Prisma Postgres

Guidance for creating, managing, and integrating Prisma Postgres across interactive and programmatic workflows.

Core Workflows

1. Console-first workflow

Use Prisma Console for manual setup and operations:

• Open https://console.prisma.io
• Create/select workspace and project
• Use Studio in the project sidebar to view/edit data
• Retrieve direct connection details from the project UI

2. Quick provisioning with create-db

Use create-db when you need a database immediately:

npx create-db@latest

Aliases:

npx create-pg@latest
npx create-postgres@latest

For app integrations, you can also use the programmatic API (create() / regions()) from the create-db npm package.

Temporary databases auto-delete after ~24 hours unless claimed.

3. Link an existing local project

Use prisma postgres link when the database already exists and you want to wire a local project to it:

prisma postgres link

For CI or other non-interactive environments:

prisma postgres link --api-key "<your-api-key>" --database "db_..."

This flow updates your local .env with DATABASE_URL, then you can run prisma generate and prisma migrate dev.

4. Programmatic provisioning with Management API

Use API endpoints on:

https://api.prisma.io/v1

Explore the schema and endpoints using:

• OpenAPI docs: https://api.prisma.io/v1/doc
• Swagger Editor: https://api.prisma.io/v1/swagger-editor

Auth options:

• Service token (workspace server-to-server)
• OAuth 2.0 (act on behalf of users)

5. Type-safe integration with Management API SDK

Install and use:

npm install @prisma/management-api-sdk

Use createManagementApiClient for existing tokens, or createManagementApiSdk for OAuth + token refresh.

References

Read a reference only when the task needs that depth:

• references/create-db-cli.md — instant databases and current CLI flags (--ttl, --copy, --quiet, --open) · read for fast setup.
• references/management-api.md — service-token and OAuth API workflows · read for programmatic provisioning.
• references/management-api-sdk.md — typed SDK usage with token storage · read when integrating from TypeScript/JavaScript.
• references/console-and-connections.md — Console operations, prisma postgres link, direct TCP connections, serverless-driver choices.