Database With Drizzle

Drizzle is a popular Prisma alternative — closer to raw SQL, smaller bundle, and edge-friendly.

5 min read Level 2/5 #nextjs#drizzle#database

What you'll learn

Install `drizzle-orm` and a driver
Define a schema in TypeScript
Run queries with the fluent API

Drizzle takes a different approach from Prisma: schemas live in TypeScript files, queries look like SQL builders, and the runtime is small enough to run at the Edge.

Install

npm i drizzle-orm postgres
npm i -D drizzle-kit

For Neon or Cloudflare D1, swap postgres for @neondatabase/serverless or the D1 driver.

Define a Schema

// db/schema.ts
import { pgTable, serial, text, timestamp } from 'drizzle-orm/pg-core'

export const users = pgTable('users', {
  id: serial('id').primaryKey(),
  email: text('email').notNull().unique(),
  name: text('name'),
  createdAt: timestamp('created_at').defaultNow(),
})

Connect

// db/index.ts
import 'server-only'
import { drizzle } from 'drizzle-orm/postgres-js'
import postgres from 'postgres'
import * as schema from './schema'

const client = postgres(process.env.DATABASE_URL!)
export const db = drizzle(client, { schema })

Query

import { eq } from 'drizzle-orm'
import { db } from '@/db'
import { users } from '@/db/schema'

// SELECT
const rows = await db.select().from(users).where(eq(users.id, 1))

// INSERT
await db.insert(users).values({ email: 'a@b.com', name: 'A' })

// UPDATE
await db.update(users).set({ name: 'B' }).where(eq(users.id, 1))

Migrations live in drizzle/; generate them with drizzle-kit generate and apply with drizzle-kit migrate. Because the runtime is so small, Drizzle is the go-to choice when you need to query a DB from the Edge.

server-only & client-only →