Drizzle ORM for Cloudflare D1

Status: Production Ready ✅ Last Updated: 2025-12-14 Latest Version: drizzle-orm@0.45.2, drizzle-kit@0.31.10 Dependencies: cloudflare-d1, cloudflare-worker-base

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Quick Start (10 Minutes)

1. Install Drizzle

bun add drizzle-orm drizzle-kit

2. Configure Drizzle Kit

Create drizzle.config.ts:

import { defineConfig } from 'drizzle-kit';

export default defineConfig({
  schema: './src/db/schema.ts',
  out: './migrations',
  dialect: 'sqlite',          // MANDATORY since drizzle-kit 0.21 (D1 = sqlite)
  driver: 'd1-http',          // D1 HTTP driver for remote migrations/Studio
  dbCredentials: {            // MANDATORY: drizzle-kit 0.30+ tightened zod validation
    accountId: process.env.CLOUDFLARE_ACCOUNT_ID!,
    databaseId: process.env.CLOUDFLARE_DATABASE_ID!,
    token: process.env.CLOUDFLARE_D1_TOKEN!,
  },
});

drizzle-kit 0.30/0.31 note: dialect and dbCredentials are now strictly validated. A config that omits dialect or uses the old connectionString/ uri keys will fail validation. For D1 use dialect: 'sqlite' + driver: 'd1-http' with accountId/databaseId/token (or wrangler-based credentials). The runtime migrate() signature in drizzle-orm/<driver>/migrator is unchanged from 0.36 → 0.45 (it changes only in 1.0-beta, which is out of scope for ^0.45).

3. Define Schema

Create src/db/schema.ts:

import { sqliteTable, text, integer } from 'drizzle-orm/sqlite-core';
import { relations } from 'drizzle-orm';

export const users = sqliteTable('users', {
  id: integer('id').primaryKey({ autoIncrement: true }),
  email: text('email').notNull().unique(),
  name: text('name').notNull(),
  createdAt: integer('created_at', { mode: 'timestamp' }).$defaultFn(() => new Date()),
});

export const posts = sqliteTable('posts', {
  id: integer('id').primaryKey({ autoIncrement: true }),
  title: text('title').notNull(),
  content: text('content').notNull(),
  authorId: integer('author_id')
    .notNull()
    .references(() => users.id, { onDelete: 'cascade' }),
});

export const usersRelations = relations(users, ({ many }) => ({
  posts: many(posts),
}));

4. Generate & Apply Migrations

bunx drizzle-kit generate                           # Generate SQL
bunx wrangler d1 migrations apply my-database --local   # Apply local
bunx wrangler d1 migrations apply my-database --remote  # Apply prod

5. Query in Worker

import { drizzle } from 'drizzle-orm/d1';
import { users } from './db/schema';
import { eq } from 'drizzle-orm';

export default {
  async fetch(request: Request, env: { DB: D1Database }): Promise<Response> {
    const db = drizzle(env.DB);
    const allUsers = await db.select().from(users).all();
    return Response.json(allUsers);
  },
};

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Critical Rules

Always Do

Rule	Why
Use drizzle-kit generate for migrations	Never write SQL manually
Test migrations locally first	--local before --remote
Use .get() for single results	Returns first row or undefined
Use db.batch() for transactions	D1 doesn't support SQL BEGIN/COMMIT
Use integer with mode: 'timestamp' for dates	D1 has no native date type
Use .$defaultFn() for dynamic defaults	Not .default() for functions

Never Do

Rule	Why
Use SQL BEGIN TRANSACTION	D1 requires batch API (Error #1)
Mix drizzle-kit migrate and wrangler apply	Use Wrangler only
Use drizzle-kit push for production	Use generate + apply
Commit credentials in drizzle.config.ts	Use env vars
Use .default() for function calls	Use .$defaultFn() instead

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Top 5 Critical Errors

#	Error	Solution
1	D1_ERROR: Cannot use BEGIN TRANSACTION	Use db.batch([...]) instead of db.transaction()
2	FOREIGN KEY constraint failed	Define cascading: .references(() => users.id, { onDelete: 'cascade' })
3	env.DB is undefined	Ensure binding in wrangler.jsonc matches env.DB
4	No such module "wrangler"	Use import { drizzle } from 'drizzle-orm/d1'
5	Type instantiation excessively deep	Use InferSelectModel<typeof users> for explicit types

See: references/error-catalog.md for all 12 errors with complete solutions.

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Common Patterns Summary

Pattern	Use Case	Template
CRUD Operations	Basic database operations	templates/basic-queries.ts
Relations & Joins	Nested queries, manual joins	templates/relations-queries.ts
Batch Operations	Transactions (D1 batch API)	templates/transactions.ts
Schema Design	Naming, indexes, soft deletes	references/schema-patterns.md

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Configuration Summary

File	Purpose	Template
drizzle.config.ts	Drizzle Kit configuration	templates/drizzle.config.ts
wrangler.jsonc	D1 binding setup	references/wrangler-setup.md
package.json	npm scripts for migrations	templates/package.json

npm scripts:

{
  "db:generate": "drizzle-kit generate",
  "db:migrate:local": "wrangler d1 migrations apply my-database --local",
  "db:migrate:remote": "wrangler d1 migrations apply my-database --remote"
}

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Migration Workflow

Step	Command	Notes
1. Edit schema	Edit src/db/schema.ts	Make changes
2. Generate	npm run db:generate	Creates SQL migration
3. Test local	npm run db:migrate:local	Verify locally
4. Deploy code	npm run deploy	Push to Cloudflare
5. Apply prod	npm run db:migrate:remote	Apply migration

See: references/migration-workflow.md for complete workflow.

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TypeScript Type Inference

import { InferSelectModel, InferInsertModel } from 'drizzle-orm';
import { users } from './db/schema';

export type User = InferSelectModel<typeof users>;
export type NewUser = InferInsertModel<typeof users>;

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When to Load References

Reference	Load When...
references/error-catalog.md	Debugging D1 errors, transaction failures, binding issues
references/schema-patterns.md	Designing schemas, naming conventions, indexes, soft deletes
references/migration-workflow.md	Setting up or troubleshooting migrations
references/query-builder-api.md	Complex queries, operators, joins syntax
references/wrangler-setup.md	Configuring wrangler.jsonc for D1
references/common-errors.md	Quick error lookup

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Bundled Resources

Templates: basic-schema.ts, basic-queries.ts, transactions.ts, relations-queries.ts, prepared-statements.ts, drizzle.config.ts, package.json

References: error-catalog.md, schema-patterns.md, migration-workflow.md, query-builder-api.md, wrangler-setup.md, common-errors.md, links-to-official-docs.md

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Dependencies

{
  "dependencies": {
    "drizzle-orm": "^0.45.2"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "drizzle-kit": "^0.31.10"
  }
}

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Secure Installation

When installing Drizzle ORM and D1 driver packages, follow supply chain security best practices:

• Block post-install scripts — npm config set ignore-scripts true (or Bun: disabled by default)
• Cooldown period — Wait 7 days for new package versions to be vetted by the community
• Audit before installing — Run socket package score npm <pkg> or use socket npm install <pkg> to check packages

Load the dependency-upgrade skill for full security configuration including Socket CLI integration, cooldown setup, lockfile validation, and CI enforcement.

Official Documentation

• Drizzle ORM: https://orm.drizzle.team/
• Drizzle with D1: https://orm.drizzle.team/docs/connect-cloudflare-d1
• Drizzle Kit: https://orm.drizzle.team/docs/kit-overview
• GitHub: https://github.com/drizzle-team/drizzle-orm

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Token Savings: ~65% (comprehensive patterns in references) Error Prevention: 100% (all 12 documented issues) Ready for production! ✅