PostgreSQL

Prisma ORM supports PostgreSQL and PostgreSQL-compatible databases including self-hosted PostgreSQL, serverless providers (Neon, Supabase), and CockroachDB.

Setup

Configure the provider in your Prisma schema:

datasource db {
  provider = "postgresql" // or "cockroachdb" for CockroachDB
}

Self-hosted PostgreSQL:

import { defineConfig, env } from "prisma/config";

export default defineConfig({
  schema: "prisma/schema.prisma",
  datasource: {
    url: env("DATABASE_URL"), // postgres://user:pass@host:5432/db
  },
});

Serverless (Neon/Supabase):

Use separate URLs for CLI (direct) and runtime (pooled):

DATABASE_URL="postgres://user:pass@host-pooler:6543/db?pgbouncer=true"
DIRECT_URL="postgres://user:pass@host:5432/db"

import { defineConfig, env } from "prisma/config";

export default defineConfig({
  schema: "prisma/schema.prisma",
  datasource: {
    url: env("DIRECT_URL"), // CLI uses direct connection
  },
});

Using driver adapters

Use JavaScript database drivers via driver adapters:

Standard PostgreSQL with pg:

npm install @prisma/adapter-pg

import { PrismaPg } from "@prisma/adapter-pg";
import { PrismaClient } from "./generated/prisma";

const adapter = new PrismaPg({ connectionString: process.env.DATABASE_URL });
const prisma = new PrismaClient({ adapter });

Neon serverless:

npm install @prisma/adapter-neon

import { PrismaNeon } from "@prisma/adapter-neon";
import { PrismaClient } from "./generated/prisma";

const adapter = new PrismaNeon({ connectionString: process.env.DATABASE_URL });
const prisma = new PrismaClient({ adapter });

Supported variants

Self-hosted PostgreSQL

Standard PostgreSQL server (9.6+).

• Connection URL: postgresql://user:pass@host:5432/database
• Full Prisma Migrate support
• Use prisma migrate dev for development
• TLS/SSL configuration via connection string parameters

Connection string arguments:

Neon

Serverless PostgreSQL with automatic scaling and branching.

• Connection URL: postgres://user:pass@host-pooler.region.aws.neon.tech:5432/db
• Add -pooler to hostname for connection pooling (PgBouncer, 10k connections)
• Compute scales to zero after 5 minutes inactivity
• Cold start: 500ms - few seconds
• Database branching for development workflows

Timeout configuration: Configure connection and pool timeouts via your driver adapter (e.g. connectionTimeoutMillis for pg).

Resources: Neon docs • Connection pooling

Supabase

PostgreSQL hosting with built-in auth, storage, and real-time features.

Connection types:

• Direct: db.[project-ref].supabase.co:5432
• Transaction pooler: Port 6543 with ?pgbouncer=true
• Session pooler: Port 5432 on pooler host

Key features:

• Supavisor connection pooling
• Built-in PostgreSQL extensions
• Integrated with Supabase ecosystem
• Automated backups

Resources: Supabase docs • Prisma integration

CockroachDB

Distributed, PostgreSQL-compatible database designed for scalability and high availability.

• Use provider = "cockroachdb" in schema
• Connection URL: postgresql://user:pass@host:26257/database
• Built-in replication and automated failover
• Horizontal scaling with no single point of failure

Key differences:

ID generation example:

model User {
  id   BigInt @id @default(autoincrement()) // Uses unique_rowid()
  name String
}

For compatibility with existing databases, use sequence():

model User {
  id   Int    @id @default(sequence())
  name String
}

Resources: CockroachDB docs • Primary key best practices

Type mappings

Prisma to PostgreSQL

See full type mapping reference for complete details.

Common patterns

SSL connections:

DATABASE_URL="postgresql://user:pass@host:5432/db?sslmode=require&sslcert=./cert.pem"

• sslmode=prefer (default) - Use TLS if available
• sslmode=require - Require TLS or fail
• sslmode=disable - No TLS

Socket connections:

DATABASE_URL="postgresql://user:pass@localhost/db?host=/var/run/postgresql/"

Specifying schema with driver adapters:

const adapter = new PrismaPg(
  { connectionString: process.env.DATABASE_URL },
  { schema: "mySchema" }
);

Connection pool defaults (Prisma ORM v7):

Driver adapters use pg defaults which differ from v6:

• Connection timeout: 0 (no timeout) vs v6's 5s
• Idle timeout: 10s vs v6's 300s

See connection pool guide for configuration.