Prisma error P2025: An operation failed because it depends on one or more records that were required but not found

What causes this error

Unlike P2002 (duplicate), P2025 means Prisma tried to find a specific record to update, delete, or connect a relation to — and it wasn't there. This is common when a record was already deleted, or the ID came from stale client-side data.

The Fix

try {
  await prisma.article.update({ where: { id }, data });
} catch (err) {
  if (err instanceof Prisma.PrismaClientKnownRequestError && err.code === 'P2025') {
    throw new ApiError(404, 'Article not found');
  }
  throw err;
}

Common causes / variations

• Deleting a record twice (double-click, retried request)
• Frontend holding a stale ID after the record was deleted elsewhere
• Trying to `connect` a relation to a foreign key that doesn't exist

Related errors

See also: P2002 Unique constraint failed.