# Prisma with Amazon RDS and SST We are going to use Prisma and SST to deploy an Amazon Postgres RDS database and connect to it from an Express app in a container. Before you get started, make sure to [configure your AWS credentials](https://sst.dev/docs/iam-credentials#credentials). --- ## 1. Create a project Let’s start by creating a Node.js app. ``` mkdir aws-prisma && cd aws-prisma npm init -y ``` We’ll install Prisma, TypeScript, and Express. ``` npm install prisma typescript ts-node @types/node --save-dev npm install express ``` Let’s initialize TypeScript and Prisma. ``` npx tsc --init npx prisma init ``` This will create a `prisma` directory with a `schema.prisma`. --- ### Init Express Create your Express app by adding an `index.mjs` to the root. ``` import express from "express"; const PORT = 80; const app = express(); app.get("/", (req, res) => { res.send("Hello World!") }); app.listen(PORT, () => { console.log(`Server is running on http://localhost:${PORT}`); }); ``` --- ### Init SST Now let’s initialize SST in our app. ``` npx sst@latest init npm install ``` Select the defaults and pick **AWS**. This’ll create a `sst.config.ts` file in your project root. --- ## 2. Add a Postgres db Let’s add a Postgres database using [Amazon RDS](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/Welcome.html). This needs a VPC. ``` async run() { const vpc = new sst.aws.Vpc("MyVpc", { bastion: true }); const rds = new sst.aws.Postgres("MyPostgres", { vpc }); const DATABASE_URL = $interpolate`postgresql://${rds.username}:${rds.password}@${rds.host}:${rds.port}/${rds.database}`; }, ``` The `bastion` option will let us connect to the VPC from our local machine. We are also building the `DATABASE_URL` variable using the outputs from our RDS database. We’ll use this later. --- ### Start Prisma Studio When you run SST in dev it can start other dev processes for you. In this case we want to start Prisma Studio. Add this below the `DATABASE_URL` variable. ``` new sst.x.DevCommand("Prisma", { environment: { DATABASE_URL }, dev: { autostart: false, command: "npx prisma studio", }, }); ``` This will run the given command in dev. --- ## 3. Add a Cluster To deploy our Express app, let’s add an [AWS Fargate](https://aws.amazon.com/fargate/) container with [Amazon ECS](https://aws.amazon.com/ecs/). Add this at the end of your `sst.config.ts`. ``` const cluster = new sst.aws.Cluster("MyCluster", { vpc }); new sst.aws.Service("MyService", { cluster, link: [rds], environment: { DATABASE_URL }, loadBalancer: { ports: [{ listen: "80/http" }], }, dev: { command: "node --watch index.mjs", }, }); ``` This uses the same VPC, and adds an ECS Cluster, with a Fargate service in it. The `dev.command` tells SST to instead run our Express app locally in dev mode. --- ### Install a tunnel Since our database cluster is in a VPC, we’ll need a tunnel to connect to it from our local machine. ``` sudo npx sst tunnel install ``` This needs _sudo_ to create a network interface on your machine. You’ll only need to do this once on your machine. --- ### Start dev mode Start your app in dev mode. This will take a few minutes. ``` npx sst dev ``` It’ll deploy your app, start a tunnel in the **Tunnel** tab, run your Express app locally in the **MyServiceDev** tab, and have your Prisma Studio in the **Studio** tab. We are setting Prisma Studio to not auto-start since it pops up a browser window. You can start it by clicking on it and hitting _Enter_. --- ## 4. Create a schema Let’s create a simple schema. Add this to your `schema.prisma`. ``` model User { id Int @id @default(autoincrement()) name String? email String @unique } ``` --- ### Generate a migration We’ll now generate a migration for this schema and apply it. In a separate terminal run: ``` npx sst shell --target Prisma -- npx prisma migrate dev --name init ``` We are wrapping the `prisma migrate dev --name init` command in `sst shell --target Prisma` because we want this command to have access to the `DATABASE_URL` defined in our `sst.config.ts`. The `Prisma` target is coming from the `new sst.x.DevCommand("Prisma")` component defined above. This needs the tunnel to connect to the database. So you should have `sst dev` in a separate terminal. ``` npx sst tunnel ``` Alternatively, you can just run the tunnel using the above command. --- ### Prisma Studio To see our schema in action we can open the Prisma Studio. Head over to the **Studio** tab in your `sst dev` session and hit enter to start it. --- ## 5. Query the database Running the `migrate dev` command also installs the Prisma Client in our project. So let’s use that to query our database. Replace the `/` route in your `index.mjs` with. ``` import { PrismaClient } from '@prisma/client'; const prisma = new PrismaClient(); app.get("/", async (_req, res) => { const user = await prisma.user.create({ data: { name: "Alice", email: `alice-${crypto.randomUUID()}@example.com` }, }); res.send(JSON.stringify(user)); }); ``` --- ### Test your app Let’s head over to `http://localhost:80` in your browser and it’ll show you the new user that was created. You should see this in the Prisma Studio as well. --- ## 6. Deploy your app To deploy our app we’ll first add a `Dockerfile`. ``` FROM node:18-bullseye-slim WORKDIR /app/ COPY package.json index.mjs prisma /app/ RUN npm install RUN npx prisma generate ENTRYPOINT ["node", "index.mjs"] ``` This just builds our Express app in a Docker image and runs the `prisma generate` command. Let’s also add a `.dockerignore` file in the root. ``` node_modules ``` Now to build our Docker image and deploy we run: ``` npx sst deploy --stage production ``` You can use any stage name here but it’s good to create a new stage for production. This’ll give the URL of your Express app deployed as a Fargate service. ``` ✓ Complete MyService: http://jayair-MyServiceLoadBala-592628062.us-east-1.elb.amazonaws.com ``` --- ## Connect the console As a next step, you can setup the [SST Console](https://sst.dev/docs/console/) to _**git push to deploy**_ your app and monitor it for any issues. You can [create a free account](https://console.sst.dev/) and connect it to your AWS account.