Debugging Next.js: How to fix the error `PrismaClient is unable to be run in the browser` in Next.js

Join the AI Workshop to learn more about AI and how it can be applied to web development. Next cohort February 1st, 2026

The AI-first Web Development BOOTCAMP cohort starts February 24th, 2026. 10 weeks of intensive training and hands-on projects.


I ran into this error while working on a Next.js website:

PrismaClient is unable to be run in the browser

I had this page and it all worked fine until I commented one line in my code, in particular in my getStaticProps() method.

In that line I called a method from my Prisma instance, which I imported at the top of the page file.

Basically Next.js will see which code we use in getStaticProps() and will use it for the backend. It will not ship it to the frontend.

When I commented out the line in getStaticProps() where I used Prisma, Next.js included Prisma in my frontend code, and I got that error PrismaClient is unable to be run in the browser

The solution was to also comment (or remove) the Prisma import.

Also remember that getStaticProps() is only called on page routes, not in other components, so if this error comes from a component, you have to move the logic up to the page route component.

Lessons in this unit:

0: Introduction
1: Blank page after router.push() in Next.js?
2: ▶︎ How to fix the error `PrismaClient is unable to be run in the browser` in Next.js
3: Next.js, blank page after calling `res.redirect()`
4: Next.js, how to fix the error `Constructor requires 'new' operator`
5: Next.js, fix the `module not found` error
6: How to fix the `can't resolve module` error in Next.js
7: How to fix error serializing Date object JSON in Next.js
8: How to fix the `unable to resolve dependency tree` PostCSS and Tailwind issue in Next.js
9: Fix “Module not found: Can't resolve encoding” in Next.js
10: How to fix Your custom PostCSS configuration must export a `plugins` key.
11: Next.js, what to do when the state of a component is not refreshed when navigating
12: Revalidation and ISR gotcha on Vercel
13: How to fix the `Already 10 Prisma Clients are actively running` error