Drizzle ORM Has a Free API: The TypeScript ORM That Feels Like Writing SQL

#typescript #database #orm #sql

Drizzle is a TypeScript ORM that generates SQL that looks like the SQL you would write by hand. No magic, no hidden queries, full type safety.

Why Drizzle Matters

Prisma generates opaque queries. TypeORM uses decorators and reflection. Drizzle gives you a thin, typed layer over SQL that you can read, understand, and optimize.

What you get for free:

TypeScript-first with full type inference
SQL-like syntax (select, where, join — looks like SQL)
Zero overhead: generates exactly the SQL you expect
PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, Turso, Neon, PlanetScale
Automatic migrations from schema changes
Drizzle Studio: visual database browser
Drizzle Kit: migration CLI

Quick Start

npm install drizzle-orm
npm install -D drizzle-kit

Schema Definition

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

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(),
  content: text("content"),
  published: boolean("published").default(false),
  authorId: integer("author_id").references(() => users.id),
  createdAt: timestamp("created_at").defaultNow(),
});

Queries

import { db } from "./db";
import { users, posts } from "./schema";
import { eq, gt, desc, sql } from "drizzle-orm";

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

// Filter
const activeUsers = await db.select()
  .from(users)
  .where(eq(users.name, "Alice"));

// Join
const usersWithPosts = await db.select({
  userName: users.name,
  postTitle: posts.title,
})
  .from(users)
  .leftJoin(posts, eq(users.id, posts.authorId))
  .where(eq(posts.published, true))
  .orderBy(desc(posts.createdAt));

// Insert
const newUser = await db.insert(users).values({
  name: "Alice",
  email: "alice@example.com",
}).returning();

// Update
await db.update(users)
  .set({ name: "Alice Updated" })
  .where(eq(users.id, 1));

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

// Aggregation
const stats = await db.select({
  authorId: posts.authorId,
  postCount: sql<number>`count(*)`,
})
  .from(posts)
  .groupBy(posts.authorId)
  .having(gt(sql`count(*)`, 5));

Migrations

# Generate migration from schema changes
npx drizzle-kit generate

# Apply migrations
npx drizzle-kit migrate

# Launch Drizzle Studio
npx drizzle-kit studio