Quick Start

1. Install

Requirements

Component	Minimum	Recommended
Node.js	20.19.0	22.x
Prisma	7.0.0	Latest 7.x
Zod	3.25.0	Latest 4.x
TypeScript	5.4.0	5.9.x

Zod 3.25+ and Zod 4 are both supported — the published peer range is zod >=3.25.0 <5. On Zod 3, set zodImportTarget: "v3" so generated files import from zod/v3. A few Zod 4-only outputs degrade on v3 with a generation-time warning: @zod.meta({...}) becomes .describe(...) when it carries a description (and is dropped otherwise), and Zod 4-only string formats such as @zod.httpUrl() fall back to the base z.string().

npm

npm install -D prisma prisma-zod-generator
npm install zod @prisma/client

yarn

yarn add -D prisma prisma-zod-generator
yarn add zod @prisma/client

pnpm

pnpm add -D prisma prisma-zod-generator
pnpm add zod @prisma/client

The generator runs at build time, so it belongs in devDependencies alongside the prisma CLI. Installing prisma locally also matters for correctness: this release requires Prisma 7 or newer, and the version check only runs when prisma is resolvable from your schema.

2. Add generator to schema.prisma

generator client {
  provider = "prisma-client"
  output   = "../src/generated/prisma"
}

generator zod {
  provider = "prisma-zod-generator"
  // optional output = "./generated" → resolves to prisma/generated (relative to the schema file)
  // optional config = "./zod-generator.config.json" (relative to schema file)
}

The prisma-client provider requires an output

The prisma-client generator must be given an explicit output. Omit it and Prisma fails the entire generate run with An output path is required for the prisma-client generator — before any generator gets to run. The legacy prisma-client-js provider does not need one. Both providers work with prisma-zod-generator, but at least one of them must be present in your schema, or the generator throws its own error.

Path Resolution

Both output and config are resolved relative to the Prisma schema file location, not the project root. If your schema is at prisma/schema.prisma, then config = "./my-config.json" looks for prisma/my-config.json, and output = "./generated" writes to prisma/generated. When output is omitted entirely, the default is <schema dir>/generated.

3. (Optional) Create configuration file — needed for UserSchema in step 5

Create prisma/zod-generator.config.json (next to your schema file):

prisma/zod-generator.config.json

{
  "pureModels": true
}

mode: "full" and all three variants (pure, input, result) are already on by default, so pureModels is the only switch doing work here.

note

The config file must be strict JSON — the loader parses it with JSON.parse, so no comments and no trailing commas. A malformed file either fails loudly with Invalid JSON in configuration file (when referenced via config = "...") or is skipped in favour of defaults when it was auto-discovered.

4. Generate

npx prisma generate

5. Consume

With zero config you get the variant schemas and the CRUD operation schemas:

import { UserInputSchema, UserFindManySchema } from './prisma/generated/schemas';

UserInputSchema.parse(body);

The bare UserSchema is the pure model, so it only exists once you enable "pureModels": true as in step 3:

import { UserSchema } from './prisma/generated/schemas';

UserSchema.parse(data);

Directory Layout (multi-file default)

prisma/generated/
  helpers/                    # only when your schema has Json or Decimal fields
  schemas/
    findManyUser.schema.ts    # CRUD operation schemas sit at the schemas root
    createOneUser.schema.ts
    ...
    enums/
    objects/
    results/                  # result schemas (full mode; off in minimal mode)
    variants/
      pure/
      input/
      result/
    models/                   # pure models, only when "pureModels": true
    index.ts                  # barrel re-exporting everything above

Single-file mode collapses everything into one file via useMultipleFiles: false — prisma/generated/schemas.ts by default (singleFileName, placed at the output root because placeSingleFileAtRoot defaults to true).

Using moduleResolution: "nodenext", or running TypeScript directly in Node? Extensionless directory imports like the ones above will not resolve. Set moduleFormat and importFileExtension on your prisma-client generator block — see NodeNext / Native TypeScript Imports.

Next Steps

• Zod import targets — target zod/v3 or zod/v4, or point z at your own configured Zod instance.
• NodeNext / Native TypeScript Imports — ESM-safe output with explicit file extensions.
• Explore PZG Pro feature packs (SDK, Forms, API Docs, RLS, Multi‑tenant, Performance, Factories, Guard, Contracts, Server Actions): Pro Features.