prisma-schema

Prisma Schema

Create/modify schema for: $ARGUMENTS

Multi-Schema Setup

Always define schemas in the datasource block. This enables organizing models into logical namespaces and is supported by PostgreSQL, CockroachDB, and SQL Server.

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

datasource db {
  provider = "postgresql"
  url      = env("DATABASE_URL")
  schemas  = ["base", "billing", "inventory"]
}

Every model and enum must declare its schema with @@schema("name"). Pick the schema that matches the model's domain. If only one schema is needed, use a single entry like schemas = ["public"].

Schema Pattern

model EntityName {
  id        String    @id @default(uuid())
  createdAt DateTime  @default(now()) @map("created_at")
  updatedAt DateTime  @updatedAt @map("updated_at")
  deletedAt DateTime? @map("deleted_at")

  // Business fields
  status EntityStatus @default(ACTIVE)
  name   String
  amount Decimal      @db.Decimal(36, 18)

  // Relations
  accountId String  @map("account_id")
  account   Account @relation(fields: [accountId], references: [id])

  // Indexes
  @@index([accountId])
  @@index([status])
  @@index([createdAt])

  // Table and schema mapping
  @@map("entity_names")
  @@schema("base")
}

enum EntityStatus {
  ACTIVE
  INACTIVE
  DELETED

  @@schema("base")
}

Cross-Schema Relations

Models in different schemas can reference each other. Both schemas must be listed in schemas.

// schema: "base"
model User {
  id     Int     @id
  orders Order[]

  @@schema("base")
}

// schema: "billing"
model Order {
  id     Int  @id
  user   User @relation(fields: [userId], references: [id])
  userId Int

  @@schema("billing")
}

Same Table Name, Different Schema

When two schemas have tables with the same name, use unique model names and @@map to disambiguate:

model BaseConfig {
  id Int @id

  @@map("Config")
  @@schema("base")
}

model UserConfig {
  id Int @id

  @@map("Config")
  @@schema("users")
}

Conventions

Naming

• Model: PascalCase (InvoicePayment)
• Fields: camelCase (accountId)
• DB columns: snake_case via @map("account_id")
• Table: snake_case plural via @@map("invoice_payments")
• Schema: lowercase, domain-based ("billing", "inventory", "auth")

Common Fields

id        String   @id @default(uuid())
createdAt DateTime @default(now()) @map("created_at")
updatedAt DateTime @updatedAt @map("updated_at")
deletedAt DateTime? @map("deleted_at")  // Soft delete

Decimal for Money / Crypto

amount Decimal @db.Decimal(36, 18)  // High precision

Use Decimal for any financial value. Float is not acceptable for money.

Relations

// One-to-Many
accountId String  @map("account_id")
account   Account @relation(fields: [accountId], references: [id])

// Many-to-Many (use explicit join table for control)

Indexes

@@index([accountId])           // Foreign keys
@@index([status, createdAt])   // Common query patterns
@@unique([accountId, nonce])   // Business uniqueness constraints

Add indexes based on actual query patterns, not speculative.

After Creating Schema

1. Validate: prisma validate
2. Format: prisma format
3. Generate: prisma generate
4. Migrate: prisma migrate dev --name add_entity_name

Detect the package manager from the repo (lockfile or packageManager in package.json) and prefix commands accordingly (npx, pnpm exec, yarn exec, bunx, or direct if globally installed).

Moving Models Between Schemas

Moving a model from one schema to another drops the table in the source schema and recreates it in the target. Back up data before applying such migrations.

Checklist

• Schema file created or modified
• schemas array defined in datasource block
• Every model and enum has @@schema("...")
• Proper field types and defaults
• Relations defined correctly (including cross-schema)
• Indexes for known query patterns
• snake_case mapping for DB columns
• Enum created if needed
• Schema validated with no errors
• Migration generated and reviewed

References

• Prisma Multi-Schema -- official docs on organizing models across multiple database schemas