Working with Enums
1. Defining Schema Enums
enum Role { USER EDITOR ADMIN @map("administrator") }
Aspect Detail Naming PascalCase enum, UPPER_SNAKE values Mapping @map per value, @@map for type name
2. Using Enum Fields
Pattern Example Required role RoleOptional role Role?List roles Role[] (PG only)
3. Setting Enum Defaults
Note Detail Migration Default applied at DB level via DEFAULT clause Change default Requires migration
4. Accessing Enum Values
import { Role } from "@prisma/client" ; await prisma.user. create ({ data: { email: "a@b.io" , role: Role. ADMIN } });
Source How Type-safe enum Imported from generated client String literal Also accepted at runtime
5. Filtering by Enum Values
Operator Example Equality { role: Role.ADMIN }In { role: { in: [Role.ADMIN, Role.EDITOR] } }Not in { role: { notIn: [Role.USER] } }Not { role: { not: Role.USER } }
6. Updating Enum Fields
await prisma.user. update ({ where: { id: 1 }, data: { role: Role. EDITOR } });
Pattern Notes Bulk update updateMany({ where:{role:USER}, data:{role:EDITOR} })Conditional Use where filters to scope
7. Migrating Enum Values
Change Migration Safety Add value Safe; appended to enum Rename Drops + recreates; data migration needed Remove Fails if rows still reference it PG-specific Generates ALTER TYPE ... ADD VALUE
8. Using Native Database Enums
DB Behavior PostgreSQL Generates real CREATE TYPE MySQL Inline ENUM column SQLite/Mongo Stored as string
9. Handling Enum Type Safety
Tip Detail Exhaustive switches TypeScript narrows enum unions Zod / Valibot Use z.nativeEnum(Role) Avoid as Role Validate untrusted input
10. Converting Strings to Enums
function toRole ( value : string ) : Role { if ((Object. values (Role) as string []). includes (value)) return value as Role ; throw new Error ( `Invalid role: ${ value }` ); }
Strategy Detail Runtime guard Validate before passing to Prisma Schema parsing Use Zod nativeEnum for DTOs