How to fix P3022: Direct execution of DDL (Data Definition Language) SQL statements is disabled on this database. in Prisma

If you're in active development, use prisma db push instead of prisma migrate dev. This command pushes schema changes without creating migration files:

npx prisma db push

This works on development branches and is the recommended approach for PlanetScale during development. Note that db push doesn't generate migration history, so it's best for prototyping.

For production deployments, follow the PlanetScale branch-based workflow:

1. Create a development branch in PlanetScale dashboard:

pscale branch create <database-name> <branch-name>

2. Update your DATABASE_URL to point to the development branch

3. Make schema changes using prisma db push:

npx prisma db push

4. Create a deploy request in PlanetScale to merge changes to production:

pscale deploy-request create <database-name> <branch-name>

5. Review and deploy the request through the PlanetScale dashboard

Update your schema.prisma to work with PlanetScale's limitations:

datasource db {
  provider     = "mysql"
  url          = env("DATABASE_URL")
  relationMode = "prisma" // Required for PlanetScale
}

PlanetScale doesn't support foreign key constraints, so setting relationMode = "prisma" tells Prisma to handle referential integrity at the application level instead of the database level.

For production deployments on PlanetScale, avoid using Prisma Migrate commands. Instead:

1. Remove migration commands from your deployment scripts
2. Rely on PlanetScale's deploy request system for schema changes
3. Use environment-specific checks in CI/CD:

# In your deployment script
if [ "$DATABASE_PROVIDER" != "planetscale" ]; then
  npx prisma migrate deploy
fi

This prevents the P3022 error during automated deployments.

If your workflow heavily depends on traditional migration tools, consider database providers that support direct DDL:

- Neon: PostgreSQL-compatible with full migration support
- Supabase: PostgreSQL with traditional migration workflows
- Railway: Supports PostgreSQL/MySQL with standard migrations
- AWS RDS: Full control over migration execution

Migrate your data using tools like pgloader or database-specific export/import utilities. This allows you to use prisma migrate deploy without restrictions.