Upgrade to Prisma ORM 7

Complete guide for migrating from Prisma ORM v6 to v7. This upgrade introduces significant breaking changes around the new prisma-client generator, driver adapters, prisma.config.ts, explicit environment loading, and generated client entrypoints.

When to Apply

Reference this skill when:

• Upgrading from Prisma v6 to v7
• Updating to the prisma-client generator
• Setting up driver adapters
• Configuring prisma.config.ts
• Fixing import errors after upgrade

Rule Categories by Priority

Priority	Category	Impact	Prefix
1	Schema Migration	CRITICAL	schema-changes
2	Database Connectivity	CRITICAL	driver-adapters
3	Module System	CRITICAL	esm-support
4	Config and Env	HIGH	prisma-config, env-variables
5	Removed Features	HIGH	removed-features
6	Accelerate	HIGH	accelerate-users

Quick Reference

• schema-changes - generator migration, required output paths, generated entrypoints, and Prisma.validator replacement
• driver-adapters - required adapter installation for SQL providers, pool differences, and Prisma Postgres adapter choices
• esm-support - ESM-first setup plus CommonJS fallback with moduleFormat = "cjs"
• prisma-config - creating and using prisma.config.ts
• env-variables - explicit environment loading
• removed-features - removed middleware, metrics, and legacy CLI behavior
• accelerate-users - migration notes for Accelerate users

Using MongoDB? This guide does not apply

Prisma 7 has no MongoDB connector. Do not apply any step in this guide to a project with provider = "mongodb" — see the prisma-mongodb-upgrade skill for the actual decision (stay on v6 deliberately vs migrate to Prisma 8).

Important Notes

• MongoDB projects should stay on Prisma 6.x or migrate to Prisma 8 - do not migrate MongoDB apps to Prisma 7's SQL client path (see prisma-mongodb-upgrade)
• Node.js 20.19.0+ required
• TypeScript 5.4.0+ required
• Latest stable Prisma ORM version: 7.6.0

Upgrade Steps Overview

1. Update packages to v7
2. Choose your module format (esm by default, cjs if needed)
3. Update TypeScript configuration
4. Update the schema generator block
5. Create prisma.config.ts
6. Install and configure a driver adapter for SQL providers
7. Update Prisma Client imports
8. Update client instantiation
9. Replace deprecated helper patterns like Prisma.validator
10. Run prisma generate and test

Quick Upgrade Commands

# Update packages
npm install @prisma/client@7
npm install -D prisma@7

# Install a driver adapter (PostgreSQL or Prisma Postgres via direct TCP)
npm install @prisma/adapter-pg pg

# Install dotenv for env loading
npm install dotenv

# Regenerate client
npx prisma generate

Breaking Changes Summary

Change	v6	v7
Module format	Implicit / mixed	ESM-first, moduleFormat = "cjs" supported
Generator provider	prisma-client-js	prisma-client is the default, while prisma-client-js still exists for legacy setups
Output path	Auto (node_modules)	Required explicit
Driver adapters	Optional	Required for SQL providers
Config file	.env + schema	prisma.config.ts
Env loading	Automatic	Manual (dotenv)
Generated entrypoints	Single package export	client, browser, models, enums entrypoints
Type-safe query fragments	Prisma.validator()	TypeScript satisfies
Middleware	$use()	Client Extensions
Metrics	Preview feature	Removed

Rule Files

Detailed migration guides for each breaking change:

references/esm-support.md        - ESM and CommonJS configuration
references/schema-changes.md     - Generator, output, imports, and generated entrypoints
references/driver-adapters.md    - Required driver adapter setup
references/prisma-config.md      - New configuration file
references/env-variables.md      - Environment variable loading
references/removed-features.md   - Middleware, metrics, and CLI flags
references/accelerate-users.md   - Special handling for Accelerate

Step-by-Step Migration

1. Update package.json for ESM-first projects

{
  "type": "module"
}

If you need to stay on CommonJS, keep your app as CJS and set moduleFormat = "cjs" in the generator block instead of forcing ESM.

2. Update tsconfig.json

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "module": "ESNext",
    "moduleResolution": "bundler",
    "target": "ES2023",
    "strict": true,
    "esModuleInterop": true
  }
}

3. Update schema.prisma

// Before (v6)
generator client {
  provider = "prisma-client-js"
}

// After (v7)
generator client {
  provider = "prisma-client"
  output   = "../generated/prisma"
  // Optional if you need CommonJS:
  // moduleFormat = "cjs"
}

4. Create prisma.config.ts

import 'dotenv/config'
import { defineConfig, env } from 'prisma/config'

export default defineConfig({
  schema: 'prisma/schema.prisma',
  migrations: {
    path: 'prisma/migrations',
  },
  datasource: {
    url: env('DATABASE_URL'),
  },
})

5. Install a driver adapter (SQL providers only)

# PostgreSQL
npm install @prisma/adapter-pg pg

# MySQL
npm install @prisma/adapter-mariadb mariadb

# SQLite
npm install @prisma/adapter-better-sqlite3 better-sqlite3

# Prisma Postgres in standard Node.js apps (recommended)
npm install @prisma/adapter-pg pg

# Prisma Postgres serverless driver (edge/serverless)
npm install @prisma/adapter-ppg @prisma/ppg

# Neon
npm install @prisma/adapter-neon

MongoDB does not have a SQL @prisma/adapter-* package in the published Prisma 7.6.0 packages. If you're upgrading a MongoDB project, stop and keep that project on the latest Prisma 6.x release instead of following the standard Prisma 7 migration path.

6. Update client instantiation

// Before (v6)
import { PrismaClient } from '@prisma/client'
const prisma = new PrismaClient()

// After (v7)
import { PrismaClient } from '../generated/prisma/client'
import { PrismaPg } from '@prisma/adapter-pg'

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

const prisma = new PrismaClient({ adapter })

7. Replace Prisma.validator with satisfies

import { Prisma } from '../generated/prisma/client'

const userSelect = {
  id: true,
  email: true,
  name: true,
} satisfies Prisma.UserSelect

8. Run migrations and generate

npx prisma generate
npx prisma migrate dev  # if needed

Troubleshooting

"Cannot find module" errors

• Check that the generator output path matches your import path
• Ensure prisma generate ran successfully

SSL certificate errors

• Add ssl: { rejectUnauthorized: false } to the adapter config if you need to preserve old behavior
• Or configure your certificates properly with NODE_EXTRA_CA_CERTS / OpenSSL CA settings

Connection timeout issues

• Driver adapters use the underlying driver's defaults, which differ from v6
• Configure pool settings explicitly on the adapter if needed

Resources

• Official v7 Upgrade Guide
• Driver Adapters Documentation
• Prisma Config Reference

How to Use

Follow references/schema-changes.md and references/driver-adapters.md first, then apply the remaining reference files based on your project setup.