Running prisma on NixOS

[mohe2015]

Hi, I'm trying to run prisma on NixOS and as there are no precompiled binaries I compiled them myself:
default.nix:

with import <nixpkgs> {};
stdenv.mkDerivation {
  name = "abc-dev-environment";
  buildInputs = [ pkg-config zlib openssl nodejs ];
}

nix-shell
git clone https://github.com/prisma/prisma-engines/
cd prisma-engines
source .envrc
cargo build --release
cd ..
export PRISMA_MIGRATION_ENGINE_BINARY=$PWD/prisma-engines/target/release/migration-engine
export PRISMA_INTROSPECTION_ENGINE_BINARY=$PWD/prisma-engines/target/release/introspection-engine
export PRISMA_QUERY_ENGINE_BINARY=$PWD/prisma-engines/target/release/query-engine
export PRISMA_FMT_BINARY=$PWD/prisma-engines/target/release/prisma-fmt
yarn prisma migrate save --experimental

Response:

yarn run v1.22.4
$ /x/server/node_modules/.bin/prisma migrate save --experimental
Environment variables loaded from prisma/.env
Warning Precompiled binaries are not available for nixos.
Error: Can't parse migration engine response:
undefined
error Command failed with exit code 1.
info Visit https://yarnpkg.com/en/docs/cli/run for documentation about this command.

Any ideas?

Any help is really appreciated.

P.S.: I'm a starter with NixOS - previously I used ArchLinux

[matthewmueller]

Did you try #3026?

[mohe2015]

I already tried that before but got stuck because of some problem with my knowledge of nix. Now I got further (please correct my steps if you know nix better, I really need help here):

git clone https://gitlab.com/husseinraoouf/nur-repository.git
cd nur-repository
nix-shell --arg pkgs 'import <nixpkgs> {}' -A node-packages."@prisma/cli"

This results in the following build error (after having to fix the checksums for some reason):

error: failed to run custom build command for `openssl-sys v0.9.56`

Caused by:
  process didn't exit successfully: `/build/source/target/release/build/openssl-sys-316c44a9fbec4597/build-script-main` (exit code: 101)
--- stdout
cargo:rustc-cfg=const_fn
cargo:rerun-if-env-changed=X86_64_UNKNOWN_LINUX_GNU_OPENSSL_LIB_DIR
X86_64_UNKNOWN_LINUX_GNU_OPENSSL_LIB_DIR unset
cargo:rerun-if-env-changed=OPENSSL_LIB_DIR
OPENSSL_LIB_DIR unset
cargo:rerun-if-env-changed=X86_64_UNKNOWN_LINUX_GNU_OPENSSL_INCLUDE_DIR
X86_64_UNKNOWN_LINUX_GNU_OPENSSL_INCLUDE_DIR unset
cargo:rerun-if-env-changed=OPENSSL_INCLUDE_DIR
OPENSSL_INCLUDE_DIR unset
cargo:rerun-if-env-changed=X86_64_UNKNOWN_LINUX_GNU_OPENSSL_DIR
X86_64_UNKNOWN_LINUX_GNU_OPENSSL_DIR unset
cargo:rerun-if-env-changed=OPENSSL_DIR
OPENSSL_DIR unset
run pkg_config fail: "Failed to run `\"pkg-config\" \"--libs\" \"--cflags\" \"openssl\"`: No such file or directory (os error 2)"

--- stderr
thread 'main' panicked at '

Could not find directory of OpenSSL installation, and this `-sys` crate cannot
proceed without this knowledge. If OpenSSL is installed and this crate had
trouble finding it,  you can set the `OPENSSL_DIR` environment variable for the
compilation process.

Make sure you also have the development packages of openssl installed.
For example, `libssl-dev` on Ubuntu or `openssl-devel` on Fedora.

If you're in a situation where you think the directory *should* be found
automatically, please open a bug at https://github.com/sfackler/rust-openssl
and include information about your system as well as this message.

$HOST = x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu
$TARGET = x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu
openssl-sys = 0.9.56


It looks like you're compiling on Linux and also targeting Linux. Currently this
requires the `pkg-config` utility to find OpenSSL but unfortunately `pkg-config`
could not be found. If you have OpenSSL installed you can likely fix this by
installing `pkg-config`.

', /build/query-engine-2.0.0-alpha.1273-vendor.tar.gz/openssl-sys/build/find_normal.rs:155:5
note: run with `RUST_BACKTRACE=1` environment variable to display a backtrace

warning: build failed, waiting for other jobs to finish...
error: build failed
builder for '/nix/store/8s8nl52p24k11369fj2cc6nxx7w96vmc-query-engine-2.0.0-alpha.1273.drv' failed with exit code 101
error: build of '/nix/store/8s8nl52p24k11369fj2cc6nxx7w96vmc-query-engine-2.0.0-alpha.1273.drv' failed

Which I don't understand as it seems to specify pkgconfig and openssl as buildInputs.

Also: nix-community/NUR@38e33e2

Also concerning my original approach: Is there any case in which undefined can be returned and can I somehow debug that. Because I think my original approach was not that wrong or is there something you see wrong with it?

[mohe2015]

I think I got it fixed now. Specifically setting the environment variables breaks it, you just need to copy the files to the correct location. Full instructions for future reference:

setup-nix.sh

#! /usr/bin/env nix-shell
#! nix-shell -i bash -p pkg-config zlib openssl nodejs cargo

#yarn # install all packages, so the node_modules folder is available

git clone https://github.com/prisma/prisma-engines/
cd prisma-engines
source .envrc # idk if needed
cargo build --release
cd ..

cp prisma-engines/target/release/introspection-engine node_modules/@prisma/cli/introspection-engine-linux-nixos
cp prisma-engines/target/release/migration-engine node_modules/@prisma/cli/migration-engine-linux-nixos
cp prisma-engines/target/release/query-engine node_modules/@prisma/cli/query-engine-linux-nixos
cp prisma-engines/target/release/prisma-fmt node_modules/@prisma/cli/prisma-fmt-linux-nixos

cp prisma-engines/target/release/introspection-engine node_modules/@prisma/sdk/introspection-engine-linux-nixos
cp prisma-engines/target/release/migration-engine node_modules/@prisma/sdk/migration-engine-linux-nixos
cp prisma-engines/target/release/query-engine node_modules/@prisma/sdk/query-engine-linux-nixos
cp prisma-engines/target/release/prisma-fmt node_modules/@prisma/sdk/prisma-fmt-linux-nixos

[htkarabulut]

Cloning the whole repo is about 1 GB, so use this instead: git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/prisma/prisma-engines/

[ivandimitrov8080]

If you are using flakes I suggest you use this flake.nix file at the base of your project. Note the shell hook - it links what prisma expects to an existing file and it works fine. The logs told me which file is missing. Maybe it will be a different file some other time so you may need to modify this a bit. Also make sure you run prisma generate as opposed to pnpx prisma generate so that you use the nixos binary.

{
  description = "Run 'nix develop' to have a dev shell that has everything this project needs";

  inputs = {
    nixpkgs.url = "github:NixOS/nixpkgs";
    flake-utils.url = "github:numtide/flake-utils";
  };

  outputs = { self, nixpkgs, flake-utils }:
    flake-utils.lib.eachDefaultSystem (system:
      let
        pkgs = nixpkgs.legacyPackages.${system};
      in
      {
        devShell = pkgs.mkShell {
          buildInputs = with pkgs; [
            nodejs_18
            nodePackages_latest.pnpm
            nodePackages_latest.vercel
            nodePackages_latest.prisma
            postgresql_15
            openssl
          ];
          shellHook = ''
            		ln -sf $(pwd)/node_modules/.pnpm/@prisma+client@5.0.0_prisma@5.0.0/node_modules/.prisma/client/libquery_engine.node node_modules/.pnpm/@prisma+client@5.0.0_prisma@5.0.0/node_modules/.prisma/client/libquery_engine-linux-nixos.so.node
          '';
        };
      });
}

EDIT:

This seems to work as well, even better:

          shellHook = ''
        	export PRISMA_QUERY_ENGINE_LIBRARY=${pkgs.prisma-engines}/lib/libquery_engine.node
                export PRISMA_QUERY_ENGINE_BINARY=${pkgs.prisma-engines}/bin/query-engine
                export PRISMA_SCHEMA_ENGINE_BINARY=${pkgs.prisma-engines}/bin/schema-engine
          '';

EDIT 2:

Here's another minimal example that in my opinion is a little more nix-y:

        mkShell {
          env = {
            PRISMA_QUERY_ENGINE_LIBRARY = "${pkgs.prisma-engines}/lib/libquery_engine.node";
            PRISMA_QUERY_ENGINE_BINARY = "${pkgs.prisma-engines}/bin/query-engine";
            PRISMA_SCHEMA_ENGINE_BINARY = "${pkgs.prisma-engines}/bin/schema-engine";
          };
        };

[mirql]

Awesome! Thanks guys, so in the end now i have system wide prisma without this shell'y-flak'y pain:

{ config
, lib
, pkgs
, ...
}: {
  environment.systemPackages = with pkgs; [
    # For Prisma:
    nodePackages_latest.pnpm
    nodePackages_latest.vercel
    nodePackages_latest.prisma
    openssl
    nodejs_21
    # Also dont forget to add install postgresql with configuration in some other config file
  ];

  # Prisma:
  environment.variables.PRISMA_QUERY_ENGINE_LIBRARY = "${pkgs.prisma-engines}/lib/libquery_engine.node";
  environment.variables.PRISMA_QUERY_ENGINE_BINARY = "${pkgs.prisma-engines}/bin/query-engine";
  environment.variables.PRISMA_SCHEMA_ENGINE_BINARY = "${pkgs.prisma-engines}/bin/schema-engine";
}

just put in in your nix/flake system wide config and dont forget to install postgresql

[ymolists]

I am getting this error when i try to do prisma generate with the above nix shell . My assumption is that it is trying to create a dir but have no idea why :-(

 -→ prisma generate 
Environment variables loaded from .env
Prisma schema loaded from prisma/schema.prisma
[Error: ENOENT: no such file or directory, mkdir '/nix/store/2ga7gkl0knrnp5m7pxxqdliy9xqjdzqh-prisma-5.4.1/lib/node_modules/prisma/engines'] {
  errno: -2,
  code: 'ENOENT',
  syscall: 'mkdir',
  path: '/nix/store/2ga7gkl0knrnp5m7pxxqdliy9xqjdzqh-prisma-5.4.1/lib/node_modules/prisma/engines'
}

{ pkgs ? import <nixpkgs> {} }:

pkgs.mkShell {
  buildInputs = with pkgs; [
    bashInteractive

    corepack_21
    nodejs_21

    openssl
    postgresql_16

    nodePackages_latest.vercel
    nodePackages_latest.pnpm
    nodePackages_latest.prisma
  ];

  shellHook = ''
    export PATH="./node_modules/bin:$PATH"
  '';

	env = {
		PRISMA_QUERY_ENGINE_LIBRARY = "${pkgs.prisma-engines}/lib/libquery_engine.node";
		PRISMA_QUERY_ENGINE_BINARY = "${pkgs.prisma-engines}/bin/query-engine";
		PRISMA_SCHEMA_ENGINE_BINARY = "${pkgs.prisma-engines}/bin/schema-engine";
	};
}

[xaiyadev]

@ymolists get the same error, did you find a solution?

[taciturnaxolotl]

@ymolists @BreakingTV i have the same issue rn too; did either of you find a solution?

[xaiyadev]

@ymolists @BreakingTV i have the same issue rn too; did either of you find a solution?

Not really a solution
I switched to devenv.

But if I remember corectly you can just ignore this error...

[paullotz]

Had the same problem, fix for me was to remove prisma from package.json, delete node_modules, run npm install and prisma db push in terminal.

[ludralph]

Hi there,

To keep our discussions organized and focused on the most relevant topics, we’re reviewing and tidying up our backlog. As part of this process, we’re closing discussions that have already been marked as answered but remain open.

If this discussion still requires further input or clarification, feel free to reopen it or start a new one with updated details. Your contributions are invaluable to the community, and we’re here to help!

For more details about our priorities and vision for the future of Prisma ORM, check out our latest blog post: https://www.prisma.io/blog/prisma-orm-manifesto.

Thank you for your understanding and ongoing support of the Prisma community!