Building a CRUD App with Node.js, PostgreSQL, and Prisma | HackerNoon

What is Prisma?

Before diving in, let’s get acquainted with Prisma. Prisma is a next-generation ORM (Object Relational Mapping) tool that offers several components for database management and access. It is a server-side library designed to help developers read and write data to databases in an intuitive, efficient, and safe manner. Unlike traditional ORMs, Prisma leverages TypeScript, allowing developers to define a schema from which Prisma generates all necessary models and TypeScript types.

Steps:

Project Setup:

To kick things off, initialize your Node project:

npm init

Next, install the required dependencies:

npm i --save-dev prisma typescript ts-node @types/node nodemon

Configure TypeScript by creating a tsconfig.json file with the following settings:

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "sourceMap": true,
    "outDir": "dist",
    "strict": true,
    "lib": ["esnext"],
    "esModuleInterop": true
  }
}

Initialize Prisma with:

npx prisma init

For PostgreSQL, use:

npx prisma init --datasource-provider postgresql

These commands will generate essential configuration and setup files for your project.

Tip: Use the Prisma Extension for code highlighting!

Prisma Model Setup:

Define the User Model in the schema.prisma file:

model User {
  id        String   @id @default(uuid())
  email     String   @unique
  name      String?
  password  String
  createdAt DateTime @default(now())
  updatedAt DateTime @updatedAt
}

With the User model defined, we need to connect our database before utilizing these models.

Prisma Migration:

To synchronize Prisma with your database, perform a migration:

npx prisma migrate dev --name init

Note: The --name parameter is optional.

Ensure your DATABASE_URL is correctly set before migrating. This command will create a migration file containing SQL commands reflecting your schema.

Prisma Client:

The Prisma Client is the code used to interact with your database. After migration, Prisma generates a new client and adds it to the node modules. To install the client library, run:

npm i @prisma/client

To manually generate or regenerate the Prisma client, use:

npx prisma generate

To use the Prisma Client, add the following code:

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

CRUD Operations with Prisma Client:

Create a new file script.ts and start implementing CRUD operations:

CREATE:

To create a user:

npm i --save-dev prisma typescript ts-node @types/node nodemon

0

Note: Add a script to package.json to run the code.

To create multiple users:

npm i --save-dev prisma typescript ts-node @types/node nodemon

1

READ:

To view all records:

npm i --save-dev prisma typescript ts-node @types/node nodemon

2

To retrieve a single user by ID:

npm i --save-dev prisma typescript ts-node @types/node nodemon

3

UPDATE:

To update a user’s name:

npm i --save-dev prisma typescript ts-node @types/node nodemon

4

DELETE:

To delete a user by ID:

npm i --save-dev prisma typescript ts-node @types/node nodemon

5

With these steps, you’ve successfully implemented basic CRUD operations in your Node.js and PostgreSQL app using Prisma.