Prisma, the widely-adopted TypeScript-first ORM for Node.js, has released Prisma ORM 7.0, delivering performance improvements, a dramatically smaller footprint, and enhanced developer experience through a complete architectural shift away from Rust.
Prisma ORM 7.0 introduces several transformative changes, including a Rust-free client runtime built entirely in TypeScript, generated code moved out of node_modules, a new dynamic configuration file, and significantly faster type generation. The release also brings improvements to Prisma Postgres, their managed database offering, which now supports standard Postgres connection protocols.
One of the most significant changes in Prisma 7 is the complete removal of the Rust-based query engine in favor of a TypeScript implementation. While this might seem counterintuitive given Rust’s performance reputation, the Prisma team found that the communication layer between Rust and the JavaScript runtime created bottlenecks. The new architecture delivers 90% smaller bundle sizes, 3x faster query execution, and lower CPU and memory utilization. The changes also enable simpler deployments for edge runtimes like Vercel Edge and Cloudflare Workers, where binary dependencies previously caused complications.
The syntax for adopting the new client is straightforward. Developers simply need to update their schema provider from prisma-client-js to prisma-client:
generator client {
provider = "prisma-client"
}
Community response to the Rust removal has been mixed but largely positive. One Reddit user noted they tested it myself on a smaller project locally and clearly felt it was much faster than the previous Prisma 6.
However, some developers have raised concerns, with GitHub issues questioning whether the advertised 3x performance improvement holds true across all workloads. The Prisma team have posted an article as a response to these concerns with a detailed benchmark methodology and acknowledged they are continuing to refine measurements based on community feedback. They also mention they will be Optimizing the parts of Prisma 7 that these benchmarks stress
.
Prisma 7 also addresses a long-standing pain point by moving generated artifacts out of node_modules and into the project source code by default. This change means that when developers run prisma generate after schema modifications, file watchers and build tools can react immediately without requiring application restarts. Additionally, the new config file separates project configuration from data schema, allowing dynamic configuration using JavaScript or TypeScript.
Type generation has seen huge improvements through collaboration with David Blass, creator of ArkType. Prisma now requires 98% fewer types to evaluate a schema and is 70% faster when performing full type checks compared to previous versions. This puts Prisma ahead of competing ORMs like Drizzle in type evaluation performance.
For developers migrating from earlier versions, Prisma provides an upgrade guide covering breaking changes, including the removal of the deprecated Metrics preview feature and updates to minimum Node.js and TypeScript versions. The team has also made migration tooling available through AI coding assistants to streamline the upgrade process.
Prisma is an open-source ORM developed and maintained by Prisma Data, designed to simplify database workflows in TypeScript and JavaScript applications. It competes with alternatives like Drizzle, Kysely, and TypeORM, offering end-to-end type safety from database to application code. Prisma supports PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, MongoDB, SQL Server, and CockroachDB.
