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Database Setup

ArkenBot uses PostgreSQL as its primary database, managed through the Prisma ORM. All schema changes are applied via prisma db push or prisma migrate deploy.

Create the Database and User​

sudo -u postgres psql
CREATE USER arkenbot WITH PASSWORD 'your_secure_password';
CREATE DATABASE arkenbot OWNER arkenbot;
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE arkenbot TO arkenbot;
\q

Update DATABASE_URL in your .env to match:

DATABASE_URL=postgresql://arkenbot:your_secure_password@localhost:5432/arkenbot

Apply the Schema​

Push the Prisma schema to the database and generate the Prisma client:

pnpm db:push

This creates all tables. Re-run it after pulling updates that include schema changes.

Use db:push, not db:migrate

pnpm db:migrate (Prisma's migration-file runner) only exists for a handful of historical migrations from early in the project — schema changes since then are applied directly via db:push and were never captured as migration files. Running db:migrate alone will leave your database missing everything added after that point. Always use pnpm db:push after pulling updates, even in production.

Verify the Connection​

Test that your connection string is correct before starting the services:

psql "postgresql://arkenbot:your_secure_password@localhost:5432/arkenbot" -c "SELECT 1;"

A result of 1 confirms the connection is working.

Next: Deployment →