Database Setup

ERD Builder Pro supports three database modes. Choose the one that fits your needs.

Aspect	Supabase PostgreSQL	Local PostgreSQL	Desktop (SQLite)
Best for	Production / Cloud	Development / Self-hosted	Desktop App / Tauri
Authentication	Supabase Auth (JWT)	Local (email + password)	Local (email + password)
ID Type	BigInt	Int	Int
Extra env vars	SUPABASE_URL, SUPABASE_SERVICE_ROLE_KEY, ERD_ENCRYPTION_KEY	ERD_ENCRYPTION_KEY	—
Schema setup	SQL Editor in Supabase Dashboard	npm run db:push:pg:local	npm run db:push:sqlite
Seed data	— (via SQL Editor)	npm run db:seed:pg:local	npm run db:seed:sqlite
Generate client	npm run db:generate:pg	npm run db:generate:pg:local	npm run db:generate:sqlite
Run	npm run dev	npm run dev:pg:local	npm run dev:desktop

---

Prisma 7 + Driver Adapter Architecture

All modes use Prisma 7 with the driver-adapter pattern. Prisma 7 no longer supports datasource.url or the legacy query engine — every connection must be created with a matching adapter:

Mode	Adapter	Package
PostgreSQL	PrismaPg	@prisma/adapter-pg
SQLite	PrismaBetterSqlite3	@prisma/adapter-better-sqlite3

Adapter selection happens automatically at runtime based on DATABASE_URL:

• If DATABASE_URL starts with file: or ends with .db → SQLite mode
• If DATABASE_URL starts with postgresql:// without SUPABASE_URL → Local PostgreSQL mode
• If DATABASE_URL starts with postgresql:// with SUPABASE_URL → Supabase mode

Three Prisma schema files are used depending on the mode:

Prisma File	Mode	ID Type	Auth
schema.prisma	Supabase	BigInt	Supabase Auth
schema.pg.prisma	Local PostgreSQL	Int	Local
schema.sqlite.prisma	Desktop SQLite	Int	Local

---

Option A: Supabase PostgreSQL (Production)

1. Create a New Project

1. Go to Supabase Dashboard.
2. Create a new project, select the nearest Region, and save your Database Password securely.

2. Initialize Database (Schema)

Create the required tables manually using the SQL Editor:

1. Open the supabase_schema.sql file in the ERD Builder Pro root directory.
2. Copy the entire file content.
3. In the Supabase dashboard, open the SQL Editor menu.
4. Click New Query, paste the copied code, then click Run.
5. Verify that all tables (e.g. projects, diagrams, etc.) were created successfully.

3. Generate Prisma Client

npm run db:generate:pg

This generates the Prisma Client using the schema.prisma file (Supabase variant).

4. Configure Authentication (Private)

To keep your application private:

1. Go to Authentication > Settings.
2. Under Sign Up, uncheck Allow new users to sign up.
3. Save the changes. Now strangers cannot register themselves.

5. Register Your Account

After disabling public registration, create your account manually:

1. Go to Authentication > Users.
2. Click Add User and select Create new user.
3. Enter the Email and Password you want to use.
4. (Optional) Disable "Auto-confirm user" for email verification, or leave it enabled for instant login.
5. Click Create User. Use this account to log into your ERD Builder Pro app.

6. Get API Keys

Go to Settings > API to get the required .env variables:

• Project URL: Set as SUPABASE_URL and VITE_SUPABASE_URL.
• anon public: Set as VITE_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY.
• service_role: Set as SUPABASE_SERVICE_ROLE_KEY.

[!CAUTION] Never share your service_role key with anyone or include it in frontend code (without the VITE_ prefix).

7. Configure .env

DATABASE_URL="postgresql://user:pass@host:6543/db?pgbouncer=true&connection_limit=10"
SUPABASE_URL=https://your-project.supabase.co
SUPABASE_SERVICE_ROLE_KEY=your_service_role_key
VITE_SUPABASE_URL=https://your-project.supabase.co
VITE_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY=your_anon_key

8. Run the Application

npm run dev

---

Option B: Local PostgreSQL (Development / Self-hosted)

1. Install & Prepare PostgreSQL

Make sure PostgreSQL is installed. Create a new database:

createdb erd_builder_pro

2. Configure .env

In .env, set DATABASE_URL and comment out or remove SUPABASE_URL:

DATABASE_URL="postgresql://postgres:postgres@localhost:5432/erd_builder_pro"
# SUPABASE_URL=   ← not needed for this mode
# SUPABASE_SERVICE_ROLE_KEY=   ← not needed

The app will automatically detect Local PostgreSQL mode when SUPABASE_URL is not set.

3. Generate Prisma Client

npm run db:generate:pg:local

This uses the schema.pg.prisma schema (Local PostgreSQL variant). Do not use npm run db:generate:pg, because that command selects the Supabase schema.

4. Push Schema

npm run db:push:pg:local

This creates all required tables in your local database.

Prisma 7 uses db push to sync the schema without migration files. Use db:migrate:pg:local if you need migration history.

5. Seed Data

npm run db:seed:pg:local

Output:

Seeding database...
  - Self-host admin user skipped; use the one-time setup screen
  ✓ AI Providers: OpenAI, Gemini, OpenAI Compatible
  ✓ OpenAI models: GPT-4o, GPT-4o Mini, GPT-4 Turbo
  ✓ Gemini models: Gemini 1.5 Pro, Gemini 1.5 Flash
  ✓ OpenAI Compatible models: DeepSeek V4 Flash
  ✓ Default system prompt: Simple & Direct

✅ Seed complete

Local PostgreSQL seeding does not create default credentials. After an empty database is initialized, open the application and use the Create administrator account page to create the first super admin.

Do not use admin@local.dev / admin123 in self-host mode. This is the Desktop/CLI bootstrap credential and is rejected by self-host login.

The seed script uses the same Prisma 7 adapter pattern. Make sure DATABASE_URL points to the local database and ERD_ENCRYPTION_KEY is configured.

6. Run the Application

npm run dev:pg:local

The app will be available at http://localhost:3000.

Local PostgreSQL mode uses local authentication (email + password) with Prisma Session, not Supabase Auth. The super admin is created through the initial setup screen.

---

Option C: Desktop / Tauri (SQLite)

This mode uses SQLite as the local database for the Tauri-based desktop application.

1. Generate Prisma Client for SQLite

npm run db:generate:sqlite

Uses the schema.sqlite.prisma schema with the @prisma/adapter-better-sqlite3 adapter.

2. Push Schema to SQLite

npm run db:push:sqlite

This creates the data.db file with 19 tables:

ai_chat_messages, ai_chat_sessions, ai_models, ai_providers, ai_system_prompts,
backups, columns, diagrams, drawings, entities, entity_changes, flowcharts,
notes, projects, relationships, sessions, user_ai_configs, user_ai_rules, users

3. Seed Data

npm run db:seed:sqlite

Output:

Seeding SQLite database...
  ✓ Admin user: admin@local.dev
  ✓ AI Providers: OpenAI, Gemini, OpenAI Compatible
  ✓ OpenAI models: GPT-4o, GPT-4o Mini, GPT-4 Turbo
  ✓ Gemini models: Gemini 1.5 Pro, Gemini 1.5 Flash
  ✓ OpenAI Compatible models: DeepSeek V4 Flash
  ✓ Default system prompt: Simple & Direct

✅ Seed complete

Desktop/SQLite seeding keeps the internal bootstrap account admin@local.dev for local-data compatibility. Desktop/CLI use auto-login; these bootstrap credentials are not for self-host deployments and must not be used in shared deployments.

4. Verify

sqlite3 data.db ".tables"
# 19 tables listed

sqlite3 data.db "SELECT email FROM users;"
# admin@local.dev

5. Run the Application

# API + Vite mode (without Tauri shell)
npm run dev:desktop

# Full Tauri mode (requires Rust toolchain)
npm run dev:tauri:servers   # API :3099 + Vite :3098
npm run dev:tauri           # opens Tauri window

dev:desktop uses DATABASE_URL=file:./data.db to override the .env value, so both modes (Supabase PG in .env and SQLite in the script) can coexist.

6. Login Bootstrap

Desktop/CLI auto-login through the local server without a login page. A local encryption key is created beside the database when neither ERD_ENCRYPTION_KEY nor ERD_ENCRYPTION_KEY_FILE is configured.

---

Quick Script Reference

Command	Purpose	Schema	DATABASE_URL
npm run db:generate:sqlite	Generate Prisma Client	schema.sqlite.prisma	—
npm run db:push:sqlite	Create SQLite tables	schema.sqlite.prisma	file:./data.db
npm run db:seed:sqlite	Seed SQLite data	(via seed.sqlite.ts)	file:./data.db
npm run db:generate:pg	Generate Supabase Prisma Client	schema.prisma	—
npm run db:generate:pg:local	Generate Local PG Prisma Client	schema.pg.prisma	—
npm run db:push:pg:local	Create Local PG tables	schema.pg.prisma	(from .env)
npm run db:seed:pg:local	Seed Local PG	(via seed.sqlite.ts)	(from .env)
npm run dev	Run Supabase mode	schema.prisma	(from .env)
npm run dev:pg:local	Run Local PG mode	schema.pg.prisma	(from .env)
npm run dev:desktop	Run Desktop mode	schema.sqlite.prisma	file:./data.db

---

Cross-Mode Differences

Aspect	Supabase	Local PostgreSQL / Desktop
ID type	BigInt (via toProjectId())	Number / Int
Admin status	Managed via Supabase Auth	Super admin is created through initial setup
Auth	Supabase Auth (JWT)	Prisma Session (local)
uid columns	@default(uuid()) in Prisma	Must be set manually via randomUUID() (SQLite)

---

Common Pitfalls

PrismaClient needs to be constructed with a non-empty, valid PrismaClientOptions

Prisma 7 requires the adapter option — new PrismaClient() without arguments will fail. Make sure the app uses the correct driver adapter.

Schema mismatch on seed

The seed script can fail if DATABASE_URL points to the wrong database. Make sure:

• SQLite: DATABASE_URL=file:./data.db
• Local PG: DATABASE_URL in .env points to your local database

Stale prisma/data.db file

The prisma/data.db file is sometimes created unintentionally. For desktop mode, always use ./data.db (project root) and delete prisma/data.db.