Prisma is a modern TypeScript ORM that makes database interactions type-safe and intuitive. NestJS is a powerful Node.js framework built for scalability and modularity. Together, they form a clean, type-safe backend stack.

🧠 Why Prisma + NestJS?

NestJS is a powerful, modular backend framework built with TypeScript. Prisma is a next-gen ORM that makes database access easy, type-safe, and scalable.

Together, they offer:

• ✅ Full TypeScript support
• ✅ Auto-generated types for DB models
• ✅ Fast and readable queries
• ✅ Modular, maintainable code structure
• ✅ Support for PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite & more

⚙️Installing and Setting Up Prisma in a NestJS Project

npm install prisma --save-dev
npm install @prisma/client
npx prisma init

• Creates prisma/schema.prisma
• Configure your database URL in .env

DATABASE_URL="mysql://user:password@localhost:3306/mydb"

Basic Folder Structure

src/
├── app.module.ts
├── user/
│   ├── user.module.ts
│   ├── user.service.ts
│   ├── user.controller.ts
│   └── user.entity.ts
└── prisma/
    ├── prisma.module.ts
    └── prisma.service.ts

Creating Your First Model

Inside prisma/schema.prisma:

model User {
  id       Int      @id @default(autoincrement())
  name     String
  email    String   @unique
  createdAt DateTime @default(now())
}

npx prisma migrate dev --name init

Generating Prisma Client & Using It

Create a PrismaService to inject Prisma client throughout the app.

// prisma.service.ts
import { Injectable } from '@nestjs/common';
import { PrismaClient } from '@prisma/client';

@Injectable()
export class PrismaService extends PrismaClient {
  constructor() {
    super();
  }
}

Creating a User Service with CRUD

// user.service.ts
@Injectable()
export class UserService {
  constructor(private prisma: PrismaService) {}

  create(data: CreateUserDto) {
    return this.prisma.user.create({ data });
  }

  findAll() {
    return this.prisma.user.findMany();
  }

  findOne(id: number) {
    return this.prisma.user.findUnique({ where: { id } });
  }

  update(id: number, data: UpdateUserDto) {
    return this.prisma.user.update({ where: { id }, data });
  }

  delete(id: number) {
    return this.prisma.user.delete({ where: { id } });
  }
}

Using DTOs for Type Safety

// create-user.dto.ts
export class CreateUserDto {
  name: string;
  email: string;
}

Bonus Tips from Real Projects

• ✅ Always validate inputs with class-validator
• ✅ Use guards for role-based access (RBAC)
• ✅ Write custom Prisma middleware (e.g., for soft deletes)
• ✅ Use select & include for fine-grained queries
• ✅ Combine with Swagger for clean API documentation

Wrap-Up

Prisma and NestJS together make backend development clean, fast, and scalable. Once you get the structure right, it’s a smooth ride 🚀