Read a Prisma Next structured error envelope and route to the right recovery — code, domain, severity, why, fix, meta. Use for error, exception, my emit failed, my query won't typecheck, my query crashed, my migration won't apply, MIGRATION.HASH_MISMATCH, BUDGET.ROWS_EXCEEDED, BUDGET.TIME_EXCEEDED, RUNTIME.ABORTED, PLAN.HASH_MISMATCH, CONTRACT.MARKER_MISSING, PN-RUN-3001, PN-RUN-3002, PN-RUN-3030, PN-MIG-2001, PN-CLI-4011, PN-SCHEMA-0001, drift, capability missing, planner conflict, prisma studi
User pastes an error envelope (CLI failure, runtime exception, --json output).
User says "my query won't typecheck", "my migration won't apply", "my emit failed", "the runtime crashed".
User mentions a stable code (PN-CLI-, PN-MIG-, PN-RUN-, PN-SCHEMA-, MIGRATION., CONTRACT., LINT., BUDGET., PLAN., RUNTIME.).
Not for
Reading only summary, not the rest of the envelope. code, severity, why, fix, meta/details, and (for CLI errors) where are all load-bearing. The agent routes on code; the user sees summary.
Ignoring severity. migration status emits warn-level diagnostics and exits 0. An agent that only checks exit code misses every concurrent-migration warning.
The source command is displayed only when detected. A safe inspection prompt is always available so your agent can explain every action before execution.
Inspect the Agent Skill "prisma-next-debug" from https://github.com/prisma/prisma/blob/689981aeab99ca2918610f1acbe9c335312b15e8/skills/prisma-next-debug/SKILL.md at commit 689981aeab99ca2918610f1acbe9c335312b15e8. List every install step, command, network request, credential, file read/write, external action, and rollback step. Explain whether it fits my task. Do not install or execute anything until I approve.
Workflow
What the source asks the agent to do
01
How to ask for the full envelope
If the user only pasted the human summary, ask for --json output (machine envelope) or re-run with -v (CLI prints the full structured fields). --json and -v are global flags on every CLI command.
If the user only pasted the human summary, ask for --json output (machine envelope) or re-run with -v (CLI prints the full structured fields). --json and -v are global flags on every CLI command.
02
When to Use
User pastes an error envelope (CLI failure, runtime exception, --json output).
User pastes an error envelope (CLI failure, runtime exception, --json output).User says "my query won't typecheck", "my migration won't apply", "my emit failed", "the runtime crashed".User mentions a stable code (PN-CLI-, PN-MIG-, PN-RUN-, PN-SCHEMA-, MIGRATION., CONTRACT., LINT., BUDGET., PLAN., RUNTIME.).
03
When Not to Use
User wants to author a query / model / migration → the matching authoring skill.
User wants to author a query / model / migration → the matching authoring skill.User wants to prevent errors (lints, budgets, type-level guards) → prisma-next-runtime.User wants the framework changed because the surface itself is the problem (no envelope to route on, capability genuinely missing) → prisma-next-feedback.
04
Key Concepts
Prisma Next emits two distinct envelopes depending on which seam threw. Read which one you have before routing.
Prisma Next emits two distinct envelopes depending on which seam threw. Read which one you have before routing.1. CLI envelope — produced by prisma-next ... commands (emit, db init/update/verify/sign/schema, migration plan/apply/show/status, init). Shape (see CliErrorEnvelope in packages/1-framework/1-core/errors/src/control.ts):The full code is PN--. Domains in use: CLI, MIG, RUN, CON, SCHEMA. Severity is error | warn | info — migration status exits 0 when its diagnostics are warn, so route on severity + code together, not on exit code alone.
05
Two envelope shapes
Prisma Next emits two distinct envelopes depending on which seam threw. Read which one you have before routing.
Prisma Next emits two distinct envelopes depending on which seam threw. Read which one you have before routing.1. CLI envelope — produced by prisma-next ... commands (emit, db init/update/verify/sign/schema, migration plan/apply/show/status, init). Shape (see CliErrorEnvelope in packages/1-framework/1-core/errors/src/control.ts):The full code is PN--. Domains in use: CLI, MIG, RUN, CON, SCHEMA. Severity is error | warn | info — migration status exits 0 when its diagnostics are warn, so route on severity + code together, not on exit code alone.
Permission review
Static risk signals and limitations
Network access
medium · line 40
The documentation includes network, browsing, or remote request actions.
"docsUrl": "https://prisma-next.dev/..."
Runs scripts
medium · line 62
The documentation asks the agent to run terminal commands or scripts.
If the user only pasted the human summary, ask for `--json` output (machine envelope) or re-run with `-v` (CLI prints the full structured fields). `--json` and `-v` are global flags on every CLI command.
Network access
medium · line 141
The documentation includes network, browsing, or remote request actions.
[ ] Did not confabulate a Studio / EXPLAIN / query-log API — used the documented workaround and routed unmet capability gaps to `prisma-next-feedback`.
Evidence record
Why each signal appears
EvidenceSourceComputedTestedEditorial
Signal
Value
Evidence type
Meaning
Quality score
90/100
Computed
Documentation, specificity, maintenance, and trust rules
Repository stars
47,525
Source
Repository attention, not individual Skill quality
Compatibility
0 platforms
Source
Declared in the catalog source record
Usage guide
automated source guide
Editorial
Generated or reviewed according to the visible evidence level
Pinned source
Provenance and original SKILL.md
Repository
prisma/prisma
Skill path
skills/prisma-next-debug/SKILL.md
Commit
689981aeab99ca2918610f1acbe9c335312b15e8
License
Apache-2.0
Collected
2026-08-04
Default branch
main
View the original SKILL.md
Prisma Next — Debug
Edit your data contract. Prisma handles the rest.
When a Prisma Next call fails, the framework returns a structured envelope. The agent's job is to read the envelope, route on the code, and chain to the right authoring skill for the actual fix. This skill teaches the envelope shapes and the routing — it does not duplicate sibling-skill workflows.
When to Use
User pastes an error envelope (CLI failure, runtime exception, --json output).
User says "my query won't typecheck", "my migration won't apply", "my emit failed", "the runtime crashed".
User mentions a stable code (PN-CLI-*, PN-MIG-*, PN-RUN-*, PN-SCHEMA-*, MIGRATION.*, CONTRACT.*, LINT.*, BUDGET.*, PLAN.*, RUNTIME.*).
User wants to author a query / model / migration → the matching authoring skill.
User wants to prevent errors (lints, budgets, type-level guards) → prisma-next-runtime.
User wants the framework changed because the surface itself is the problem (no envelope to route on, capability genuinely missing) → prisma-next-feedback.
Key Concepts
Two envelope shapes
Prisma Next emits two distinct envelopes depending on which seam threw. Read which one you have before routing.
1. CLI envelope — produced by prisma-next ... commands (emit, db init/update/verify/sign/schema, migration plan/apply/show/status, init). Shape (see CliErrorEnvelope in packages/1-framework/1-core/errors/src/control.ts):
The full code is PN-<domain>-<NNNN>. Domains in use: CLI, MIG, RUN, CON, SCHEMA. Severity is error | warn | info — migration status exits 0 when its diagnostics are warn, so route on severity + code together, not on exit code alone.
2. Runtime envelope — thrown by the in-process runtime when executing a query (see RuntimeErrorEnvelope in packages/1-framework/1-core/framework-components/src/execution/runtime-error.ts):
category is one of PLAN | CONTRACT | LINT | BUDGET | RUNTIME (the prefix of code). details holds the structured context (details is the runtime envelope's equivalent of the CLI envelope's meta).
3. SQL driver errors — surface as SqlQueryError / SqlConnectionError (see packages/2-sql/1-core/errors/). Fields on SqlQueryError: kind: 'sql_query', sqlState (Postgres SQLSTATE, e.g. '23505'), constraint, table, column, detail, cause. These are notPN-* codes — route on sqlState and the constraint metadata. SQL driver errors are typically wrapped by middleware before reaching the user, but raw-SQL paths can surface them directly.
Wrapped errors and meta.code
Some commands re-wrap a downstream error into a PN-RUN-3000 (errorRuntime) envelope and stash the original code on meta.code. The most important case: migrate wraps MigrationToolsError (which has codes like MIGRATION.HASH_MISMATCH, MIGRATION.STALE_CONTRACT_BOOKENDS, MIGRATION.AMBIGUOUS_TARGET) via mapMigrationToolsError. The envelope you see is code: 'PN-RUN-3000' with meta.code: 'MIGRATION.HASH_MISMATCH'. Always check meta.code when code is PN-RUN-3000 — that's where the routing-quality information lives.
How to ask for the full envelope
If the user only pasted the human summary, ask for --json output (machine envelope) or re-run with -v (CLI prints the full structured fields). --json and -v are global flags on every CLI command.
Routing — script teardown and closed client
These symptoms are not PN-* envelopes — route on the message text and chain to prisma-next-runtime § Running as a script (teardown).
Symptom
Next move
TypeError: db.end is not a function
The runtime client does not expose db.end() — that's the node-postgres pool API (pool.end()). The right call is await db.close(). See prisma-next-runtime § Running as a script (teardown).
Script hangs after queries print / process won't exit
On Postgres the façade-owned pg.Pool keeps the event loop alive. Call await db.close() before the script returns, or await using db = postgres<Contract>(...) at the top of a script module (do NOT put await using inside a request handler — block-scoped, would close per-request). See prisma-next-runtime § Running as a script (teardown).
Error('Postgres client is closed') / Error('SQLite client is closed') / Error('Mongo client is closed')
The client was closed via db.close() (terminal state). Remove the early close(), reorder so close() runs last after all queries, or construct a new db if reconnection is intended. See prisma-next-runtime § Running as a script (teardown).
Routing — symptom and code → next move
The single source of truth: read the envelope, find the row by code (or meta.code for wrapped errors), follow the next move.
Code
Where it surfaces
Next move
PN-CLI-4001Config file not found
Most prisma-next commands
Run prisma-next init, or pass --config <path>.
PN-CLI-4002Contract configuration missing
contract emit, db *
Add contract: { ... } to prisma-next.config.ts. See prisma-next-contract.
PN-CLI-4003Contract validation failed
contract emit, db *
Re-run pnpm prisma-next contract emit after fixing the contract source named in where.path. See prisma-next-contract.
PN-CLI-4005Database connection is required
db *, migrate, migration status
Pass --db <url> or set db.connection in prisma-next.config.ts.
PN-CLI-4011Missing extension packs in config
contract emit (e.g. contract uses pgvector.Vector(...) but config does not list the pgvector pack)
Add the descriptors named in meta.missingExtensions to extensions in prisma-next.config.ts. See prisma-next-contract.
PN-CLI-4020Migration planning failed
db init, db update
Inspect meta.conflicts. Recovery is per-conflict — chain to prisma-next-migrations.
PN-CLI-5002/5003/5004/…Init errors
prisma-next init
Re-run with the missing/invalid flags listed in meta.missingFlags or meta.allowed.
PN-MIG-2001Unfilled migration placeholder
node migrations/app/<dir>/migration.ts (self-emit) or migrate
Edit migration.ts, replace the named placeholder("<slot>") with a real query closure, self-emit. See prisma-next-migrations.
PN-MIG-2002migration.ts not found
Reading a migration package
Restore from version control or scaffold a fresh package with migration plan.
PN-MIG-2003Invalid default export
Loading migration.ts
Use export default class extends Migration { ... } (or factory () => ({ ... })). See prisma-next-migrations.
PN-MIG-2005dataTransform contract mismatch
Building a data-transform query plan
Pass the same endContract reference to both dataTransform(endContract, …) and the query-builder context.
PN-RUN-3001Database not signed
db verify, runtime startup
DB has no marker yet. Run prisma-next db init --db <url> (baseline empty DB) or db update --db <url> (apply contract directly).
PN-RUN-3002Hash mismatch
db verify, runtime startup
Marker disagrees with contract hash. Either migrate forward (migrate / db update), or — if the DB is correct after a manual fix-up — db sign. See prisma-next-migrations.
PN-RUN-3003Target mismatch
Runtime startup
Contract target ≠ config target; align them (see meta.expected / meta.actual).
PN-RUN-3004Schema verification failed
db verify (full mode)
Inspect meta.verificationResult. Run db update to reconcile, or adjust contract.
db update (interactive prompt fires; non-interactive returns this code)
Re-run with -y (or --yes) to apply, or --dry-run to preview. Only db update has this flow — migrate does not gate destructive ops on a flag.
PN-RUN-3000(wrapper)
migrate, others wrapping MigrationToolsError
Read meta.code. Cases: MIGRATION.HASH_MISMATCH (re-emit: node migrations/app/<dir>/migration.ts); MIGRATION.AMBIGUOUS_TARGET (concurrent migrations — prisma-8-migration-review); MIGRATION.STALE_CONTRACT_BOOKENDS (re-run migration plan); MIGRATION.NO_INVARIANT_PATH / MIGRATION.UNKNOWN_INVARIANT (prisma-8-migration-review); MIGRATION.PATH_UNREACHABLE / MIGRATION.MARKER_MISMATCH (run migrate --show --db $URL to inspect the path, then migration plan --from <from> --to <target> or migration list to audit the graph — see prisma-8-migration-review).
PN-SCHEMA-0001
db verify schema check
Live schema does not satisfy contract. meta.verificationResult has the diff. Run db update or adjust the contract.
MIGRATION.UP_TO_DATE / .DATABASE_BEHIND
migration statusinfo diagnostics
Informational; exit 0. See prisma-8-migration-review.
MIGRATION.MISSING_INVARIANTS
migration statusinfo diagnostic
The live marker reached the destination hash structurally but doesn't carry all invariants the target ref requires. Run migrate --to <name> --db $URL to take a path that covers the missing invariants. See prisma-8-migration-review.
Inspect sqlState + constraint + table + column. Postgres 23505 = unique violation, 23503 = foreign-key violation, etc. Fix the data or the schema.
TypeScript error mentioning a capability (e.g. returning() not on the type, include of a many-relation off a many-load)
Authoring-time, before any envelope fires
Capability gates are declared in the contract (capabilities block, namespaced by target/family), not in prisma-next.config.ts. Route to prisma-next-contract for capability declaration and to prisma-next-queries for which method gates on which capability. Re-emit (pnpm prisma-next contract emit) after enabling.
TypeScript error mentioning a missing field/method on db.orm.<Model> or a stale Contract shape
Authoring-time
Re-emit (pnpm prisma-next contract emit); confirm db.ts instantiates with postgres<Contract, TypeMaps>(...) (the type parameters propagate the contract types). See prisma-next-runtime and prisma-next-contract.
If the envelope's code is not in this table, follow the envelope's fix field literally — it's the framework's first-party next move. If fix is empty or unhelpful, escalate via prisma-next-feedback.
Common Pitfalls
Reading only summary, not the rest of the envelope.code, severity, why, fix, meta/details, and (for CLI errors) where are all load-bearing. The agent routes on code; the user sees summary.
Ignoring severity.migration status emits warn-level diagnostics and exits 0. An agent that only checks exit code misses every concurrent-migration warning.
Skipping meta.code on PN-RUN-3000. That envelope is a wrapper — the real code lives on meta.code.
Treating drift as something to silence with db sign.db sign writes the marker from the current contract hash, but it requires schema verification to pass first. Run db verify before reaching for db sign.
Re-running migrate after a partial failure without inspecting state.db schema --db <url> shows the live shape; migration status --db <url> --json shows where the marker actually is.
What Prisma Next doesn't do yet
Studio / GUI database browser. No first-party Studio. Workaround: prisma-next db schema for a CLI tree of the live schema, or use a third-party tool (TablePlus, DataGrip, psql) against your DATABASE_URL. If you need a built-in GUI, file a feature request via prisma-next-feedback.
First-class query logger middleware. No built-in "log every query" middleware ships with the framework. Workaround: write a small custom middleware that wraps each operation (see prisma-next-runtime for middleware composition). If you need a built-in query log, file a feature request via prisma-next-feedback.
EXPLAIN integration. No first-class .explain() on plans. Workaround: write the EXPLAIN as a raw query (db.sql.raw\EXPLAIN ANALYZE ...`; see prisma-next-queries). If you need first-class EXPLAIN, file a feature request via prisma-next-feedback`.
Prepared-statement caching as a user-facing surface. Adapters prepare under the hood for parameterized queries, but you cannot pre-prepare and re-execute a statement by name. Workaround: use TypedSQL (see prisma-next-queries). If you need prepared statements as a first-class API, file a feature request via prisma-next-feedback.
Asking for help when the envelope doesn't route
Re-run with -v (or --json for machine output) to get the full envelope.
If the envelope is genuinely uninformative — empty fix, missing meta, generic summary — that's a framework affordance gap; route to prisma-next-feedback with the envelope, the contract source (sanitised), and the reproduction steps.
Checklist
Identified which envelope shape (CliErrorEnvelope, RuntimeErrorEnvelope, SqlQueryError).
Read every field — code, severity, why, fix, meta (or details), where if present.
If code is PN-RUN-3000, also read meta.code.
Routed on code to the next move (and chained to the matching authoring skill where the table says so).
Re-verified with the relevant CLI command (db verify, migration status --json, contract emit, migrate).
Did not confabulate a Studio / EXPLAIN / query-log API — used the documented workaround and routed unmet capability gaps to prisma-next-feedback.