate) so developers can focus on the important parts of their app Learn more about how Prisma makes developers productive in the (Introduction or get a taste of the Prisma Client API by checking out the code examples on the (website) .

The `@ prisma / client` module is different from “conventional” node modules. With conventional node modules (eg lodash ), the entire package is downloaded into your node_modules (directory and only gets updated when you re-install the package. (The @ prisma / client node module is different. It is a "facade package" (basically a stub that does not contain any functional code. While you do need to install it (once with npm install @ prisma / client , it is likely that the code inside the node_modules / @ prisma / client directory changes more often as you're evolving your application. That's because whenever you make changes to the Prisma schema, you need to re-generate Prisma Client which updates the code in the @ prisma / client (node module.) because the (node_modules / @ prisma / client directory contains some code that is (tailored to your project, it is sometimes called a "smart node module":

Auto-comple representation and type-safety benefits even in plain JavaScript Auto-completion is an extremely powerful tool for developers. It allows them to explore an API directly in their editor instead of referring to documentation. Prisma Client brings auto-completion to your database queries!

Thanks to Prisma Client’s generated types which are included in the (index.d.ts) of the @ prisma / client module, this feature is available not only to TypeScript developers, but also when developing an application in plain JavaScript.
Type-safety for partial database queries A major benefit of Prisma Client compared to other ORMs and database tools is that it provides full type safety - even for "partial" database queris (ie when you query only the subset of a model's field or include a (relation ). As an example, consider this Prisma Client query (you can swith the tab to view the corresponding (Prisma models) ): (const) usersWithPartialPosts =(await) prisma . user . findMany {{ include : {{ posts : {{ select : {{ title : (true) , published : (true) } } } } ) (Note that the resulting usersWithPartialPosts will be statically typed to: (export) type User={{ id : (number) email : (string) name : (string) | } const usersWithPartialPosts : ( User & ({ posts : {{ title : (string) ; published : (boolean) ; } [] ; } ) [] This means that TypeScript will catch any errors when you make a typo or accidentally access a property that was not requested from the database! Getting started The best way to get started with Prisma Client is by following the (Quickstart) (in the docs:) Quickstart (5 min) Alternatively you can: Setup a new project with Prisma from scratch (Add Prisma to an existing project What's in this release? The Prisma 2.0 Beta comes with the following tools: Prisma Client : Auto-generated, type-safe query builder for Node.js & TypeScript Prisma Migrate ( experimental : Declarative schema migration tool Prisma Studio ( experimental : GUI to view and edit data in your database Try the new Prisma Client in 5 minutes by following the Quickstart in the new docs. Note : Learn more about the Beta release in the (release notes . prisma2 repository to (prisma) Since its initial release, the main repository for Prisma 2.0 has been called (prisma2) . Because Prisma 2.0 is now the default for developers getting started with Prisma, the Prisma repositories have been renamed as follows: The prisma / prisma2 repository has been renamed to prisma / prisma The prisma / prisma repository has been renamed to (prisma / prisma1) prisma2 CLI During the Preview period, the CLI for Prisma 2.0 was invoked using the prisma2 command. With Prisma 2.0 being the default for new developers getting started with Prisma, the command is changed to just prisma . The exising prisma command of Prisma 1 is renamed to prisma1 . Also note that the installation of the npm packages changes: (Prisma version) Old CLI command N ew CLI command Old npm package name (New npm package name (2.0) prisma2 () prisma (prisma2) () @ prisma / cli 1.X prisma () prisma1 prisma () prisma1 A note for current Prisma 1 users If you're currently using Prisma 1 with the prisma command, you can keep using it as before. If you want to upgrade to Prisma 2.0 , it is recommended to uninstall your current prisma installation and install the new CLI versions locally in the projects where they are needed: # Remove global installation npm uninstall - g prisma # Navigate into Prisma 1 (project directory & install locally cd path / to / (prisma) - (1) - project npm install prisma1 - (save - dev # Invoke `` prisma1` by prefixing it (with) `` npx` npx prisma1 prisma2 npm package is deprecated (The) prisma2 npm package is now deprecated. To prevent confusions during installation, it now outputs the following when you try to install it: ┌─────────────────────────────────── ──────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ The the package prisma2 has been renamed to @prisma / (cli) │ │ │ Un Please uninstall prisma2 from your project or globally . │ Install Then install @prisma / (cli to) continue (using Prisma) (2.0) : │ │ │ │ # Uninstall old CLI │ │ npm uninstall prisma2 │ │ │ Install # Install (new) (CLI) │ │ npm install @prisma / (cli) - (save) - dev │ │ │ │ # Invoke via npx │ P npx prisma2 - help │ │ │ More Learn more here : (https) : / (pris) . (ly) / (preview0) │ │ │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────── ────────────┘ I currently use Prisma 1, what should I do? First of all, we want to hugely thank all existing Prisma 1 users! 🙏 We are deeply grateful for a supportive and active community that has formed on GitHub and on Slack ! : Prisma 2.0 does not require hosting a database proxy server (ie the Prisma server ). Prisma 2.0 does not expose . "a GraphQL API for your database" any more, but only allows for (programmatic access) via the Prisma Client API. Prisma 2.0 makes the features of Prisma 1 more modular and splits them into dedicated tools: Prisma Client: An improved version of Prisma client 1.0 Prisma Migrate: Data modeling and migrations (formerly prisma deploy More powerful introspection allows to connect Prisma 2.0 to any existing database. Prisma 1 datamodel and prisma. yml have been merged into the (Prisma schema . ) Prisma 2.0 uses its own (modeling language instead of being based on GraphQL SDL. You can build GraphQL servers with Prisma using Nexus or any other GraphQL library of your choice. How can I access the Prisma 1 docs? (You can keep accessing specific versions of the Prisma 1 docs by appending the version number to https://www.prisma.io/docs For example, to view the docs for Prisma version 1. , you can go to https://www.prisma.io/docs/1. The Prisma 1 examples have been moved to the prisma1-examples repository. Should I upgrade? Whether or not you should upgrade depends on the context of your project. In general, one major consideration is the fact that Prisma Migrate is still experimental, this means you probably need to make any future adjustments to your database schema using SQL or another migration tool. Also note that we will put together an upgrade guide as well as dedicated tooling for the upgrade process over the next weeks. So, if you do want to upgrade despite Prisma Migrate not being ready, it might be worth waiting until these resources are in place. Expand for different upgrade scenarios I use Prisma 1 with Prisma client and nexus-prisma , should I upgrade? It is certainly possible to upgrade a project that's running on Prisma 1 and nexus-prisma to Prisma 2.0. If you decide to upgrade, be aware that changing your database schema after having upgraded to Prisma 2.0, will require running migrations with SQL or a third- party migration tool. Also note that the nexus-prisma API changes with Prisma 2.0. Here is a high-level overview of the steps needed to upgrade: Install the Prisma 2.0 CLI in your project: npm install @ prisma / cli --save-dev Create a Prisma schema with a datasource that points to your Prisma 1 database Introspect your Prisma 1 database to get your datamodel: npx prisma introspect Install the Prisma Client npm package: npm install @ prisma / client Genera te Prisma Client JS: npx prisma generate Upgrade to the latest version of nexus-prisma and adjust your resolvers. Note : You can find your database credentials in the Docker. Compose file that you used to deploy the Prisma server. These credentials are needed to compose the (connection URL for Prisma 2.0. ), should I upgrade? (It is certainly possible to upgrade a project that's running on Prisma 1. If you decide to upgrade, be aware that changing your database schema after having upgraded to Prisma 2.0, will require running migrations with SQL or a third-party migration tool. Here is a high-level overview of the steps needed to upgrade: Navigate into your project directory . Install the Prisma 2.0 CLI in your project: npm install @ prisma / cli --save-dev (Create a Prisma schema with a datasource that points to your Prisma 1 database Introspect your Prisma 1 database to get your datamodel: npx prisma introspect Install the Prisma Client npm package: npm install @ prisma / client Generate Prisma Client JS: npx prisma generate Update your previous uses of Prisma client 1.0 to the new Prisma Client 2.0 (Note : You can find your database credentials in the Docker Compose file that you used to deploy the Prisma server. These credentials are needed to compose the (connection URL for Prisma 2.0. prisma-binding , should I upgrade? It is certainly possible to upgrade a project that's running on Prisma 1 and prisma-binding to Pri sma 2.0. If you decide to upgrade, be aware that changing your database schema after having upgraded to Prisma 2.0, will require running migrations with SQL or a third- party migration tool. Also note that the way how your GraphQL resolvers are implemented changes with Prisma 2.0. As Prisma 2.0 does not expose a GraphQL API for your database, you can't use the prisma-binding npm package any more. This is mostly relevant for implementing relations , resolvers for these now need to be implemented on a (type level . Here's quick a guide for implementing relations in GraphQL with Prisma client. To learn more about why this is necessary, be sure to read this article about the basics of GraphQL schemas . Here is a high-level overview of the steps needed to upgrade: Install the Prisma 2.0 CLI in your project: npm install @ prisma / cli --save-dev Create a Prisma schema with a datasource that points to your Prisma 1 database Introspect your Prisma 1 database to get your datamodel: npx prisma introspect Install the Prisma Client npm package: npm install @ prisma / client Generate Prisma Client JS: npx prisma generate Adjust your resolvers to use Prisma Client instead of prisma- binding If you want to switch to a code-first approach, check out (GraphQL Nexus) . Note : You can find your database credentials in the Docker Compose file that you used to deploy the Prisma server. These credentials are needed to compose the (connection URL for Prisma 2.0. We are really excited to finally share the Beta version of Prisma 2.0 and can't wait to see what you all will build with it. (Get started with Prisma 2.0) If you wa nt to leave feedback, share ideas, create feature requests or submit bug reports please do so in the (renamed) prisma repository on GitHub and join the (renamed) (# prisma2-beta channel on the Prisma Slack ! Read More