Drizzle ORM Patterns

Overview

Expert guide for building type-safe database applications with Drizzle ORM. Covers schema definition, relations, queries, transactions, and migrations for all supported databases.

When to Use

Defining database schemas with tables, columns, and constraints
Creating relations between tables (one-to-one, one-to-many, many-to-many)
Writing type-safe CRUD queries
Implementing complex joins and aggregations
Managing database transactions with rollback
Setting up migrations with Drizzle Kit
Working with PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, MSSQL, or CockroachDB

Instructions

Identify your database dialect - Choose PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, MSSQL, or CockroachDB
Define your schema - Use the appropriate table function (pgTable, mysqlTable, etc.)
Set up relations - Define relations using relations() or defineRelations() for complex relationships
Initialize the database client - Create your Drizzle client with proper credentials
Write queries - Use the query builder for type-safe CRUD operations
Handle transactions - Wrap multi-step operations in transactions when needed
Set up migrations - Configure Drizzle Kit for schema management

Examples

Example 1: Create a Complete Schema with Relations

typescript

import { pgTable, serial, text, integer, timestamp } from 'drizzle-orm/pg-core';
import { relations } from 'drizzle-orm';

// Define tables
export const users = pgTable('users', {
  id: serial('id').primaryKey(),
  name: text('name').notNull(),
  email: text('email').notNull().unique(),
  createdAt: timestamp('created_at').defaultNow(),
});

export const posts = pgTable('posts', {
  id: serial('id').primaryKey(),
  title: text('title').notNull(),
  authorId: integer('author_id').references(() => users.id),
  createdAt: timestamp('created_at').defaultNow(),
});

// Define relations
export const usersRelations = relations(users, ({ many }) => ({
  posts: many(posts),
}));

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

Example 2: CRUD Operations

typescript

import { eq } from 'drizzle-orm';

// Insert
const [newUser] = await db.insert(users).values({
  name: 'John',
  email: 'john@example.com',
}).returning();

// Select with filter
const [user] = await db.select().from(users).where(eq(users.email, 'john@example.com'));

// Update
const [updated] = await db.update(users)
  .set({ name: 'John Updated' })
  .where(eq(users.id, 1))
  .returning();

// Delete
await db.delete(users).where(eq(users.id, 1));

Example 3: Transaction with Rollback

typescript

async function transferFunds(fromId: number, toId: number, amount: number) {
  await db.transaction(async (tx) => {
    const [from] = await tx.select().from(accounts).where(eq(accounts.userId, fromId));

    if (from.balance < amount) {
      tx.rollback(); // Rolls back all changes
    }

    await tx.update(accounts)
      .set({ balance: sql`${accounts.balance} - ${amount}` })
      .where(eq(accounts.userId, fromId));

    await tx.update(accounts)
      .set({ balance: sql`${accounts.balance} + ${amount}` })
      .where(eq(accounts.userId, toId));
  });
}

Schema Definition

PostgreSQL Table

typescript

import { pgTable, serial, text, integer, boolean, timestamp, pgEnum } from 'drizzle-orm/pg-core';

// Enum definition
export const rolesEnum = pgEnum('roles', ['guest', 'user', 'admin']);

// Table with all column types
export const users = pgTable('users', {
  id: serial('id').primaryKey(),
  name: text('name').notNull(),
  email: text('email').notNull().unique(),
  role: rolesEnum().default('user'),
  verified: boolean('verified').notNull().default(false),
  createdAt: timestamp('created_at').notNull().defaultNow(),
});

MySQL Table

typescript

import { mysqlTable, serial, text, int, tinyint, datetime } from 'drizzle-orm/mysql-core';

export const users = mysqlTable('users', {
  id: serial('id').primaryKey(),
  name: text('name').notNull(),
  email: text('email').notNull().unique(),
  verified: tinyint('verified').notNull().default(0),
  createdAt: datetime('created_at').notNull().defaultNow(),
});

SQLite Table

typescript

import { sqliteTable, integer, text } from 'drizzle-orm/sqlite-core';

export const users = sqliteTable('users', {
  id: integer('id').primaryKey({ autoIncrement: true }),
  name: text('name').notNull(),
  email: text('email').notNull().unique(),
});

Indexes and Constraints

typescript

import { uniqueIndex, index, primaryKey } from 'drizzle-orm/pg-core';

export const posts = pgTable('posts', {
  id: serial('id').primaryKey(),
  title: text('title').notNull(),
  slug: text('slug').notNull(),
  authorId: integer('author_id').references(() => users.id),
  createdAt: timestamp('created_at').notNull().defaultNow(),
}, (table) => [
  uniqueIndex('slug_idx').on(table.slug),
  index('author_idx').on(table.authorId),
  index('created_idx').on(table.createdAt),
]);

Composite Primary Key

typescript

export const usersToGroups = pgTable('users_to_groups', {
  userId: integer('user_id').notNull().references(() => users.id),
  groupId: integer('group_id').notNull().references(() => groups.id),
}, (table) => [
  primaryKey({ columns: [table.userId, table.groupId] }),
]);

Relations

One-to-Many (v1 syntax)

typescript

import { relations } from 'drizzle-orm';

export const users = pgTable('users', {
  id: serial('id').primaryKey(),
  name: text('name').notNull(),
});

export const usersRelations = relations(users, ({ many }) => ({
  posts: many(posts),
}));

export const posts = pgTable('posts', {
  id: serial('id').primaryKey(),
  content: text('content').notNull(),
  authorId: integer('author_id').references(() => users.id),
});

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

One-to-One

typescript

export const profiles = pgTable('profiles', {
  id: serial('id').primaryKey(),
  userId: integer('user_id').references(() => users.id).unique(),
  bio: text('bio'),
});

export const profilesRelations = relations(profiles, ({ one }) => ({
  user: one(users, {
    fields: [profiles.userId],
    references: [users.id],
  }),
}));

Many-to-Many (v2 syntax)

typescript

import { defineRelations } from 'drizzle-orm';

export const users = pgTable('users', {
  id: serial('id').primaryKey(),
  name: text('name').notNull(),
});

export const groups = pgTable('groups', {
  id: serial('id').primaryKey(),
  name: text('name').notNull(),
});

export const usersToGroups = pgTable('users_to_groups', {
  userId: integer('user_id').notNull().references(() => users.id),
  groupId: integer('group_id').notNull().references(() => groups.id),
}, (t) => [primaryKey({ columns: [t.userId, t.groupId] })]);

export const relations = defineRelations({ users, groups, usersToGroups }, (r) => ({
  users: {
    groups: r.many.groups({
      from: r.users.id.through(r.usersToGroups.userId),
      to: r.groups.id.through(r.usersToGroups.groupId),
    }),
  },
  groups: {
    participants: r.many.users(),
  },
}));

Self-Referential Relation

typescript

export const users = pgTable('users', {
  id: serial('id').primaryKey(),
  name: text('name').notNull(),
  invitedBy: integer('invited_by').references((): AnyPgColumn => users.id),
});

export const usersRelations = relations(users, ({ one }) => ({
  invitee: one(users, {
    fields: [users.invitedBy],
    references: [users.id],
  }),
}));

CRUD Operations

Insert

typescript

import { eq } from 'drizzle-orm';

// Single insert
await db.insert(users).values({
  name: 'John',
  email: 'john@example.com',
});

// Multiple inserts
await db.insert(users).values([
  { name: 'John', email: 'john@example.com' },
  { name: 'Jane', email: 'jane@example.com' },
]);

// Returning inserted row
const [newUser] = await db.insert(users).values({
  name: 'John',
  email: 'john@example.com',
}).returning();

Select

typescript

// Select all
const allUsers = await db.select().from(users);

// Select specific columns
const result = await db.select({
  id: users.id,
  name: users.name,
}).from(users);

// Select with where
const user = await db.select().from(users).where(eq(users.id, 1));

// Select first match
const [user] = await db.select().from(users).where(eq(users.id, 1));

// $count shorthand
const count = await db.$count(users);
const activeCount = await db.$count(users, eq(users.verified, true));

Update

typescript

await db.update(users)
  .set({ name: 'John Updated' })
  .where(eq(users.id, 1));

// With returning
const [updatedUser] = await db.update(users)
  .set({ verified: true })
  .where(eq(users.email, 'john@example.com'))
  .returning();

Delete

typescript

await db.delete(users).where(eq(users.id, 1));

// With returning
const [deletedUser] = await db.delete(users)
  .where(eq(users.email, 'john@example.com'))
  .returning();

Query Operators

typescript

import { eq, ne, gt, gte, lt, lte, like, ilike, inArray, isNull, isNotNull, and, or, between, exists, notExists } from 'drizzle-orm';

// Comparison
eq(users.id, 1)
ne(users.name, 'John')
gt(users.age, 18)
gte(users.age, 18)
lt(users.age, 65)
lte(users.age, 65)

// String matching
like(users.name, '%John%')      // case-sensitive
ilike(users.name, '%john%')     // case-insensitive

// Null checks
isNull(users.deletedAt)
isNotNull(users.deletedAt)

// Array
inArray(users.id, [1, 2, 3])

// Range
between(users.createdAt, startDate, endDate)

// Combining conditions
and(
  gte(users.age, 18),
  eq(users.verified, true)
)

or(
  eq(users.role, 'admin'),
  eq(users.role, 'moderator')
)

Pagination

typescript

import { asc, desc } from 'drizzle-orm';

// Basic pagination
const page = 1;
const pageSize = 10;

const users = await db
  .select()
  .from(users)
  .orderBy(asc(users.id))
  .limit(pageSize)
  .offset((page - 1) * pageSize);

// Cursor-based pagination (more efficient)
const lastId = 100;
const users = await db
  .select()
  .from(users)
  .where(gt(users.id, lastId))
  .orderBy(asc(users.id))
  .limit(10);

Joins

typescript

import { eq } from 'drizzle-orm';

// Left join
const result = await db
  .select()
  .from(users)
  .leftJoin(posts, eq(users.id, posts.authorId));

// Inner join
const result = await db
  .select()
  .from(users)
  .innerJoin(posts, eq(users.id, posts.authorId));

// Multiple joins
const result = await db
  .select()
  .from(users)
  .leftJoin(posts, eq(users.id, posts.authorId))
  .leftJoin(comments, eq(posts.id, comments.postId));

// Partial select with join
const usersWithPosts = await db
  .select({
    userId: users.id,
    userName: users.name,
    postTitle: posts.title,
  })
  .from(users)
  .leftJoin(posts, eq(users.id, posts.authorId));

// Self-join with alias
import { alias } from 'drizzle-orm';
const parent = alias(users, 'parent');
const result = await db
  .select()
  .from(users)
  .leftJoin(parent, eq(parent.id, users.parentId));

Aggregations

typescript

import { count, sum, avg, min, max, sql, gt } from 'drizzle-orm';

// Count all
const [{ value }] = await db.select({ value: count() }).from(users);

// Count with condition
const [{ value }] = await db
  .select({ value: count(users.id) })
  .from(users)
  .where(gt(users.age, 18));

// Sum, Avg
const [stats] = await db
  .select({
    totalAge: sum(users.age),
    avgAge: avg(users.age),
  })
  .from(users);

// Min, Max
const [extremes] = await db
  .select({
    oldest: min(users.age),
    youngest: max(users.age),
  })
  .from(users);

// Group by with having
const ageGroups = await db
  .select({
    age: users.age,
    count: sql<number>`cast(count(${users.id}) as int)`,
  })
  .from(users)
  .groupBy(users.age)
  .having(({ count }) => gt(count, 1));

Transactions

typescript

// Basic transaction
await db.transaction(async (tx) => {
  await tx.update(accounts)
    .set({ balance: sql`${accounts.balance} - 100` })
    .where(eq(accounts.userId, 1));

  await tx.update(accounts)
    .set({ balance: sql`${accounts.balance} + 100` })
    .where(eq(accounts.userId, 2));
});

// Transaction with rollback
await db.transaction(async (tx) => {
  const [account] = await tx.select()
    .from(accounts)
    .where(eq(accounts.userId, 1));

  if (account.balance < 100) {
    tx.rollback(); // Throws exception
  }

  await tx.update(accounts)
    .set({ balance: sql`${accounts.balance} - 100` })
    .where(eq(accounts.userId, 1));
});

// Transaction with return value
const newBalance = await db.transaction(async (tx) => {
  await tx.update(accounts)
    .set({ balance: sql`${accounts.balance} - 100` })
    .where(eq(accounts.userId, 1));

  const [account] = await tx.select()
    .from(accounts)
    .where(eq(accounts.userId, 1));

  return account.balance;
});

// Nested transactions (savepoints)
await db.transaction(async (tx) => {
  await tx.insert(users).values({ name: 'John' });

  await tx.transaction(async (tx2) => {
    await tx2.insert(posts).values({ title: 'Hello', authorId: 1 });
  });
});

Drizzle Kit Migrations

Configuration (drizzle.config.ts)

typescript

import { defineConfig } from 'drizzle-kit';

export default defineConfig({
  schema: './src/db/schema.ts',
  out: './drizzle',
  dialect: 'postgresql',
  dbCredentials: {
    url: process.env.DATABASE_URL!,
  },
});

package.json Scripts

json

{
  "scripts": {
    "generate": "drizzle-kit generate",
    "migrate": "drizzle-kit migrate",
    "push": "drizzle-kit push",
    "pull": "drizzle-kit pull"
  }
}

CLI Commands

bash

# Generate migration files from schema
npx drizzle-kit generate

# Apply pending migrations
npx drizzle-kit migrate

# Push schema directly to DB (for development)
npx drizzle-kit push

# Pull schema from existing database
npx drizzle-kit pull

Programmatic Migration

typescript

import { drizzle } from 'drizzle-orm/node-postgres';
import { migrate } from 'drizzle-orm/node-postgres/migrator';

const db = drizzle(process.env.DATABASE_URL);
await migrate(db, { migrationsFolder: './drizzle' });

Type Inference

typescript

// Infer insert type
type NewUser = typeof users.$inferInsert;
// { id: number; name: string; email: string; ... }

// Infer select type
type User = typeof users.$inferSelect;
// { id: number; name: string; email: string; ... }

// Use in functions
async function createUser(data: typeof users.$inferInsert) {
  return db.insert(users).values(data).returning();
}

async function getUser(id: number): Promise<typeof users.$inferSelect> {
  const [user] = await db.select().from(users).where(eq(users.id, id));
  return user;
}

Common Patterns

Soft Delete

typescript

export const users = pgTable('users', {
  id: serial('id').primaryKey(),
  name: text('name').notNull(),
  deletedAt: timestamp('deleted_at'),
});

// Query non-deleted only
const activeUsers = await db
  .select()
  .from(users)
  .where(isNull(users.deletedAt));

// Soft delete
await db
  .update(users)
  .set({ deletedAt: new Date() })
  .where(eq(users.id, id));

Upsert

typescript

import { onConflict } from 'drizzle-orm';

await db
  .insert(users)
  .values({ id: 1, name: 'John', email: 'john@example.com' })
  .onConflict(onConflict(users.email).doUpdateSet({
    name: excluded.name,
  }));

Batch Operations

typescript

// Batch insert
await db.insert(users).values(batch).returning();

// Batch update
const updates = batch.map(item => ({
  id: item.id,
  name: item.name,
}));
await db.insert(users).values(updates).onConflictDoNothing();

Best Practices

Type Safety: Always use TypeScript and leverage $inferInsert / $inferSelect
Relations: Define relations using the relations() API for nested queries
Transactions: Use transactions for multi-step operations that must succeed together
Migrations: Use generate + migrate in production, push for development
Indexes: Add indexes on frequently queried columns and foreign keys
Soft Deletes: Use deletedAt timestamp instead of hard deletes when possible
Pagination: Use cursor-based pagination for large datasets
Query Optimization: Use .limit() and .where() to fetch only needed data

Constraints and Warnings

Foreign Key Constraints: Always define references using arrow functions () => table.column to avoid circular dependency issues
Transaction Rollback: Calling tx.rollback() throws an exception - use try/catch if needed
Returning Clauses: Not all databases support .returning() - check your dialect compatibility
Type Inference: Use InferSelectModel and InferInsertModel from drizzle-orm for newer type-safe patterns
Batch Operations: Large batch inserts may hit database limits - chunk into smaller batches
Migrations in Production: Always test migrations in staging before applying to production
Soft Delete Queries: Remember to always filter deletedAt IS NULL in queries

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Drizzle ORM Patterns

Overview

When to Use

Instructions

Examples

Example 1: Create a Complete Schema with Relations

Example 2: CRUD Operations

Example 3: Transaction with Rollback

Schema Definition

PostgreSQL Table

MySQL Table

SQLite Table

Indexes and Constraints

Composite Primary Key

Relations

One-to-Many (v1 syntax)

One-to-One

Many-to-Many (v2 syntax)

Self-Referential Relation

CRUD Operations

Insert

Select

Update

Delete

Query Operators

Pagination

Joins

Aggregations

Transactions

Drizzle Kit Migrations

Configuration (drizzle.config.ts)

package.json Scripts

CLI Commands

Programmatic Migration

Type Inference

Common Patterns

Soft Delete

Upsert

Batch Operations

Best Practices

Constraints and Warnings