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Last updated on June 7, 2023
6 min read

Using an ORM to access your Postgres database

Learn how to use your favorite ORM to access your database from your apps

Vercel Postgres is available in Beta on Pro and Hobby plans

Vercel Postgres provides an SDK, but we recommend using an ORM for larger applications.

To get started using Vercel Postgres with your favorite ORM, follow the instructions in our Postgres quickstart.

If your ORM is featured on this page, read the corresponding section for the most optimal configuration instructions.

Kysely is a type-safe and autocomplete-friendly TypeScript SQL query builder. Use our Kysely template to deploy a Next.js project that connects to Vercel Postgres with Kysely now.

To use Kysely, follow these steps:

  1. Install the Kysely package:

    pnpm i kysely @vercel/postgres-kysely
  2. Use the createKysely method from @vercel/postgres-kysely to create a client with a pooled connection

    import { createKysely } from '@vercel/postgres-kysely';
     
    interface Database {
      person: PersonTable;
      pet: PetTable;
      movie: MovieTable;
    }
     
    const db = createKysely<Database>();
     
    await db
      .insertInto('pet')
      .values({ name: 'Catto', species: 'cat', owner_id: id })
      .execute();
     
    const person = await db
      .selectFrom('person')
      .innerJoin('pet', 'pet.owner_id', 'person.id')
      .select(['first_name', 'pet.name as pet_name'])
      .where('person.id', '=', id)
      .executeTakeFirst();

Kysely supports all PostgreSQL commands. See Kysely's docs for a full reference of the methods used to send the commands.

Prisma is a next-gen ORM that includes a type-safe query builder, migration system, and database management interface. Use our Prisma template to deploy a Next.js project that connects to Vercel Postgres with Prisma now.

To use Vercel Postgres with Prisma, you must:

  1. Follow the instructions in our Postgres quickstart

  2. Install Prisma client and Prisma CLI:

    pnpm i prisma @prisma/client
  3. Use your environment variables in your schema.prisma file as shown below:

    schema.prisma
    generator client {
      provider = "prisma-client-js"
      previewFeatures = ["jsonProtocol"]
    }
     
    datasource db {
      provider = "postgresql"
      url = env("POSTGRES_PRISMA_URL") // uses connection pooling
      directUrl = env("POSTGRES_URL_NON_POOLING") // uses a direct connection
      shadowDatabaseUrl = env("POSTGRES_URL_NON_POOLING") // used for migrations
    }
     
    model User {
      id        Int      @id @default(autoincrement())
      name      String
      email     String   @unique
      image     String
      createdAt DateTime @default(now())
    }
  4. Use @prisma/client to query your Vercel Postgres database

    import { PrismaClient } from '@prisma/client';
     
    const prisma = new PrismaClient();
     
    export default async function prismaExample() {
      const newUser = await prisma.user.create({
        data: {
          name: 'Elliott',
          email: 'xelliottx@example-user.com',
        },
      });
     
      const users = await prisma.user.findMany();
    }
  5. Whenever you make changes to your prisma schema, you must run prisma generate to update the generated type generations, which live in the node_modules/.prisma/client directory.

    Prisma generate
    prisma generate

When you connect with Prisma using the POSTGRES_PRISMA_URL environment variable, the parameters connect_timeout=10 and pgbouncer=true will be set.

We recommend using the POSTGRES_URL_NON_POOLING Environment Variable instead.

See the Prisma docs to learn more.

To use Prisma Migrate, you must connect to Vercel Postgres with the POSTGRES_URL_NON_POOLING environment variable. Prisma migrations do not work with pooled connections. This environment variable can also be added to your client via the directUrl configuration property in your schema.prisma file.

Drizzle is a collection of front-end libraries that make writing decentralized applications easier and more predictable. Use our Drizzle template to deploy a Next.js project that connects to Vercel Postgres with Drizzle now.

To use Drizzle with Vercel Postgres, you must:

  1. Follow the instructions in the Postgres quickstart
  2. Install the drizzle-orm package:
    pnpm i drizzle-orm
  3. Create a client that connects to your Vercel Postgres database with Drizzle:
simple-connect.ts
import { drizzle } from 'drizzle-orm/vercel-postgres';
import { sql } from '@vercel/postgres';
import {
  pgTable,
  serial,
  text,
  timestamp,
  uniqueIndex,
} from 'drizzle-orm/pg-core';
 
// Use this object to send drizzle queries to your DB
export const db = drizzle(sql);
// Create a pgTable that maps to a table in your DB
export const ExampleTable = pgTable(
  'users',
  {
    id: serial('id').primaryKey(),
    name: text('name').notNull(),
    email: text('email').notNull(),
    image: text('image').notNull(),
    createdAt: timestamp('createdAt').defaultNow().notNull(),
  },
  (users) => {
    return {
      uniqueIdx: uniqueIndex('unique_idx').on(users.email),
    };
  },
);
 
export const getExampleTable = async () => {
  const selectResult = await db.select().from(ExampleTable);
  console.log('Results', selectResult);
};