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Prerequisites

Before building Prisma Engines, ensure you have the following installed:
1

Install Rust Toolchain

Install the latest stable version of Rust. You can get the toolchain at rustup or use your package manager.
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh
2

Linux: Install OpenSSL

On Linux systems, OpenSSL is required:
# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt-get install libssl-dev pkg-config

# Fedora/RHEL
sudo dnf install openssl-devel
3

Install direnv

Install direnv to automatically load environment variables:
# macOS
brew install direnv

# Linux
# Follow instructions at https://direnv.net/docs/installation.html
Make sure direnv is hooked into your shell.
4

Allow direnv in Repository

Navigate to the repository root and allow direnv:
cd /path/to/prisma-engines
direnv allow
Alternatively, you can manually load the environment variables defined in ./.envrc, but using direnv is recommended.
5

Optional: Install Node.js and pnpm

Required for building driver adapters:
  • Node.js ≥ 20
  • pnpm package manager
# Install Node.js 20+ using nvm
nvm install 20
nvm use 20

# Install pnpm
npm install -g pnpm

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Environment Setup

The repository uses .envrc to configure essential environment variables: 
export WORKSPACE_ROOT=$(pwd)
export RUST_LOG_FORMAT=devel
export RUST_LOG=info
You can create a .envrc.local file (gitignored) for local overrides.

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Optional: Nix Users

The repository includes a shell.nix file for Nix users. If you have Nix installed and direnv configured, all dependencies will be automatically set up. To disable Nix in environments where it’s pre-installed (e.g., Gitpod): 
export DISABLE_NIX=1

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Building the Engines

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Build All Engines (Debug Mode)

To build all engines in debug mode: 
cargo build
Binaries will be located in target/debug/:
ComponentBinary Path
Schema Engine./target/debug/schema-engine
Prisma Format./target/debug/prisma-fmt

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Build All Engines (Release Mode)

For optimized production binaries: 
cargo build --release
# or
make release
Release binaries will be in target/release/.

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Build Specific Components

cargo build -p schema-engine-cli

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Build Query Compiler Wasm

The query compiler is a library crate that compiles to Wasm for the JavaScript runtime: 
make build-qc-wasm-fast
Output location: query-compiler/query-compiler-wasm/pkg/

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Build Driver Adapters

Driver adapters enable the query compiler to work with JavaScript database drivers:
1

Ensure prisma/prisma Repository

The driver adapters build process requires the main Prisma repository as a sibling:
cd ..
git clone https://github.com/prisma/prisma.git
cd prisma-engines
2

Build Driver Adapters Kit

make build-driver-adapters-kit-qc

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Build Targets Reference

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Makefile Targets

TargetDescription
make buildBuild all engines (debug)
make releaseBuild all engines (release)
make build-qc-wasmBuild query compiler Wasm (fast + small)
make build-qc-wasm-fastBuild query compiler Wasm (fast variant)
make build-qc-wasm-smallBuild query compiler Wasm (size-optimized)
make build-se-wasmBuild schema engine Wasm
make build-schema-wasmBuild Prisma schema Wasm package
make build-driver-adapters-kitBuild driver adapters (full)
make build-driver-adapters-kit-qcBuild driver adapters for query compiler
make pedanticRun formatting and clippy checks (CI mode)
make cleanClean all build artifacts

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Clean Build Artifacts

make clean

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Code Quality

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Format Code

cargo fmt

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Run Linter (Clippy)

cargo clippy --all-features --all-targets -- -Dwarnings

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Pedantic CI Check

Emulate the CI compilation checks locally: 
make pedantic
This runs:
  1. cargo fmt -- --check (formatting validation)
  2. cargo clippy --all-features --all-targets -Dwarnings (lint checks)
  3. Additional Wasm target checks
Fix compiler and clippy diagnostics before addressing formatting issues.

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Optimizing Build Performance

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Parallel rust-analyzer Builds

When rust-analyzer runs cargo check, it locks the build directory. To avoid this:
  1. Open VSCode settings
  2. Search for “Check on Save: Extra Args”
  3. Add a custom target directory: 
    --target-dir:/tmp/rust-analyzer-check

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Using LLD Linker (Linux)

The .envrc automatically configures the faster LLD linker on Linux if available: 
# Install LLD
sudo apt-get install lld  # Ubuntu/Debian
sudo dnf install lld      # Fedora/RHEL

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Troubleshooting

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OpenSSL Not Found (Linux)

If you encounter OpenSSL linking errors: 
sudo apt-get install libssl-dev pkg-config

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direnv Not Loading

Ensure direnv is properly hooked in your shell config: 
# For bash, add to ~/.bashrc:
eval "$(direnv hook bash)"

# For zsh, add to ~/.zshrc:
eval "$(direnv hook zsh)"

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Wasm Build Fails

Ensure the Wasm target is installed: 
rustup target add wasm32-unknown-unknown

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Next Steps

Once you’ve successfully built the engines:

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