Database Schema Awareness Skill

Load with: base.md + [your database skill]

Problem: Claude forgets schema details mid-session - wrong column names, missing fields, incorrect types. TDD catches this at runtime, but we can prevent it earlier.

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Core Rule: Read Schema Before Writing Database Code

MANDATORY: Before writing ANY code that touches the database:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  1. READ the schema file (see locations below)              │
│  2. VERIFY columns/types you're about to use exist          │
│  3. REFERENCE schema in your response when writing queries  │
│  4. TYPE-CHECK using generated types (Drizzle/Prisma/etc)   │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

If schema file doesn't exist → CREATE IT before proceeding.

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Schema File Locations (By Stack)

Schema Reference File (Recommended)

Create _project_specs/schema-reference.md for quick lookup:

# Database Schema Reference

*Auto-generated or manually maintained. Claude: READ THIS before database work.*

## Tables

### users
| Column | Type | Nullable | Default | Notes |
|--------|------|----------|---------|-------|
| id | uuid | NO | gen_random_uuid() | PK |
| email | text | NO | - | Unique |
| name | text | YES | - | Display name |
| created_at | timestamptz | NO | now() | - |
| updated_at | timestamptz | NO | now() | - |

### orders
| Column | Type | Nullable | Default | Notes |
|--------|------|----------|---------|-------|
| id | uuid | NO | gen_random_uuid() | PK |
| user_id | uuid | NO | - | FK → users.id |
| status | text | NO | 'pending' | enum: pending/paid/shipped/delivered |
| total_cents | integer | NO | - | Amount in cents |
| created_at | timestamptz | NO | now() | - |

## Relationships
- users 1:N orders (user_id)

## Enums
- order_status: pending, paid, shipped, delivered

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Pre-Code Checklist (Database Work)

Before writing any database code, Claude MUST:

### Schema Verification Checklist
- [ ] Read schema file: `[path to schema]`
- [ ] Columns I'm using exist: [list columns]
- [ ] Types match my code: [list type mappings]
- [ ] Relationships are correct: [list FKs]
- [ ] Nullable fields handled: [list nullable columns]

Example in practice:

### Schema Verification for TODO-042 (Add order history endpoint)

- [x] Read schema: `src/db/schema.ts`
- [x] Columns exist: orders.id, orders.user_id, orders.status, orders.total_cents, orders.created_at
- [x] Types: id=uuid→string, total_cents=integer→number, status=text→OrderStatus enum
- [x] Relationships: orders.user_id → users.id (many-to-one)
- [x] Nullable: none of these columns are nullable

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Type Generation Commands

Drizzle (TypeScript)

// Schema defines types automatically
// src/db/schema.ts
import { pgTable, uuid, text, integer, timestamp } from 'drizzle-orm/pg-core';

export const users = pgTable('users', {
  id: uuid('id').primaryKey().defaultRandom(),
  email: text('email').notNull().unique(),
  name: text('name'),
  createdAt: timestamp('created_at').notNull().defaultNow(),
});

export const orders = pgTable('orders', {
  id: uuid('id').primaryKey().defaultRandom(),
  userId: uuid('user_id').notNull().references(() => users.id),
  status: text('status').notNull().default('pending'),
  totalCents: integer('total_cents').notNull(),
  createdAt: timestamp('created_at').notNull().defaultNow(),
});

// Inferred types - USE THESE
export type User = typeof users.$inferSelect;
export type NewUser = typeof users.$inferInsert;
export type Order = typeof orders.$inferSelect;
export type NewOrder = typeof orders.$inferInsert;

Prisma

// prisma/schema.prisma
model User {
  id        String   @id @default(uuid())
  email     String   @unique
  name      String?
  orders    Order[]
  createdAt DateTime @default(now()) @map("created_at")

  @@map("users")
}

model Order {
  id         String   @id @default(uuid())
  userId     String   @map("user_id")
  user       User     @relation(fields: [userId], references: [id])
  status     String   @default("pending")
  totalCents Int      @map("total_cents")
  createdAt  DateTime @default(now()) @map("created_at")

  @@map("orders")
}

# Generate types after schema changes
npx prisma generate

Supabase

# Generate TypeScript types from live database
supabase gen types typescrip

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