Prisma Next — Queries

Edit your data contract. Prisma handles the rest.

Once the contract is emitted and the DB is up to date, this skill covers everything you do with the data: reading, writing, eager-loading relations, aggregating, and the choice between the ORM and the lower-level query lane.

When to Use

• User wants to read, write, update, or delete data.
• User wants to include / eager-load relations.
• User wants to paginate, sort, filter, project.
• User wants to wrap operations in a transaction (db.transaction(...) — Postgres and SQLite).
• User wants to aggregate (count, sum, avg, …).
• User asks about query lanes (ORM vs SQL builder / query builder).
• User mentions: query, select, where, orderBy, take, skip, include, eager load, first, all, count, aggregate, create, update, delete, upsert, returning, drizzle-style, kysely-style, prisma client.

When Not to Use

• User wants to add / change a model → prisma-next-contract.
• User wants to wire db.ts or add middleware → prisma-next-runtime.
• User is querying through a Supabase role-bound db (asUser / asAnon / asServiceRole, RLS, auth.* admin reads) → prisma-next-supabase for the role-binding surface; everything in this skill then applies to the returned RoleBoundDb.
• User wants to debug a query failure (structured error envelope) → prisma-next-debug.

Pick your target

Prisma Next ships two query lanes per target on the same db value from src/prisma/db.ts. Before writing queries, read db.ts and load the matching target guide:

Both targets share the contract and connection on one db value. Reach for the ORM first; drop to the lower-level lane when the ORM can't express the shape. Lane choice is local — one query function picks one lane, not the whole app.

Do not mix target examples. Postgres uses PascalCase model roots (db.orm.User) and db.sql.user; Mongo uses lowercased plural roots (db.orm.users) and db.query.from('users'). There is no db.sql on Mongo and no db.query SQL-builder equivalent on Postgres.

Namespace-aware accessors

When a contract declares more than one namespace (e.g. public and auth), models and tables are addressed by namespace coordinate:

• ORM: db.orm.<namespace>.<Model> — e.g. db.orm.public.User, db.orm.auth.User
• SQL builder: db.sql.<namespace>.<table> — e.g. db.sql.public.users, db.sql.auth.users

The flat db.orm.User / db.sql.users form still works for single-namespace contracts (or when all table names are unique across namespaces). When the same bare name appears in more than one namespace, you must use the namespace coordinate.

See postgres.md § Namespace-aware accessors for a worked example.

Consuming the result: await, .toArray(), or for await

Critical to get right early — on both Postgres and Mongo, .all() returns an AsyncIterableResult<Row>, which is both a PromiseLike<Row[]> and an AsyncIterable<Row>. That means three consumption forms all work, and the canonical one is the shortest:

const users = await db.orm.User.select('id', 'email').all();
//    ^? Row[]   ← the Thenable resolves to a real array. This is the default idiom.

You do not need a collect() / toArray() helper — await is enough. Internally await invokes the result's then(...), which buffers the rows into an array. Two equivalent alternatives exist for the cases where they read better:

// `.toArray()` returns a genuine `Promise<Row[]>`. Reach for it only when
// something needs a real `Promise` and not merely a thenable: a slot typed
// `Promise<Row[]>` (an `AsyncIterableResult` has only `then`, not `catch` /
// `finally`, so it does not satisfy that annotation), or a runtime
// `instanceof Promise` check. Note that `await` and the `Promise.all` /
// `Promise.race` combinators all accept the thenable directly — those are
// NOT reasons to call `.toArray()`. Whenever you are just going to await it
// here, use `await ...all()` and skip `.toArray()`.
const rows: Promise<User[]> = db.orm.User.select('id', 'email').all().toArray();

// Streaming — process rows one at a time without buffering the whole result.
// Use for genuinely large result sets (anything that wouldn't fit comfortably
// in memory) or pipelines where you can start work before all rows arrive.
for await (const user of db.orm.User.select('id', 'email').all()) {
  process(user);
}

Two single-row shortcuts also exist on the result, in addition to the collection-level .first() (which issues LIMIT 1 on Postgres):

const user = await db.orm.User.where({ id }).all().first();
//    ^? Row | null   ← buffers, returns the first row or null. Issues no LIMIT.
const required = await db.orm.User.where({ id }).all().firstOrThrow();
//    ^? Row          ← buffers; throws `RUNTIME.NO_ROWS` if empty.

For genuine single-row reads, prefer the collection-level .first() (which adds LIMIT 1 to the SQL on Postgres) over .all().first() (which fetches all rows and discards the rest). The result-level helpers are for cases where you already need the full result and want the first row without an extra round-trip.

The result is single-consumption. Each AsyncIterableResult instance can be consumed once — by await, by .toArray(), or by for await. Trying to consume it a second time throws RUNTIME.ITERATOR_CONSUMED. The fix is almost always to store the array in a variable on first consumption and reuse the variable:

// Bad — second await throws RUNTIME.ITERATOR_CONSUMED.
const result = db.orm.User.select('id', 'email').all();
const a = await result;
const b = await result;

// Good — buffer once, reuse the array.
const users = await db.orm.User.select('id', 'email').all();
const a = users;
const b = users;

If you've seen collect(...) / toArray(...) helpers in a codebase wrapping .all(), they're vestigial — await does the same thing for free. Remove them when you touch the surrounding code.

Running queries from a short script

When the user is running a one-off tsx my-script.ts (not a long-lived server), call await db.close() at the end so the process exits cleanly — on Postgres the façade-owned pool keeps Node's event loop alive; on Mongo the façade-owned MongoClient does the same. See prisma-next-runtime § Running as a script (teardown) for the full pattern including await using.

// src/scripts/seed.ts
import { db } from '../prisma/db';

// Postgres — PascalCase model root from contract
for (const u of users) {
  await db.orm.User.create(u);
}

// Mongo — lowercased plural root from contract (e.g. users, not User)
// for (const u of users) {
//   await db.orm.users.create(u);
// }

console.log('Seeded.');
await db.close();

Common Pitfalls (cross-target)

1. Using Postgres examples on a Mongo project (or vice versa). Check db.ts and load the correct target guide (postgres.md or mongo.md).
2. Writing a collect() / toArray() helper to convert .all() to an array. .all() returns an AsyncIterableResult<Row> which is a PromiseLike<Row[]> — await collection.all() directly yields Row[]. See Consuming the result above.
3. Consuming an AsyncIterableResult twice. Each result is single-use. The second consumer throws RUNTIME.ITERATOR_CONSUMED. Buffer once into a variable and reuse the variable.

Target-specific pitfalls live in the per-target guides.

What Prisma Next doesn't do yet

• N:M .include() across a junction table. The contract IR supports many-to-many relations with a through junction table, and N:M relations appear as valid relation names on the ORM collection. However, .include() on an N:M relation does not emit the two-step junction join — the query plan builder only handles the direct join columns (localColumn / targetColumn) and ignores the through metadata. Attempting it either produces wrong results or an error. Workaround: express the N:M traversal through db.sql.<table> with an explicit join on the junction table.
• N:M nested mutations. mutation-executor.ts explicitly throws 'N:M nested mutations are not supported yet' for nested creates/links through an N:M relation.
• and / or / not combinators in the postgres façade. The combinators currently import from @prisma-next/sql-orm-client (an internal package). Workaround today: import them from @prisma-next/sql-orm-client directly, the way the example apps do. If you want them on @prisma-next/postgres/runtime, file a feature request via prisma-next-feedback.
• .orderBy(...) / .take(...) on grouped aggregates (Postgres). db.orm.<Model>.groupBy(...).aggregate(...) materializes a Promise<Array<Group & Aggregates>> and exposes neither ordering nor row limits at the DB layer. Result: a "top-N groups by SUM" query falls back to JS-side sort + slice over the full grouped result, which is fine at small cardinalities and bad at scale. Workarounds: (a) drop to db.sql.<table> and write the GROUP BY + ORDER BY + LIMIT against the aggregated table directly; (b) live with the JS-side sort/slice if the grouped cardinality is bounded. File a feature request via prisma-next-feedback if this is hitting you in production.
• A raw-SQL lane. Prisma Next does not currently expose a user-facing raw-SQL surface (no db.sql.raw(...)). Workaround: model the query through the SQL builder or — for shapes the builder can't yet express — file a feature request via prisma-next-feedback describing the shape so the team can decide whether to grow the builder or ship a raw lane.
• TypedSQL (.sql files compiled into typed callables). Not implemented. Workaround: stick to the SQL builder; for repeated queries, extract a function that returns the built plan and call db.runtime().execute(plan) at the call site. If you want a .sql-file compile path, file a feature request via prisma-next-feedback.
• EXPLAIN / query-plan inspection. Prisma Next does not expose an .explain() method. Workaround: connect a pg.Pool you control via the runtime's pg: binding (see prisma-next-runtime) and issue EXPLAIN ANALYZE through it. If you want a first-class plan-inspection surface, file a feature request via prisma-next-feedback.
• Streaming large result sets. No .stream() cursor today. Workaround: paginate via .skip(n).take(m) for moderate sizes; for very large sets, hold a pg.Client from the runtime's pg: binding and stream through it directly. If you want a built-in streaming surface, file a feature request via prisma-next-feedback.
• Multi-statement batching (Prisma-7-style db.$transaction([call1, call2])). Prisma Next runs each call sequentially. Workaround: wrap atomically-related work in db.transaction(async (tx) => { ... }) on Postgres. If you want batch-as-array semantics, file a feature request via prisma-next-feedback.
• Mongo façade transactions. @prisma-next/mongo/runtime does not expose db.transaction(...). Multi-document atomicity is not yet wrapped in the Prisma Next Mongo façade. Workaround: use the MongoDB driver's session API directly if you control the client binding (mongoClient: option). File a feature request via prisma-next-feedback if you need a first-class façade surface.
• Mongo ORM aggregates. No .aggregate(...) / .groupBy(...) on db.orm.<root>. Workaround: express aggregations through db.query.from(...).group(...).build() and runtime.execute(plan).
• Mongo filter helpers on the façade. Rich filters (.in, ranges, boolean composition) currently import from @prisma-next/mongo-query-ast/execution (MongoFieldFilter, etc.) — not yet re-exported on @prisma-next/mongo/runtime. Workaround: use object equality .where({ field: value }) where possible; import from the internal package only when necessary. Tracked alongside façade-completeness gaps in Linear TML-2526.
• Automatic N+1 detection. Prisma Next does not warn when an .include(...) is missing. Workaround: be deliberate about .include(...) in code review; the lints middleware (see prisma-next-runtime) catches the more common authoring slips (missing WHERE on a DELETE / UPDATE, missing LIMIT on a SELECT).

Reference Files

This skill is split for selective loading. Target-specific reference paths live in the per-target guides:

• Postgres — postgres.md § Reference Files
• Mongo — mongo.md § Reference Files

Checklist

• Confirmed the active target from db.ts and loaded the matching guide (postgres.md or mongo.md).
• For multi-namespace contracts, used db.orm.<ns>.<Model> / db.sql.<ns>.<table> coordinates when the same bare name exists in more than one namespace.
• Chose the right lane (ORM by default; lower-level builder for shapes the ORM doesn't express).
• Used .first() / .first({ pk }) (Postgres) or .where({ ... }).first() (Mongo) for single-row reads — not .all().
• Consumed .all() with plain await (not a collect() / toArray() helper). Used for await only when streaming is actually wanted, and never iterated the same result twice.
• Did NOT use db.sql on a Mongo project or db.query where the Postgres SQL builder is meant.
• Completed the target-specific checklist in the loaded guide.