Decision and migration guide for Prisma ORM MongoDB projects on v6, which have no upgrade path to v7. Use when a MongoDB project asks about upgrading Prisma, when "upgrade to prisma 7" comes up in a project with provider = "mongodb", or when evaluating a move to Prisma 8. Triggers on "upgrade prisma mongodb", "prisma 7 mongodb", "mongodb prisma migration", "prisma 8 mongodb".

name: prisma-mongodb-upgrade description: Decision and migration guide for Prisma ORM MongoDB projects on v6, which have no upgrade path to v7. Use when a MongoDB project asks about upgrading Prisma, when "upgrade to prisma 7" comes up in a project with provider = "mongodb", or when evaluating a move to Prisma 8. Triggers on "upgrade prisma mongodb", "prisma 7 mongodb", "mongodb prisma migration", "prisma 8 mongodb". license: MIT metadata: author: prisma version: "0.2.0" ---

Prisma MongoDB Upgrade Path

MongoDB projects are the one Prisma cohort with no road into Prisma 7: v6 is the terminal classic-ORM major for MongoDB, and v7 never ships a MongoDB connector. The successor path is Prisma 8, where MongoDB support is in Early Access while PostgreSQL is a release candidate. The official Prisma ORM 6 to 8 (MongoDB) guide is the source of truth for the migration steps. This skill frames the real decision — migrate to Prisma 8 (the encouraged path), or stay on v6 where a hard blocker applies — and carries the migration mechanics.

Never do either of these:

Never advise a MongoDB project to "upgrade to Prisma 7". The connector does not exist there. The prisma-upgrade-v7 guide does not apply to MongoDB projects.
Never solve the version question by rewriting the app onto a SQL database. Changing the database engine is a separate, much larger decision that is not yours to make implicitly.

The version landscape

Version	MongoDB status
Prisma ORM v6	Fully supported (`mongodb` provider); latest 6.x is the current stable path; maintenance line
Prisma ORM v7	No MongoDB connector — not an option, ever
Prisma 8	MongoDB support in Early Access through `@prisma/orm-mongo`; still changes between release candidates — the successor path for MongoDB projects

The decision, up front

Migrating to Prisma 8 is the encouraged path. MongoDB support in Prisma 8 is Early Access: functional and moving quickly — and the Prisma team wants MongoDB users to migrate early and share feedback. The migration mechanics are detailed in the references.

Staying on the latest v6 remains a legitimate choice where a hard blocker applies — stated plainly: Prisma 8 has no MongoDB transaction method yet (multi-document writes use the mongodb driver's sessions directly), and MongoDB behavior can still change between Prisma 8 release candidates.

Decision table

Signal	Direction
No blockers below apply	Migrate to Prisma 8; run the `verify-cutover-checklist` and share feedback with the Prisma team
Greenfield / prototype / internal tool	Migrate to Prisma 8
Codebase uses multi-document transactions (`$transaction`) — check with grep, do not ask	Plan raw-driver session equivalents first (see `client-api-mapping`), or stay on v6 until Prisma 8 adds a MongoDB transaction method
Team cannot absorb breaking changes between release candidates	Stay on v6 until MongoDB support leaves Early Access
Risk-averse but interested	Point Prisma 8 at the v6 schema with `prisma6Schema(...)` (see `schema-contract-mapping`), rehearse on a copy (see `verify-cutover-checklist`), then migrate

Note: this section will be updated when Prisma 8 adds a MongoDB transaction method.

If staying on v6: hygiene (a deliberate stay, not neglect)

Pin the Prisma packages to the latest 6.x line and keep taking 6.x patch releases.
Track Prisma release notes and security advisories for the 6.x line.
Keep the classic v6 MongoDB setup: url = env("DATABASE_URL") in the schema, db push workflow, no SQL driver adapters (see prisma-orm-setup for the v6 MongoDB shape).
Re-evaluate when Prisma 8's MongoDB support leaves Early Access, or when the blockers are resolved.

Reference files

Reference	What it covers
`references/decision-stay-or-migrate.md`	The full decision framing, blocker checks, and stay-hygiene detail
`references/schema-contract-mapping.md`	v6 schema (`mongodb` provider, `@db.ObjectId`, composite types) → Prisma 8 contract concepts
`references/client-api-mapping.md`	v6 client calls → Prisma 8 equivalents, incl. raw escape hatches and transactions — names map, parity does not
`references/migrations-mapping.md`	v6 `db push`-only story → Prisma 8's plan/migrate/verify/sign flow
`references/verify-cutover-checklist.md`	No-data-moves verification: same DB, index parity, staged round-trip before cutover

Verified against

Prisma 8 claims in this skill were checked against the Prisma ORM 6 to 8 (MongoDB) guide, written for @prisma/orm-mongo 8.0.0-rc.13, and the prisma-8 skill in prisma/orm at commit 75c1460515fa2f11971533f6a1dec5dab35d4123. MongoDB support still changes between release candidates: before acting on any Prisma 8 claim, check the installed version (npm ls @prisma/orm-mongo) and its synced prisma-8 skill.

Prisma 8 on MongoDB requires Node.js 22.18+ (24.11+ on the 24 line; 24 recommended), TypeScript 5.9+, MongoDB 8.0+, and mongodb@7 as a peer dependency. The mongodb@7 driver no longer accepts AWS credentials in the connection string.

Hand-off rule

This skill is the discovery bridge, not a replacement for Prisma 8's own documentation. After a project switches to Prisma 8, run prisma skills sync, read the synced prisma-8/SKILL.md, and follow it for day-to-day work — do not keep working from this skill's summaries.