🚀 Setting Up PostgreSQL with Prisma ORM in a Node.js Project (Using Docker)

In my recent Node.js project, I set up a PostgreSQL database using Prisma ORM—one of the most efficient and type-safe ORMs available. I used docker to run postgres on my linux machine

Here’s a detailed walkthrough of the setup—from pulling the Docker image to generating the Prisma client. If you’re getting started with Prisma and PostgreSQL in Node.js, this guide is for you.

🛠️ Prerequisites

Make sure the following are installed:

• ✅ Node.js (v14+ recommended)
• ✅ Docker
• ✅ npm

Step 1: Pull PostgreSQL Docker Image

docker pull postgres

Step 2: Run PostgreSQL Container

docker run --name my-postgres -e POSTGRES_USER=admin -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=secret -e POSTGRES_DB=mydb -p 5432:5432 -d postgres

🔍 This sets up a PostgreSQL container with:

• Username: admin
• Password: secret
• Database name: mydb
• Port: Exposes DB on localhost:5432

Step 3: Init NodeJs project

npm init -y

Step 4: Install Prisma

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

🔐 Step 5: Configure .env

add DATABASE_URL in .env file

DATABASE_URL="postgresql://admin:secret@localhost:5432/mydb?schema=public"


• admin: PostgreSQL username
• secret: PostgreSQL password
• localhost: Host of the DB server
• 5432: PostgreSQL’s default port
• mydb: Database name
• schema=public: Default schema in PostgreSQL

📝 Step 6: Define Your Prisma Schema

generator client {
  provider = "prisma-client-js"
}

datasource db {
  provider = "postgresql"
  url      = env("DATABASE_URL")
}

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

⚙️ Step 7: Migrate and Generate Prisma Client

npx prisma migrate dev --name init
npx prisma generate

—
migrate dev creates migration files and updates the DB
generate creates the Prisma client for querying

Step 8: Test the Database Connection

Let’s write a quick script to ensure everything’s working as expected.

Create a script.js file:

const { PrismaClient } = require('@prisma/client');
const prisma = new PrismaClient();

async function main() {
  const user = await prisma.user.create({
    data: {
      email: 'abc@example.com',
      name: 'Tushar',
    },
  });

  console.log('User created:', user);

  const allUsers = await prisma.user.findMany();
  console.log('All users:', allUsers);
}

main()
  .catch(e => {
    console.error(e);
    process.exit(1);
  })
  .finally(async () => {
    await prisma.$disconnect();
  });

Run the Script

node script.js

You should see something like:

User created: { id: 1, email: 'abc@example.com', name: 'Tushar', createdAt: 2025-05-18T... }
All users: [ { id: 1, email: 'abc@example.com', name: 'Tushar', createdAt: 2025-05-18T... } ]

🎉 Congratulations! You’ve successfully connected Node.js to a PostgreSQL database running inside a Docker container using Prisma.