init leaves the project able to run its own scaffold

[wmadden-electric]

In a project with no prisma dependency — the npx prisma@next init path — init used to scaffold a prisma.config.ts whose import { definePrismaConfig } from "prisma/config" could never resolve, so every subsequent config-reading command failed with CLI.CONFIG_UNREADABLE and guidance that never named the real fix. Init reported success and left the project worse than before it ran.

Two fixes, both operator-ruled:

Init makes the project self-consistent. The same guarded package.json edit that adds the postinstall hook now also adds "prisma": "<exact CLI version>" to devDependencies — but only when prisma appears in none of dependencies, devDependencies, optionalDependencies, or peerDependencies. Any existing declaration, at any range, leaves every dependency field untouched. The result reports the outcome (added / declared / skipped), the human output says what was added, and the next action names the detected package manager's install command. All existing manifest discipline holds: BOM, CRLF, indentation preserved; foreign-postinstall, unwritable, and malformed manifests behave exactly as before and skip the dependency add too.

The engine names the real fix. When config evaluation fails specifically because prisma/config cannot be resolved (jiti's "Cannot find module" and Node ESM's "Cannot find package" wordings, matched through the cause chain), CLI.CONFIG_UNREADABLE now says the config imports the prisma package and it is not installed, with an install-and-rerun next action. Every other evaluation failure keeps the generic guidance, pinned by a test. The engine changed, so this bumps it to 0.2.3; the conformance transition exceptions follow the same pattern as the 0.2.1/0.2.2 bumps (family pins still 0.2.0 until the repin lands).

Verification: engine 821 tests, CLI 942, credential-free e2e 6 (the fixture now asserts the dependency lands at the built CLI's exact version), conformance 0 failing / 6 allowed transition exceptions, typecheck clean. Manual smoke of the shipped scenario: bare project → init writes hook + dependency + install advice; a scaffold without prisma installed → the new install-prisma diagnostic.

Known consequence, recorded in a test comment: init --no-postinstall skips the manifest edit entirely (both hook and dependency), so that combination can still produce the broken scaffold — now with guidance that names the repair.

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

[coderabbitai]

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Summary by CodeRabbit

• New Features

  • init now adds Prisma to devDependencies when it is not already declared.
  • Installation guidance now uses the detected package manager.
  • Initialization results clearly report whether Prisma was added, already declared, or skipped.
  • Improved step output and follow-up actions during initialization.

• Bug Fixes

  • Added clearer diagnostics when prisma/config cannot be resolved.
  • Preserved generic guidance for other configuration evaluation failures.

• Tests

  • Expanded coverage for dependency handling, reruns, formatting preservation, and configuration errors.

Walkthrough

The CLI now reports a dedicated diagnostic when config evaluation cannot resolve prisma/config. init tracks Prisma dependency status, adds undeclared Prisma dependencies to devDependencies, resolves package-manager install commands, and exposes follow-up actions. Tests cover dependency declarations, formatting, reruns, error cases, and end-to-end results. CLI engine references and conformance exceptions were updated to version 0.2.3.

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 5

✅ Passed checks (5 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Description check	✅ Passed	The description accurately explains the init dependency update, improved config diagnostics, version bump, preserved behavior, and test coverage.
Title check	✅ Passed	The title clearly summarizes the main change: init leaves the scaffolded project runnable.
Docstring Coverage	✅ Passed	Docstring check was indeterminate for this PR — some files could not be analyzed in time. Not blocking.
Linked Issues check	✅ Passed	Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
Out of Scope Changes check	✅ Passed	Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.

✨ Finishing Touches 💡 1

🛠️ Fix failing CI checks 💡

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🧪 Generate unit tests (beta)

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• Commit unit tests in branch claude/init-adds-prisma-dep

✨ Simplify code

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• Commit simplified code in branch claude/init-adds-prisma-dep

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npx https://pkg.pr.new/@prisma/cli@225

npx https://pkg.pr.new/@prisma/cli-engine@225

commit: 77f5f96

[coderabbitai]

Actionable comments posted: 4

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Inline comments:
In `@packages/cli-engine/src/config-loader.ts`:
- Around line 145-165: Update MISSING_PRISMA_CONFIG_MESSAGES to include the Node
package-level text “Cannot find package 'prisma'”, and change the
missing-prisma-cause fixture to use that wording while preserving the existing
importsMissingPrismaPackage cause-chain matching.

In `@packages/cli/src/commands/init.ts`:
- Around line 388-402: Update the catch-path report in the init command so
dependency reports "declared" when dependencyNeeded is false, while retaining
"skipped" when the dependency is actually needed but could not be written.
Preserve the existing hook outcome and diagnostics behavior.
- Around line 296-327: Update scriptsNotAnObjectDiagnostic and
foreignPostinstallDiagnostic so they append addDependencyAdvice(getCliVersion())
when !dependencyDeclared, while preserving their existing APPEND_ADVICE content
and behavior. Ensure both early-return paths provide this dependency guidance
when the manifest lacks the prisma dependency.

In `@packages/cli/src/lib/agent/package-manager.ts`:
- Around line 150-154: Update resolveInstallCommandSync to catch errors from
detectPackageManagerSync and return the existing npm-based install command
fallback, matching the behavior when detection returns no package manager; leave
successful detection unchanged.

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• Create a new PR with the fixes

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📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between cc5d7e9 and e819916.

⛔ Files ignored due to path filters (1)

• pnpm-lock.yaml is excluded by !**/pnpm-lock.yaml

📒 Files selected for processing (12)

• packages/cli-engine/package.json
• packages/cli-engine/src/config-loader.ts
• packages/cli-engine/tests/config.test.ts
• packages/cli-engine/tests/fixtures/config/missing-prisma-cause/prisma.config.ts
• packages/cli-engine/tests/fixtures/config/missing-prisma/prisma.config.ts
• packages/cli/e2e/init.e2e.ts
• packages/cli/package.json
• packages/cli/scripts/conformance.ts
• packages/cli/src/commands/init.ts
• packages/cli/src/lib/agent/package-manager.ts
• packages/cli/tests/init.test.ts
• packages/prisma/package.json

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