create-prisma
Scaffold a new Prisma 8 app with create-prisma, with Prisma Composer, Prisma Postgres, and a deploy path built in.
create-prisma creates a new Prisma 8 project from an app template. It installs Prisma 8, emits the contract, and generates a deployable Prisma Composer app. PostgreSQL projects use Composer's native Prisma Postgres provider, including migrations and a typed runtime client.
Use it when you want to start from a working app. If you already have an app, follow Add Prisma 8 to an existing PostgreSQL project or Add Prisma 8 to an existing MongoDB project instead.
create-prisma@latest scaffolds Prisma 8. To scaffold a Prisma 7 app, run npm create prisma@stable and follow the Prisma 7 setup paths.
Create a project
Run the CLI with your package manager and answer the prompts:
bunx create-prisma@latest my-appThe prompts cover the project name, the app template, the database provider, the contract authoring style, the package manager, and whether to deploy right away. Generated Node.js projects expect Node.js 24 LTS or newer.
The last prompt is:
Deploy to Prisma now?Choose no to deploy later with the generated deploy script. When more than one Prisma workspace session is available, the CLI asks which workspace receives the deployment; pass --workspace <id-or-name> to pick one without a prompt, or omit it to use the active workspace. Choosing another workspace also updates the Prisma CLI's active workspace session.
Skip the prompts
Pass flags when you already know the project shape. --yes accepts the defaults for anything you leave out:
bunx create-prisma@latest my-app --template next --provider postgres --yescreate is the default subcommand, so npx create-prisma@latest create my-app ... is the same command.
| Flag | What it does |
|---|---|
<name> or --name <name> | The project name and directory. |
--template <name> | Chooses the app template (see below). |
--provider postgres|postgresql|mongo|mongodb | Chooses the database: PostgreSQL relational models or MongoDB document models. |
--authoring psl|typescript | Chooses the contract authoring style. |
--package-manager npm|pnpm|yarn|bun|deno | Chooses the package manager used to install dependencies. |
--deploy / --no-deploy | Deploys the generated app to Prisma immediately, or skips that step. |
--workspace <id-or-name> | The Prisma workspace to deploy into. |
--yes | Skips prompts and accepts the default choices. |
--force | Allows scaffolding into a non-empty directory. |
--verbose | Shows the full command output during setup. |
Templates
--template | App |
|---|---|
minimal | A minimal server with one query |
next | Next.js |
hono | Hono |
elysia | Elysia |
nest | NestJS |
svelte | SvelteKit |
astro | Astro |
nuxt | Nuxt |
tanstack-start | TanStack Start |
Every template supports PostgreSQL and MongoDB, PSL or TypeScript contract authoring, and npm, pnpm, Yarn, and Bun. Each framework guide walks the generated app from the first query to a deploy.
Deno is supported for local minimal PostgreSQL apps:
deno run -A npm:create-prisma@latest my-deno-app --template minimal --provider postgres --package-manager deno --no-deployPrisma Compute does not support Deno deployments yet, so Deno projects stop at a verified local run.
Start the app
Review DATABASE_URL in .env, then initialize the database and start the dev server:
cd my-app
npm run db:init
npm run devSample records are seeded on the app's first query. From there, evolve the contract under src/prisma/, run npm run contract:emit, and plan and apply the migration with npx prisma@latest migration plan and npx prisma@latest migrate. The quickstart covers that loop in detail, and the MongoDB quickstart covers the replica set setup MongoDB needs.
Telemetry
Published builds may send anonymous usage telemetry. It never includes project names, file paths, or database URLs. Disable it by setting DO_NOT_TRACK, CREATE_PRISMA_DISABLE_TELEMETRY, or CREATE_PRISMA_TELEMETRY_DISABLED in your environment.
The CLI is open source at prisma/create-prisma.