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Overview

Fields define the structure of your models and map to columns in your database. Each field has a type and optional attributes that control its behavior.

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Scalar Types

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String

Text data of any length: 
model User {
  id       Int    @id
  name     String
  email    String
  bio      String?
}

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Int

Integer numbers: 
model Product {
  id       Int @id
  quantity Int
  views    Int @default(0)
}

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BigInt

Large integer numbers: 
model Analytics {
  id         Int    @id
  views      BigInt
  userId     BigInt
  timestamps BigInt[]
}

​
Float

Floating-point numbers: 
model Measurement {
  id          Int   @id
  temperature Float
  humidity    Float
}

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Decimal

Precise decimal numbers (for currency, financial data): 
model Product {
  id    Int     @id
  price Decimal @db.Decimal(10, 2)
}

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Boolean

True/false values: 
model User {
  id          Int     @id
  isActive    Boolean @default(true)
  isVerified  Boolean @default(false)
  isAdmin     Boolean @default(false)
}

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DateTime

Date and time values: 
model Post {
  id          Int      @id
  createdAt   DateTime @default(now())
  updatedAt   DateTime @updatedAt
  publishedAt DateTime?
  scheduledAt DateTime?
}

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Json

JSON data structures: 
model User {
  id       Int   @id
  metadata Json?
  settings Json?
  social   Json?
}

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Bytes

Binary data: 
model File {
  id      Int    @id
  content Bytes
  hash    Bytes
}

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List Types

Arrays of scalar types: 
model Article {
  id       Int      @id
  tags     String[]
  ratings  Int[]
  metadata Json[]
}

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Optional Fields

Make fields optional with ?: 
model User {
  id          Int       @id
  email       String
  name        String?   // Optional
  bio         String?   // Optional
  birthDate   DateTime? // Optional
}

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Native Database Types

Use @db attribute for database-specific types.

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PostgreSQL Native Types

model Post {
  id              Int      @id
  title           String   @db.VarChar(255)
  content         String   @db.Text
  metadata        Json     @db.JsonB
  views           BigInt   @db.BigInt
  rating          Float    @db.Real
  price           Decimal  @db.Decimal(10, 2)
  published       Boolean  @db.Boolean
  publishedAt     DateTime @db.Timestamp(6)
  publishedAtTz   DateTime @db.Timestamptz
  scheduledTime   DateTime @db.Time
  scheduledDate   DateTime @db.Date
  uuid            String   @db.Uuid
  ipAddress       String   @db.Inet
  caseInsensitive String   @db.Citext
  xmlData         String   @db.Xml
  bitData         String   @db.Bit(5)
  varbitData      String   @db.VarBit(5)
  smallNumber     Int      @db.SmallInt
  regularNumber   Int      @db.Integer
  oidValue        Int      @db.Oid
  money           Decimal  @db.Money
  data            Bytes    @db.ByteA
}

​
MySQL Native Types

model Post {
  id          Int      @id
  title       String   @db.VarChar(255)
  content     String   @db.Text
  tinyText    String   @db.TinyText
  mediumText  String   @db.MediumText
  longText    String   @db.LongText
  views       BigInt   @db.BigInt
  tinyInt     Int      @db.TinyInt
  smallInt    Int      @db.SmallInt
  mediumInt   Int      @db.MediumInt
  year        Int      @db.Year
  decimal     Decimal  @db.Decimal(10, 2)
  float       Float    @db.Float
  double      Float    @db.Double
  binary      Bytes    @db.Binary(16)
  varBinary   Bytes    @db.VarBinary(255)
  tinyBlob    Bytes    @db.TinyBlob
  blob        Bytes    @db.Blob
  mediumBlob  Bytes    @db.MediumBlob
  longBlob    Bytes    @db.LongBlob
  timestamp   DateTime @db.Timestamp(6)
}

​
SQLite Native Types

model Post {
  id      Int      @id
  title   String
  content String
  views   Int
  active  Boolean
  created DateTime
}
Note: SQLite has limited native type options but Prisma provides type safety at the application level.

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SQL Server Native Types

model Post {
  id         Int      @id
  title      String   @db.NVarChar(255)
  content    String   @db.NVarChar(Max)
  views      BigInt   @db.BigInt
  smallInt   Int      @db.SmallInt
  tinyInt    Int      @db.TinyInt
  decimal    Decimal  @db.Decimal(10, 2)
  money      Decimal  @db.Money
  float      Float    @db.Float(53)
  real       Float    @db.Real
  timestamp  DateTime @db.DateTime2
  smallDate  DateTime @db.SmallDateTime
  date       DateTime @db.Date
  time       DateTime @db.Time
  binary     Bytes    @db.Binary(16)
  varBinary  Bytes    @db.VarBinary(255)
}

​
Enum Types

Define custom enumerations: 
model User {
  id     Int      @id
  role   UserRole
  status Status   @default(ACTIVE)
}

enum UserRole {
  STUDENT
  TEACHER
  ADMIN
}

enum Status {
  ACTIVE
  INACTIVE
  SUSPENDED
}
Enum lists: 
model Post {
  id         Int          @id
  categories Category[]
}

enum Category {
  TECH
  SCIENCE
  POLITICS
  SPORTS
}

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Relation Fields

Relation fields define connections between models: 
model User {
  id    Int     @id
  posts Post[]
}

model Post {
  id       Int  @id
  authorId Int
  author   User @relation(fields: [authorId], references: [id])
}
See the Relations documentation for detailed information.

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Unsupported Types

For database types not yet supported by Prisma: 
model Legacy {
  id          Int                    @id
  customField Unsupported("integer")
}

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Field Defaults

Set default values for fields: 
model User {
  id        Int      @id @default(autoincrement())
  createdAt DateTime @default(now())
  isActive  Boolean  @default(true)
  role      Role     @default(USER)
  views     Int      @default(0)
}

enum Role {
  USER
  ADMIN
}
Default value functions:
  • autoincrement() - Auto-incrementing integer
  • now() - Current timestamp
  • uuid() - Generate UUID
  • cuid() - Generate CUID
  • dbgenerated("SQL") - Database-generated value

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Auto-Update Fields

Automatically update timestamp on record changes: 
model Post {
  id        Int      @id
  title     String
  updatedAt DateTime @updatedAt
}

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Complete Example

model User {
  id            Int       @id @default(autoincrement())
  email         String    @unique
  name          String?
  bio           String?   @db.Text
  age           Int?
  balance       Decimal   @db.Decimal(10, 2)
  isVerified    Boolean   @default(false)
  role          UserRole  @default(USER)
  tags          String[]
  metadata      Json?
  avatarData    Bytes?
  createdAt     DateTime  @default(now())
  updatedAt     DateTime  @updatedAt
  lastLoginAt   DateTime?

  posts         Post[]
  profile       Profile?
}

model Profile {
  id        Int     @id @default(autoincrement())
  bio       String  @db.Text
  website   String?
  userId    Int     @unique
  user      User    @relation(fields: [userId], references: [id])
}

model Post {
  id          Int      @id @default(autoincrement())
  title       String   @db.VarChar(255)
  content     String   @db.Text
  published   Boolean  @default(false)
  viewCount   Int      @default(0)
  rating      Float    @default(0.0)
  tags        String[]
  createdAt   DateTime @default(now())
  updatedAt   DateTime @updatedAt
  publishedAt DateTime?
  authorId    Int
  author      User     @relation(fields: [authorId], references: [id])
}

enum UserRole {
  USER
  MODERATOR
  ADMIN
}

​
Best Practices

  1. Use appropriate scalar types for your data
  2. Leverage native database types for optimization
  3. Use Decimal for financial data, not Float
  4. Make fields optional with ? only when necessary
  5. Use enums for fields with fixed sets of values
  6. Add createdAt and updatedAt timestamp fields
  7. Use lists sparingly (consider relations instead)
  8. Choose database-native types for better performance
  9. Use @db attributes for fine-grained control over column types