Express + Prisma

Install paneljs, @paneljs/express, and @paneljs/prisma into your Express + Prisma app and open /admin.

Requirements

• Node.js ^20.19 || ^22.12 || >=24 or Bun >=1.3
• Express 4 or 5
• prisma and @prisma/client 7.5.x
• Your schema.prisma on disk at runtime (default prisma/schema.prisma)

Keep prisma, @prisma/client, and @paneljs/prisma on the same 7.5 line. See Prisma versions.

Install

CLI, from the root of this app (does not rewrite source):

npx paneljs@latest init --framework express --orm prisma --yes

Or add the packages yourself:

npm

$ npm install paneljs @paneljs/express @paneljs/prisma

pnpm

$ pnpm add paneljs @paneljs/express @paneljs/prisma

yarn

$ yarn add paneljs @paneljs/express @paneljs/prisma

bun

$ bun add paneljs @paneljs/express @paneljs/prisma

Express, prisma, and @prisma/client are peers. If this app does not have them yet:

npm

$ npm install express @prisma/client
$ npm install -D prisma

pnpm

$ pnpm add express @prisma/client
$ pnpm add -D prisma

yarn

$ yarn add express @prisma/client
$ yarn add -D prisma

bun

$ bun add express @prisma/client
$ bun add -d prisma

Pin Prisma to 7.5.x (~7.5.0). Generate your client the way you already do:

npm

$ npx prisma generate

pnpm

$ pnpm exec prisma generate

yarn

$ yarn prisma generate

bun

$ bunx prisma generate

The library never uses a Prisma client from this repository. Pass the client your app generated.

Add it to your server

In the same file where you create the Express app (or a module it imports):

import express from "express";
import { createAdmin } from "paneljs";
import { prismaAdapter } from "@paneljs/prisma";
import { mount } from "@paneljs/express";
import { prisma } from "./prisma.js";

const app = express();

const admin = createAdmin({
  adapter: prismaAdapter({ prisma }),
  siteName: "Admin",
  auth: {
    getCurrentUser: async (req) => {
      const user = await getOperatorFromYourAuth(req);
      if (!user) return null;
      return {
        id: user.id,
        email: user.email,
        role: user.role,
        isSuperAdmin: user.role === "SUPER_ADMIN",
      };
    },
  },
});

admin.register("User");
admin.register("Post");

await mount(app, admin);

app.listen(3000);

Replace "User" / "Post" with model names from your schema.prisma, PascalCase, exact.

getCurrentUser must return { id, email, role, isSuperAdmin } or null when you use external auth. A partial object is 401. For built-in admin-only login, sessions, and superuser creation, see Authentication.

Open the admin

Start your server and visit:

http://localhost:3000/admin

You should see a sidebar with every model you registered. register("User") with no second argument is enough for a list and a form. Defaults come from the schema.

Schema path

At mount the adapter reads prisma/schema.prisma relative to process.cwd(). If your schema lives elsewhere:

prismaAdapter({
  prisma,
  schemaPath: "db/schema.prisma",
});

Include that file in the deploy artifact. Mount fails with a clear error if it cannot read or compile the schema.

schemaPath is an option on prismaAdapter(), not on createAdmin().

What to do next

Zero-config is a start. In a real app you set columns, search, filters, auth, and often scope.

• Wire it into your app — listDisplay, searchFields, listFilter, scope, actions, audit
• Authentication — built-in login or an existing session
• Prisma adapter — DMMF, version pin, prismaActionWhere
• How it works — why mount is async