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# Kysely: Type-Safe SQL Without ORM Overhead

**[Atomic Spin](https://daily.dev/sources/atomicobject)** · 4 min read · 103 upvotes · 5 comments

## Summary

Kysely is a TypeScript SQL query builder that provides strong type safety without the complexity of a full ORM. It catches common database bugs like mistyped column names and incorrect return types at compile time through TypeScript inference. The library offers a thin abstraction over SQL with readable chaining syntax, strongly typed where clauses, intuitive migrations with up/down functions, and automatic type generation from database schemas using kysely-codegen. Unlike ORMs, it stays focused on query building while maintaining SQL-like expressiveness, making it suitable for teams comfortable with SQL who want compile-time safety and lightweight tooling.

## Full article

daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: <https://spin.atomicobject.com/kysely-type-safe-sql/>

## Community discussion

Top comments from developers on daily.dev.

**@sukeshpabolu** · 5 upvotes

> drizzle also does the same maybe better.

**@yeahbah** · 2 upvotes

> The nasty things we do to avoid writing sql

**@nguyen75** · 0 upvotes

> I use prisma mostly. If need more performance or complex then use Kysely.

## Similar posts on daily.dev

- [A deep dive into Kysely](https://daily.dev/posts/a-deep-dive-into-kysely-ozzxdyihg) · Flavio Copes · 0 upvotes · 0 comments

---

Tags: [#database](https://daily.dev/tags/database), [#typescript](https://daily.dev/tags/typescript), [#sql](https://daily.dev/tags/sql)

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