Models

The data model definition part of the Prisma schema defines your application models (also called Prisma models). Models:

Represent the entities of your application domain
Map to the tables (relational databases like PostgreSQL) or collections (MongoDB) in your database
Form the foundation of the queries available in the generated Prisma Client API
When used with TypeScript, Prisma Client provides generated type definitions for your models and any variations of them to make database access entirely type safe.

The following schema describes a blogging platform - the data model definition is highlighted:

prisma

datasource db {
  provider = "postgresql"
}

generator client {
  provider = "prisma-client"
  output   = "./generated"
}

model User { // [!code highlight]
  id      Int      @id @default(autoincrement()) // [!code highlight]
  email   String   @unique // [!code highlight]
  name    String? // [!code highlight]
  role    Role     @default(USER) // [!code highlight]
  posts   Post[] // [!code highlight]
  profile Profile? // [!code highlight]
} // [!code highlight]

model Profile { // [!code highlight]
  id     Int    @id @default(autoincrement()) // [!code highlight]
  bio    String // [!code highlight]
  user   User   @relation(fields: [userId], references: [id]) // [!code highlight]
  userId Int    @unique // [!code highlight]
} // [!code highlight]

model Post { // [!code highlight]
  id         Int        @id @default(autoincrement()) // [!code highlight]
  createdAt  DateTime   @default(now()) // [!code highlight]
  updatedAt  DateTime   @updatedAt // [!code highlight]
  title      String // [!code highlight]
  published  Boolean    @default(false) // [!code highlight]
  author     User       @relation(fields: [authorId], references: [id]) // [!code highlight]
  authorId   Int // [!code highlight]
  categories Category[] // [!code highlight]
} // [!code highlight]

model Category { // [!code highlight]
  id    Int    @id @default(autoincrement()) // [!code highlight]
  name  String // [!code highlight]
  posts Post[] // [!code highlight]
} // [!code highlight]

enum Role { // [!code highlight]
  USER // [!code highlight]
  ADMIN // [!code highlight]
} // [!code highlight]

prisma

datasource db {
  provider = "mongodb"
  url      = env("DATABASE_URL")
}

generator client {
  provider = "prisma-client-js"
}

model User { // [!code highlight]
  id      String   @id @default(auto()) @map("_id") @db.ObjectId // [!code highlight]
  email   String   @unique // [!code highlight]
  name    String? // [!code highlight]
  role    Role     @default(USER) // [!code highlight]
  posts   Post[] // [!code highlight]
  profile Profile? // [!code highlight]
} // [!code highlight]

model Profile { // [!code highlight]
  id     String @id @default(auto()) @map("_id") @db.ObjectId // [!code highlight]
  bio    String // [!code highlight]
  user   User   @relation(fields: [userId], references: [id]) // [!code highlight]
  userId String @unique @db.ObjectId // [!code highlight]
} // [!code highlight]

model Post { // [!code highlight]
  id          String     @id @default(auto()) @map("_id") @db.ObjectId // [!code highlight]
  createdAt   DateTime   @default(now()) // [!code highlight]
  title       String // [!code highlight]
  published   Boolean    @default(false) // [!code highlight]
  author      User       @relation(fields: [authorId], references: [id]) // [!code highlight]
  authorId    String     @db.ObjectId // [!code highlight]
  categoryIDs String[]   @db.ObjectId // [!code highlight]
  categories  Category[] @relation(fields: [categoryIDs], references: [id]) // [!code highlight]
} // [!code highlight]

model Category { // [!code highlight]
  id      String   @id @default(auto()) @map("_id") @db.ObjectId // [!code highlight]
  name    String // [!code highlight]
  postIDs String[] @db.ObjectId // [!code highlight]
  posts   Post[]   @relation(fields: [postIDs], references: [id]) // [!code highlight]
} // [!code highlight]

enum Role { // [!code highlight]
  USER // [!code highlight]
  ADMIN
}

The data model definition is made up of:

Models (model primitives) that define a number of fields, including relations between models
Enums (enum primitives) (if your connector supports Enums)
Attributes and functions that change the behavior of fields and models

The corresponding database looks like this:

<details> <summary>A model maps to the underlying structures of the data source.</summary>

In relational databases like PostgreSQL and MySQL, a model maps to a table
In MongoDB, a model maps to a collection

Note: In the future there might be connectors for non-relational databases and other data sources. For example, for a REST API it would map to a resource.

</details>

The following query uses Prisma Client that's generated from this data model to create:

A User record
Two nested Post records
Three nested Category records

const user = await prisma.user.create({
  data: {
    email: "[email protected]",
    name: "Ariadne",
    posts: {
      create: [
        {
          title: "My first day at Prisma",
          categories: {
            create: {
              name: "Office",
            },
          },
        },
        {
          title: "How to connect to a SQLite database",
          categories: {
            create: [{ name: "Databases" }, { name: "Tutorials" }],
          },
        },
      ],
    },
  },
});

import { PrismaClient } from "../prisma/generated/client";

const prisma = new PrismaClient({});

// A `main` function so that you can use async/await
async function main() {
  // Create user, posts, and categories
  const user = await prisma.user.create({
    data: {
      email: "[email protected]",
      name: "Ariadne",
      posts: {
        create: [
          {
            title: "My first day at Prisma",
            categories: {
              create: {
                name: "Office",
              },
            },
          },
          {
            title: "How to connect to a SQLite database",
            categories: {
              create: [{ name: "Databases" }, { name: "Tutorials" }],
            },
          },
        ],
      },
    },
  });

  // Return user, and posts, and categories
  const returnUser = await prisma.user.findUnique({
    where: {
      id: user.id,
    },
    include: {
      posts: {
        include: {
          categories: true,
        },
      },
    },
  });

  console.log(returnUser);
}

main();

Your data model reflects your application domain. For example:

In an ecommerce application you probably have models like Customer, Order, Item and Invoice.
In a social media application you probably have models like User, Post, Photo and Message.

Introspection and migration

There are two ways to define a data model:

Write the data model manually and use Prisma Migrate: You can write your data model manually and map it to your database using Prisma Migrate. In this case, the data model is the single source of truth for the models of your application.
Generate the data model via introspection: When you have an existing database or prefer migrating your database schema with SQL, you generate the data model by introspecting your database. In this case, the database schema is the single source of truth for the models of your application.

Defining models

Models represent the entities of your application domain. Models are represented by model blocks and define a number of fields. In the example data model above, User, Profile, Post and Category are models.

A blogging platform can be extended with the following models:

prisma

model Comment {
  // Fields
}

model Tag {
  // Fields
}

Mapping model names to tables or collections

Prisma model naming conventions (singular form, PascalCase) do not always match table names in the database. A common approach for naming tables/collections in databases is to use plural form and snake_case notation - for example: comments. When you introspect a database with a table named comments, the result Prisma model will look like this:

prisma

model comments {
  // Fields
}

However, you can still adhere to the naming convention without renaming the underlying comments table in the database by using the @@map attribute:

prisma

model Comment {
  // Fields

  @@map("comments")
}

With this model definition, Prisma ORM automatically maps the Comment model to the comments table in the underlying database.

Note: You can also @map a column name or enum value, and @@map an enum name.

@map and @@map allow you to tune the shape of your Prisma Client API by decoupling model and field names from table and column names in the underlying database.

Defining fields

The properties of a model are called fields, which consist of:

A field name
A field type
Optional type modifiers
Optional attributes, including native database type attributes

A field's type determines its structure, and fits into one of two categories:

Scalar types (includes enums) that map to columns (relational databases) or document fields (MongoDB) in the database - for example, String or Int
Model types (the field is then called relation field) - for example Post or Comment[].

The following table describes User model's fields from the sample schema:

<details> <summary>Expand to see table</summary>

Name	Type	Scalar vs Relation	Type modifier	Attributes
`id`	`Int`	Scalar	-	`@id` and `@default(autoincrement())`
`email`	`String`	Scalar	-	`@unique`
`name`	`String`	Scalar	`?`	-
`role`	`Role`	Scalar (`enum`)	-	`@default(USER)`
`posts`	`Post`	Relation (Prisma-level field)	`[]`	-
`profile`	`Profile`	Relation (Prisma-level field)	`?`	-

</details>

Scalar fields

The following example extends the Comment and Tag models with several scalar types. Some fields include attributes:

prisma

model Comment {
  id      Int    @id @default(autoincrement()) // [!code highlight]
  title   String // [!code highlight]
  content String // [!code highlight]
}

model Tag {
  name String @id // [!code highlight]
}

prisma

model Comment {
  id      String @id @default(auto()) @map("_id") @db.ObjectId // [!code highlight]
  title   String // [!code highlight]
  content String // [!code highlight]
}

model Tag {
  name String @id @map("_id") // [!code highlight]
}

See complete list of scalar field types .

Relation fields

A relation field's type is another model - for example, a post (Post) can have multiple comments (Comment[]):

prisma

model Post {
  id       Int       @id @default(autoincrement())
  // Other fields
  comments Comment[] // A post can have many comments // [!code highlight]
}

model Comment {
  id     Int
  // Other fields
  post   Post? @relation(fields: [postId], references: [id]) // A comment can have one post // [!code highlight]
  postId Int?
}

prisma

model Post {
  id       String    @id @default(auto()) @map("_id") @db.Objectid
  // Other fields
  comments Comment[] // A post can have many comments // [!code highlight]
}

model Comment {
  id     String  @id @default(auto()) @map("_id") @db.Objectid
  // Other fields
  post   Post?   @relation(fields: [postId], references: [id]) // A comment can have one post // [!code highlight]
  postId String? @db.ObjectId
}

Refer to the relations documentation for more examples and information about relationships between models.

Native types mapping

Version 2.17.0 and later support native database type attributes (type attributes) that describe the underlying database type:

prisma

model Post {
  id      Int    @id
  title   String @db.VarChar(200) // [!code highlight]
  content String
}

Type attributes are:

Specific to the underlying provider - for example, PostgreSQL uses @db.Boolean for Boolean whereas MySQL uses @db.TinyInt(1)
Written in PascalCase (for example, VarChar or Text)
Prefixed by @db, where db is the name of the datasource block in your schema

Furthermore, during Introspection type attributes are only added to the schema if the underlying native type is not the default type. For example, if you are using the PostgreSQL provider, String fields where the underlying native type is text will not have a type attribute.

See complete list of native database type attributes per scalar type and provider .

Benefits and workflows

Control the exact native type that Prisma Migrate creates in the database - for example, a String can be @db.VarChar(200) or @db.Char(50)
See an enriched schema when you introspect

Type modifiers

The type of a field can be modified by appending either of two modifiers:

[] Make a field a list
? Make a field optional

Note: You cannot combine type modifiers - optional lists are not supported.

Lists

The following example includes a scalar list and a list of related models:

prisma

model Post {
  id       Int       @id @default(autoincrement())
  // Other fields
  comments Comment[] // A list of comments // [!code highlight]
  keywords String[] // A scalar list // [!code highlight]
}

prisma

model Post {
  id       String    @id @default(auto()) @map("_id") @db.ObjectId
  // Other fields
  comments Comment[] // A list of comments // [!code highlight]
  keywords String[] // A scalar list // [!code highlight]
}

Note: Scalar lists are only supported if the database connector supports scalar lists, either natively or at a Prisma ORM level.

Optional and mandatory fields

prisma

model Comment {
  id      Int     @id @default(autoincrement())
  title   String
  content String? // [!code highlight]
}

model Tag {
  name String @id
}

prisma

model Comment {
  id      String  @id @default(auto()) @map("_id") @db.ObjectId
  title   String
  content String? // [!code highlight]
}

model Tag {
  name String @id @map("_id")
}

When not annotating a field with the ? type modifier, the field will be required on every record of the model. This has effects on two levels:

Databases
- Relational databases: Required fields are represented via NOT NULL constraints in the underlying database.
- MongoDB: Required fields are not a concept on a MongoDB database level.
Prisma Client: Prisma Client's generated TypeScript types that represent the models in your application code will also define these fields as required to ensure they always carry values at runtime.

Note: The default value of an optional field is null.

Unsupported types

When you introspect a relational database, unsupported data types are added as Unsupported :

prisma

location    Unsupported("POLYGON")?

The Unsupported type allows you to define fields in the Prisma schema for database types that are not yet supported by Prisma ORM. For example, MySQL's POLYGON type is not currently supported by Prisma ORM, but can now be added to the Prisma schema using the Unsupported("POLYGON") type.

Fields of type Unsupported do not appear in the generated Prisma Client API, but you can still use Prisma ORM’s raw database access feature to query these fields.

Note: If a model has mandatory Unsupported fields, the generated client will not include create or update methods for that model.

Note: The MongoDB connector does not support nor require the Unsupported type because it supports all scalar types.

Defining attributes

Attributes modify the behavior of fields or model blocks. The following example includes three field attributes (@id , @default , and @unique ) and one block attribute (@@unique):

prisma

model User {
  id        Int     @id @default(autoincrement())
  firstName String
  lastName  String
  email     String  @unique
  isAdmin   Boolean @default(false)

  @@unique([firstName, lastName])
}

prisma

model User {
  id        String  @id @default(auto()) @map("_id") @db.ObjectId
  firstName String
  lastName  String
  email     String  @unique
  isAdmin   Boolean @default(false)

  @@unique([firstName, lastName])
}

Some attributes accept arguments - for example, @default accepts true or false:

prisma

isAdmin   Boolean @default(false) // short form of @default(value: false)

See complete list of field and block attributes

Defining an ID field

An ID uniquely identifies individual records of a model. A model can only have one ID:

In relational databases, the ID can be a single field or based on multiple fields. If a model does not have an @id or an @@id, you must define a mandatory @unique field or @@unique block instead.
In MongoDB, an ID must be a single field that defines an @id attribute and a @map("_id") attribute.

Defining IDs in relational databases

In relational databases, an ID can be defined by a single field using the @id attribute, or multiple fields using the @@id attribute.

Single field IDs

In the following example, the User ID is represented by the id integer field:

prisma

model User {
  id      Int      @id @default(autoincrement()) // [!code highlight]
  email   String   @unique
  name    String?
  role    Role     @default(USER)
  posts   Post[]
  profile Profile?
}

Composite IDs

In the following example, the User ID is represented by a combination of the firstName and lastName fields:

prisma

model User {
  firstName String
  lastName  String
  email     String  @unique
  isAdmin   Boolean @default(false)

  @@id([firstName, lastName]) // [!code highlight]
}

By default, the name of this field in Prisma Client queries will be firstName_lastName.

You can also provide your own name for the composite ID using the @@id attribute's name field:

prisma

model User {
  firstName String
  lastName  String
  email     String  @unique
  isAdmin   Boolean @default(false)

  @@id(name: "fullName", fields: [firstName, lastName]) // [!code highlight]
}

The firstName_lastName field will now be named fullName instead.

:::info

Refer to the documentation on working with composite IDs to learn how to interact with a composite ID in Prisma Client.

:::

`@unique` fields as unique identifiers

In the following example, users are uniquely identified by a @unique field. Because the email field functions as a unique identifier for the model (which is required), it must be mandatory:

prisma

model User {
  email   String   @unique // [!code highlight]
  name    String?
  role    Role     @default(USER)
  posts   Post[]
  profile Profile?
}

:::info

Constraint names in relational databases

You can optionally define a custom primary key constraint name in the underlying database.

:::

Defining IDs in MongoDB

The MongoDB connector has specific rules for defining an ID field that differs from relational databases. An ID must be defined by a single field using the @id attribute and must include @map("_id").

In the following example, the User ID is represented by the id string field that accepts an auto-generated ObjectId:

prisma

model User {
  id      String   @id @default(auto()) @map("_id") @db.ObjectId // [!code highlight]
  email   String   @unique
  name    String?
  role    Role     @default(USER)
  posts   Post[]
  profile Profile?
}

In the following example, the User ID is represented by the id string field that accepts something other than an ObjectId - for example, a unique username:

prisma

model User {
  id      String   @id @map("_id") // [!code highlight]
  email   String   @unique
  name    String?
  role    Role     @default(USER)
  posts   Post[]
  profile Profile?
}

:::warning

MongoDB does not support @@id

MongoDB does not support composite IDs, which means you cannot identify a model with a @@id block.

:::

Defining a default value

You can define default values for scalar fields of your models using the @default attribute:

prisma

model Post {
  id         Int        @id @default(autoincrement())
  createdAt  DateTime   @default(now()) // [!code highlight]
  title      String
  published  Boolean    @default(false) // [!code highlight]
  data       Json       @default("{ \"hello\": \"world\" }") // [!code highlight]
  author     User       @relation(fields: [authorId], references: [id])
  authorId   Int
  categories Category[] @relation(references: [id])
}

prisma

model Post {
  id         String     @id @default(auto()) @map("_id") @db.ObjectId
  createdAt  DateTime   @default(now())
  title      String
  published  Boolean    @default(false)
  author     User       @relation(fields: [authorId], references: [id])
  authorId   String     @db.ObjectId
  categories Category[] @relation(references: [id])
}

@default attributes either:

Represent DEFAULT values in the underlying database (relational databases only) or
Use a Prisma ORM-level function. For example, cuid() and uuid() are provided by Prisma Client's query engine for all connectors.

Default values can be:

Static values that correspond to the field type, such as 5 (Int), Hello (String), or false (Boolean)
Lists of static values, such as [5, 6, 8] (Int[]) or ["Hello", "Goodbye"] (String[]). These are available in Prisma ORM versions 4.0.0 and later, when using supported databases (PostgreSQL, CockroachDB and MongoDB)
Functions, such as now() or uuid()
JSON data. Note that JSON needs to be enclosed with double-quotes inside the @default attribute, e.g.: @default("[]"). If you want to provide a JSON object, you need to enclose it with double-quotes and then escape any internal double quotes using a backslash, e.g.: @default("{ \"hello\": \"world\" }").

:::info

Refer to the attribute function reference documentation for information about connector support for functions.

:::

Defining a unique field

You can add unique attributes to your models to be able to uniquely identify individual records of that model. Unique attributes can be defined on a single field using @unique attribute, or on multiple fields (also called composite or compound unique constraints) using the @@unique attribute.

In the following example, the value of the email field must be unique:

prisma

model User {
  id    Int     @id @default(autoincrement())
  email String  @unique
  name  String?
}

prisma

model User {
  id    String  @id @default(auto()) @map("_id") @db.ObjectId
  email String  @unique
  name  String?
}

In the following example, a combination of authorId and title must be unique:

prisma

model Post {
  id         Int        @id @default(autoincrement())
  createdAt  DateTime   @default(now())
  title      String
  published  Boolean    @default(false)
  author     User       @relation(fields: [authorId], references: [id])
  authorId   Int
  categories Category[] @relation(references: [id])

  @@unique([authorId, title]) // [!code highlight]
}

prisma

model Post {
  id         String     @id @default(auto()) @map("_id") @db.ObjectId
  createdAt  DateTime   @default(now())
  title      String
  published  Boolean    @default(false)
  author     User       @relation(fields: [authorId], references: [id])
  authorId   String     @db.ObjectId
  categories Category[] @relation(references: [id])

  @@unique([authorId, title]) // [!code highlight]
}

:::info

Constraint names in relational databases

You can optionally define a custom unique constraint name in the underlying database.

:::

By default, the name of this field in Prisma Client queries will be authorId_title.

You can also provide your own name for the composite unique constraint using the @@unique attribute's name field:

prisma

model Post {
  id         String     @id @default(auto()) @map("_id") @db.ObjectId
  createdAt  DateTime   @default(now())
  title      String
  published  Boolean    @default(false)
  author     User       @relation(fields: [authorId], references: [id])
  authorId   String     @db.ObjectId
  categories Category[] @relation(references: [id])

  @@unique(name: "authorTitle", [authorId, title]) // [!code highlight]
}

The authorId_title field will now be named authorTitle instead.

:::info

Refer to the documentation on working with composite unique identifiers to learn how to interact with a composite unique constraints in Prisma Client.

:::

Composite type unique constraints

When using the MongoDB provider in version 3.12.0 and later, you can define a unique constraint on a field of a composite type using the syntax @@unique([compositeType.field]). As with other fields, composite type fields can be used as part of a multi-column unique constraint.

The following example defines a multi-column unique constraint based on the email field of the User model and the number field of the Address composite type which is used in User.address:

prisma

type Address {
  street String
  number Int
}

model User {
  id      Int     @id
  email   String
  address Address

  @@unique([email, address.number])
}

This notation can be chained if there is more than one nested composite type:

prisma

type City {
  name String
}

type Address {
  number Int
  city   City
}

model User {
  id      Int       @id
  address Address[]

  @@unique([address.city.name])
}

Defining an index

You can define indexes on one or multiple fields of your models via the @@index on a model. The following example defines a multi-column index based on the title and content field:

prisma

model Post {
  id      Int     @id @default(autoincrement())
  title   String
  content String?

  @@index([title, content])
}

:::info

Index names in relational databases

You can optionally define a custom index name in the underlying database.

:::

Defining composite type indexes

When using the MongoDB provider in version 3.12.0 and later, you can define an index on a field of a composite type using the syntax @@index([compositeType.field]). As with other fields, composite type fields can be used as part of a multi-column index.

The following example defines a multi-column index based on the email field of the User model and the number field of the Address composite type:

prisma

type Address {
  street String
  number Int
}

model User {
  id      Int     @id
  email   String
  address Address

  @@index([email, address.number])
}

This notation can be chained if there is more than one nested composite type:

prisma

type City {
  name String
}

type Address {
  number Int
  city   City
}

model User {
  id      Int       @id
  address Address[]

  @@index([address.city.name])
}

Defining enums

You can define enums in your data model if enums are supported for your database connector, either natively or at Prisma ORM level.

Enums are considered scalar types in the Prisma schema data model. They're therefore by default included as return values in Prisma Client queries.

Enums are defined via the enum block. For example, a User has a Role:

prisma

model User {
  id    Int     @id @default(autoincrement())
  email String  @unique
  name  String?
  role  Role    @default(USER) // [!code highlight]
}

enum Role { // [!code highlight]
  USER // [!code highlight]
  ADMIN // [!code highlight]
} // [!code highlight]

prisma

model User {
  id    String  @id @default(auto()) @map("_id") @db.ObjectId
  email String  @unique
  name  String?
  role  Role    @default(USER) // [!code highlight]
}

enum Role { // [!code highlight]
  USER // [!code highlight]
  ADMIN // [!code highlight]
} // [!code highlight]

Defining composite types

:::info

Composite types were added in version 3.10.0 under the mongodb Preview feature flag and are in General Availability since version 3.12.0.

:::

:::warning

Composite types are currently only available on MongoDB.

:::

Composite types (known as embedded documents in MongoDB) provide support for embedding records inside other records, by allowing you to define new object types. Composite types are structured and typed in a similar way to models.

To define a composite type, use the type block. As an example, take the following schema:

prisma

model Product {
  id     String  @id @default(auto()) @map("_id") @db.ObjectId
  name   String
  photos Photo[]
}

type Photo {
  height Int
  width  Int
  url    String
}

In this case, the Product model has a list of Photo composite types stored in photos.

Considerations when using composite types

Composite types only support a limited set of attributes. The following attributes are supported:

@default
@map
Native types, such as @db.ObjectId

The following attributes are not supported inside composite types:

@unique
@id
@relation
@ignore
@updatedAt

However, unique constraints can still be defined by using the @@unique attribute on the level of the model that uses the composite type. For more details, see Composite type unique constraints.

Indexes can be defined by using the @@index attribute on the level of the model that uses the composite type. For more details, see Composite type indexes.

Using functions

The Prisma schema supports a number of functions . These can be used to specify default values on fields of a model.

For example, the default value of createdAt is now() :

prisma

model Post {
  id        Int      @id @default(autoincrement())
  createdAt DateTime @default(now())
}

prisma

model Post {
  id        String   @default(auto()) @map("_id") @db.ObjectId
  createdAt DateTime @default(now())
}

cuid() and uuid() are implemented by Prisma ORM and therefore are not "visible" in the underlying database schema. You can still use them when using introspection by manually changing your Prisma schema and generating Prisma Client, in that case the values will be generated by Prisma Client's query engine

Support for autoincrement(), now(), and dbgenerated(...) differ between databases.

Relational database connectors implement autoincrement(), dbgenerated(...), and now() at database level. The MongoDB connector does not support autoincrement() or dbgenerated(...), and now() is implemented at the Prisma ORM level. The auto() function is used to generate an ObjectId.

Relations

Refer to the relations documentation for more examples and information about relationships between models.

Models in Prisma Client

Queries (CRUD)

Every model in the data model definition will result in a number of CRUD queries in the generated Prisma Client API:

The operations are accessible via a generated property on the Prisma Client instance. By default the name of the property is the lowercase form of the model name, e.g. user for a User model or post for a Post model.

Here is an example illustrating the use of a user property from the Prisma Client API:

const newUser = await prisma.user.create({
  data: {
    name: "Alice",
  },
});
const allUsers = await prisma.user.findMany();

Type definitions

Prisma Client also generates type definitions that reflect your model structures. These are part of the generated @prisma/client node module.

When using TypeScript, these type definitions ensure that all your database queries are entirely type safe and validated at compile-time (even partial queries using select or include ).

Even when using plain JavaScript, the type definitions are still included in the @prisma/client node module, enabling features like IntelliSense/autocompletion in your editor.

Note: The actual types are stored in the .prisma/client folder. @prisma/client/index.d.ts exports the contents of this folder.

For example, the type definition for the User model from above would look as follows:

export type User = {
  id: number;
  email: string;
  name: string | null;
  role: string;
};

Note that the relation fields posts and profile are not included in the type definition by default. However, if you need variations of the User type you can still define them using some of Prisma Client's generated helper types (in this case, these helper types would be called UserGetIncludePayload and UserGetSelectPayload).

Limitations

Records must be uniquely identifiable

Prisma ORM currently only supports models that have at least one unique field or combination of fields. In practice, this means that every Prisma model must have either at least one of the following attributes:

@id or @@id for a single- or multi-field primary key constraint (max one per model)
@unique or @@unique for a single- or multi-field unique constraint

Introspection and migration

Defining models

Mapping model names to tables or collections

Defining fields

Scalar fields

Relation fields

Native types mapping

Benefits and workflows

Type modifiers

Lists

Optional and mandatory fields

Unsupported types

Defining attributes

Defining an ID field

Defining IDs in relational databases

Single field IDs

Composite IDs

@unique fields as unique identifiers

Defining IDs in MongoDB

Defining a default value

Defining a unique field

Composite type unique constraints

Defining an index

Defining composite type indexes

Defining enums

Defining composite types

Considerations when using composite types

Using functions

Relations

Models in Prisma Client

Queries (CRUD)

Type definitions

Limitations

Records must be uniquely identifiable

`@unique` fields as unique identifiers