Database

Set up and work with Drizzle ORM and Neon PostgreSQL in your Next.js application.

This guide covers database setup using Drizzle ORM with Neon PostgreSQL, a serverless Postgres provider that scales automatically.

Overview

The database package (@workspace/db) provides:

Drizzle ORM for type-safe database queries
Neon PostgreSQL serverless driver
Drizzle Studio for visual database management
Schema-first migrations with drizzle-kit

Local Development

Start the local Neon database with Docker:

cd packages/db
bun run predev    # Starts Docker + pushes schema
bun run dev       # Opens Drizzle Studio

This spins up a local Neon-compatible Postgres instance for development.

Schema Definition

Define your tables in packages/db/src/schema.ts:

import { pgTable, text, timestamp, uuid } from 'drizzle-orm/pg-core'

// Base schema helper (required for all tables)
const baseSchema = {
  id: uuid('id').primaryKey().defaultRandom(),
  createdAt: timestamp('created_at').defaultNow().notNull(),
  updatedAt: timestamp('updated_at').defaultNow().notNull(),
}

export const posts = pgTable('posts', {
  ...baseSchema,
  title: text('title').notNull(),
  content: text('content'),
  authorId: uuid('author_id').references(() => user.id),
})

Using the Database Client

Import and use the database client:

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

// Select all posts
const allPosts = await db.select().from(posts)

// Select with filter
const userPosts = await db
  .select()
  .from(posts)
  .where(eq(posts.authorId, userId))

// Insert
await db.insert(posts).values({
  title: 'My First Post',
  content: 'Hello, world!',
  authorId: userId,
})

// Update
await db
  .update(posts)
  .set({ title: 'Updated Title' })
  .where(eq(posts.id, postId))

// Delete
await db.delete(posts).where(eq(posts.id, postId))

Schema Migrations

Push schema changes to the database:

cd packages/db
bunx drizzle-kit push

Generate migration files (optional):

bunx drizzle-kit generate

Drizzle Studio

Drizzle Studio provides a visual interface for your database:

cd packages/db
bun run dev

Open https://local.drizzle.studio to browse and edit data.

Relations

Define relations between tables:

import { relations } from 'drizzle-orm'

export const postsRelations = relations(posts, ({ one }) => ({
  author: one(user, {
    fields: [posts.authorId],
    references: [user.id],
  }),
}))

export const userRelations = relations(user, ({ many }) => ({
  posts: many(posts),
}))

Query with relations:

const postsWithAuthor = await db.query.posts.findMany({
  with: {
    author: true,
  },
})

Environment Variables

Configure the database connection in .env.local:

DATABASE_URL="postgresql://user:password@host:5432/database"

For Neon, use the serverless connection string from your dashboard.

Next Steps

Define your application schema
Set up relations between tables
Use Drizzle Studio for data exploration

This guide covers database setup using Drizzle ORM with Neon PostgreSQL, a serverless Postgres provider that scales automatically.

Overview

The database package (@workspace/db) provides:

Drizzle ORM for type-safe database queries
Neon PostgreSQL serverless driver
Drizzle Studio for visual database management
Schema-first migrations with drizzle-kit

Local Development

Start the local Neon database with Docker:

cd packages/db
bun run predev    # Starts Docker + pushes schema
bun run dev       # Opens Drizzle Studio

This spins up a local Neon-compatible Postgres instance for development.

Schema Definition

Define your tables in packages/db/src/schema.ts:

import { pgTable, text, timestamp, uuid } from 'drizzle-orm/pg-core'

// Base schema helper (required for all tables)
const baseSchema = {
  id: uuid('id').primaryKey().defaultRandom(),
  createdAt: timestamp('created_at').defaultNow().notNull(),
  updatedAt: timestamp('updated_at').defaultNow().notNull(),
}

export const posts = pgTable('posts', {
  ...baseSchema,
  title: text('title').notNull(),
  content: text('content'),
  authorId: uuid('author_id').references(() => user.id),
})

Using the Database Client

Import and use the database client:

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

// Select all posts
const allPosts = await db.select().from(posts)

// Select with filter
const userPosts = await db
  .select()
  .from(posts)
  .where(eq(posts.authorId, userId))

// Insert
await db.insert(posts).values({
  title: 'My First Post',
  content: 'Hello, world!',
  authorId: userId,
})

// Update
await db
  .update(posts)
  .set({ title: 'Updated Title' })
  .where(eq(posts.id, postId))

// Delete
await db.delete(posts).where(eq(posts.id, postId))

Schema Migrations

Push schema changes to the database:

cd packages/db
bunx drizzle-kit push

Generate migration files (optional):

bunx drizzle-kit generate

Drizzle Studio

Drizzle Studio provides a visual interface for your database:

cd packages/db
bun run dev

Open https://local.drizzle.studio to browse and edit data.

Relations

Define relations between tables:

import { relations } from 'drizzle-orm'

export const postsRelations = relations(posts, ({ one }) => ({
  author: one(user, {
    fields: [posts.authorId],
    references: [user.id],
  }),
}))

export const userRelations = relations(user, ({ many }) => ({
  posts: many(posts),
}))

Query with relations:

const postsWithAuthor = await db.query.posts.findMany({
  with: {
    author: true,
  },
})

Environment Variables

Configure the database connection in .env.local:

DATABASE_URL="postgresql://user:password@host:5432/database"

For Neon, use the serverless connection string from your dashboard.

Next Steps

Define your application schema
Set up relations between tables
Use Drizzle Studio for data exploration

Database

Overview

Local Development

Schema Definition

Using the Database Client

Schema Migrations

Drizzle Studio

Relations

Environment Variables

Next Steps

Table of Contents

Database

Overview

Local Development

Schema Definition

Using the Database Client

Schema Migrations

Drizzle Studio

Relations

Environment Variables

Next Steps

Table of Contents