Database Setup

Plainform uses PostgreSQL as its database, accessed through Prisma ORM for type-safe queries. Your database can be hosted on Supabase, Vercel Postgres, Railway, Neon, or any PostgreSQL provider.

Database Architecture

Plainform's database layer consists of:

• PostgreSQL Database: Hosted on your chosen provider (Supabase, Vercel, etc.)
• Prisma ORM: Type-safe database client with schema management
• Connection Pooling: Efficient connection management for serverless environments
• Environment Validation: @t3-oss/env-nextjs ensures required variables are set

Connection Strings

Plainform requires two connection strings:

DATABASE_URL (Pooled Connection)

Used for all database queries in your application. Includes connection pooling for serverless environments.

DATABASE_URL="postgresql://user:password@host:6543/postgres?pgbouncer=true"

• Port: 6543 (PgBouncer pooler)
• Used by: Prisma Client for queries
• Why: Prevents connection exhaustion in serverless functions

DIRECT_URL (Direct Connection)

Used for database migrations and schema changes. Bypasses connection pooling.

DIRECT_URL="postgresql://user:password@host:5432/postgres"

• Port: 5432 (standard PostgreSQL)
• Used by: Prisma Migrate for schema changes
• Why: Migrations require direct database access

Initial Setup

# PostgreSQL Connection
DATABASE_URL="postgresql://user:password@host:6543/postgres?pgbouncer=true"
DIRECT_URL="postgresql://user:password@host:5432/postgres"

export const env = createEnv({
  server: {
    DATABASE_URL: z.string().min(5),
    DIRECT_URL: z.string().min(5),
    // ... other variables
  },
});

npx prisma db pull

npx prisma generate

Prisma Configuration

Your prisma/schema.prisma uses both connection strings:

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

datasource db {
  provider  = "postgresql"
  url       = env("DATABASE_URL")      // Pooled connection for queries
  directUrl = env("DIRECT_URL")        // Direct connection for migrations
}

Prisma automatically uses:

• DATABASE_URL for queries (prisma.event.findMany())
• DIRECT_URL for migrations (npx prisma migrate dev)

Database Models

Plainform includes these default models:

model Event {
  id        String @id @default(cuid())
  type      String
  slug      String 
  text      String 
  timestamp BigInt 
}

model Comment {
  id        Int      @id @default(autoincrement())
  page      String   @default("default") @db.VarChar(256)
  thread    Int?     @map("threadId")
  author    String   @db.VarChar(256)
  content   Json     @db.Json
  timestamp DateTime @default(now()) @db.Timestamp()
  rates     Rate[]
  
  @@index([page])
}

model Rate {
  userId    String  @db.VarChar(256)
  commentId Int
  like      Boolean
  comment   Comment @relation(fields: [commentId], references: [id], onDelete: Cascade)
  
  @@id([userId, commentId])
  @@index([commentId])
}

These models support:

• Event: Activity tracking (blog posts, updates)
• Comment: Blog post comments via fuma-comment
• Rate: Comment likes/dislikes

Next Steps

• Prisma ORM - Learn about Prisma schema and models
• Usage & Integration - Use Prisma Client in your code
• Migrations - Manage database schema changes
• Troubleshooting - Resolve common issues