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prisma migrate

Manage database migrations with Prisma Migrate.

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Subcommands

CommandDescription
prisma migrate devCreate migration from schema changes and apply to database
prisma migrate deployApply pending migrations in production
prisma migrate resetReset database and re-apply all migrations

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prisma migrate dev

Create a migration from changes in Prisma schema, apply it to the database, and trigger generators (e.g., Prisma Client).

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Usage

prisma migrate dev [options]
The datasource URL configuration is read from the Prisma config file (e.g., prisma.config.ts).

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Options

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--help
boolean
Display help message.Alias: -h
prisma migrate dev --help
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--config
string
Custom path to your Prisma config file.
prisma migrate dev --config=./custom/prisma.config.ts
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--schema
string
Custom path to your Prisma schema.
prisma migrate dev --schema=./prisma/schema.prisma
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--url
string
Override the datasource URL from the Prisma config file.
prisma migrate dev --url="postgresql://user:password@localhost:5432/mydb"
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--name
string
Name the migration (without prompting).Alias: -n
prisma migrate dev --name add_user_table
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--create-only
boolean
Create a new migration but do not apply it. The migration will be empty if there are no changes in the Prisma schema.
prisma migrate dev --create-only

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Examples

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Basic usage

Create and apply migration: 
prisma migrate dev
Interactive prompt: 
Environment variables loaded from .env
Prisma schema loaded from prisma/schema.prisma
Datasource "db": PostgreSQL database "mydb" at "localhost:5432"

✔ Enter a name for the new migration: › add_user_profile
Output: 
The following migration(s) have been created and applied from new schema changes:

migrations/
  └─ 20240301120000_add_user_profile/
    └─ migration.sql

✔ Your database is now in sync with your schema.

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Create migration without applying

prisma migrate dev --create-only
Creates a migration file without applying it to the database. You can edit the SQL before applying with another prisma migrate dev run.

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Name migration non-interactively

prisma migrate dev --name add_posts_table

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Specify custom schema

prisma migrate dev --schema=./database/schema.prisma

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Migration Warnings

If your migration might cause data loss, you’ll see warnings: 
⚠️  Warnings for the current datasource:

  • You are about to drop the column `email` on the `User` table, which still contains 42 non-null values.

Are you sure you want to create and apply this migration? › (y/N)

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Database Reset Needed

In some cases, migrate dev may determine that the database needs to be reset: 
We need to reset the PostgreSQL database "mydb" at "localhost:5432"

You may use prisma migrate reset to drop the development database.
All data will be lost.

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prisma migrate deploy

Apply pending migrations to update the database schema in production/staging.

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Usage

prisma migrate deploy [options]
The datasource URL configuration is read from the Prisma config file (e.g., prisma.config.ts).

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Options

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--help
boolean
Display help message.Alias: -h
prisma migrate deploy --help
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--config
string
Custom path to your Prisma config file.
prisma migrate deploy --config=./prisma.config.ts
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--schema
string
Custom path to your Prisma schema.
prisma migrate deploy --schema=./schema.prisma

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Examples

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Deploy pending migrations

prisma migrate deploy
Output: 
Prisma schema loaded from prisma/schema.prisma
Datasource "db": PostgreSQL database "production_db" at "db.example.com:5432"

3 migrations found in prisma/migrations

The following migration(s) have been applied:

migrations/
  └─ 20240301120000_add_user_profile/
    └─ migration.sql
  └─ 20240301130000_add_posts/
    └─ migration.sql

✔ All migrations have been successfully applied.

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No pending migrations

prisma migrate deploy
Output: 
2 migrations found in prisma/migrations

✔ No pending migrations to apply.

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Production Usage

Use migrate deploy in production environments as part of your deployment pipeline: 
# In your CI/CD pipeline
npm install
npm run build
prisma migrate deploy
npm start

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prisma migrate reset

Reset your database and apply all migrations. All data will be lost.

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Usage

prisma migrate reset [options]
The datasource URL configuration is read from the Prisma config file (e.g., prisma.config.ts).

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Options

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--help
boolean
Display help message.Alias: -h
prisma migrate reset --help
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--config
string
Custom path to your Prisma config file.
prisma migrate reset --config=./prisma.config.ts
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--schema
string
Custom path to your Prisma schema.
prisma migrate reset --schema=./schema.prisma
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--force
boolean
Skip the confirmation prompt.Alias: -f
prisma migrate reset --force

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Examples

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Reset with confirmation

prisma migrate reset
Interactive prompt: 
Prisma schema loaded from prisma/schema.prisma
Datasource "db": PostgreSQL database "dev_db" at "localhost:5432"

Are you sure you want to reset your database? All data will be lost. › (y/N)
Output after confirmation: 
✔ Database reset successful

The following migration(s) have been applied:

migrations/
  └─ 20240301120000_init/
    └─ migration.sql
  └─ 20240301130000_add_users/
    └─ migration.sql

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Reset without confirmation

prisma migrate reset --force
Skips the confirmation prompt. Useful in scripts and CI/CD pipelines for test databases.

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When to Use Reset

  • During development when you want to start fresh
  • When testing migration scripts
  • When your migration history is broken
  • Before running integration tests in CI
⚠️ Warning: Never use migrate reset in production. It will delete all data.

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