SQLite

Prisma ORM supports SQLite and SQLite-compatible databases. This includes local SQLite files, Turso's distributed libSQL, and Cloudflare's serverless D1.

Setup

Configure the SQLite provider in your Prisma schema:

datasource db {
  provider = "sqlite"
}

Set the connection URL in prisma.config.ts:

import { defineConfig } from "prisma/config";

export default defineConfig({
  schema: "prisma/schema.prisma",
  datasource: {
    url: "file:./dev.db", // or libsql:// for Turso
  },
});

Using driver adapters

Instead of Prisma's built-in driver, you can use JavaScript database drivers via driver adapters:

Local SQLite with better-sqlite3:

npm install @prisma/adapter-better-sqlite3

import { PrismaBetterSqlite3 } from "@prisma/adapter-better-sqlite3";
import { PrismaClient } from "./generated/prisma";

const adapter = new PrismaBetterSqlite3({ url: "file:./prisma/dev.db" });
const prisma = new PrismaClient({ adapter });

Turso with @prisma/adapter-libsql:

npm install @prisma/adapter-libsql

import { PrismaLibSQL } from "@prisma/adapter-libsql";
import { PrismaClient } from "./generated/prisma";

const adapter = new PrismaLibSQL({
  url: process.env.TURSO_DATABASE_URL,
  authToken: process.env.TURSO_AUTH_TOKEN,
});
const prisma = new PrismaClient({ adapter });

Cloudflare D1 with @prisma/adapter-d1:

npm install @prisma/adapter-d1

import { PrismaD1 } from "@prisma/adapter-d1";
import { PrismaClient } from "./generated/prisma";

const adapter = new PrismaD1(env.DB); // D1 binding in Workers
const prisma = new PrismaClient({ adapter });

Supported variants

Local SQLite

Standard SQLite database files (.db). Connection URL format: file:./path/to/database.db

• Use prisma migrate dev for schema changes
• Store database file anywhere in your filesystem
• Best for development and small applications

Turso (libSQL)

Edge-hosted, distributed SQLite-compatible database.

• Connection URL format: libsql://[hostname]
• Requires authentication token
• Supports embedded replicas for faster local reads
• Use local SQLite file + Turso CLI for migrations (see Turso docs)

Key differences:

• Remote access over HTTP
• Replication and automated backups
• Schema changes via prisma migrate diff + Turso CLI

Cloudflare D1

Serverless SQLite database for Cloudflare Workers.

• Automatic read-replication across regions
• Schema changes via Wrangler CLI + prisma migrate diff
• Local (.wrangler/state) and remote versions available

Key differences:

• No transaction support currently
• Migrations via Wrangler: wrangler d1 migrations apply
• Deploy with Cloudflare Workers

Type mappings

:::note

SQLite stores booleans as 0 (false) or 1 (true). Learn more about SQLite type affinity.

:::

Common considerations

Timestamp format with driver adapters:

Configure how DateTime values are stored:

const adapter = new PrismaBetterSqlite3(
  { url: "file:./dev.db" },
  { timestampFormat: "unixepoch-ms" } // For backward compatibility
);

• ISO 8601 (default): Best for new projects
• unixepoch-ms: Required for migrating from Prisma's native driver

Enum validation:

SQLite doesn't enforce enum values at the database level. Invalid values will cause Prisma Client queries to fail at runtime.

Integer overflow:

Prisma ORM validates that numbers fit within integer boundaries. If a value exceeds limits, you'll get a P2023 error.