ZenStack – DSL to define data and access rules closer to the database

In plain words

ZenStack is a development tool that introduces ZModel, a domain-specific language for defining data schemas and access control rules at the database level. It targets developers building data-driven applications and aims to reduce repetitive coding by consolidating data modeling and permission logic in one place, eliminating the need to rewrite these rules across multiple layers of an application.

written from the facts on this page · September 2026

From the sources

Modern data layer for TypeScript apps - type-safe ORM, built-in access control, automatic query services - zenstackhq/zenstack

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  ZenStack V2 – RLS alternative with declarative Auth rules in Prisma2024 · zenstack.dev · ▲14

  Half a year ago, we posed a Show HN about ZenStack V1 as "DSL to define data and access rules closer to the database" Throughout the month, we've attracted quite a few early adopters. Some of them, such as MermaidChart, have successfully launched into production. After talking with them, we realized that many individuals found ZenStack while seeking a cleaner and easier alternative to RLS. As a result, we pivot ourselves to be a “TypeScript toolkit on top of Prisma ORM with a fine-grained Authorization layer, auto-generated type-safe APIs, and frontend hooks”. In V2, besides the more…

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  ZenStack – access control at the ORM layer, built for coding agentsJul 2026 · zenstack.framer.website · ▲8

  Hi HN, I'm Jiasheng, co-creator of ZenStack. Access control usually ends up scattered across app code instead of living with the data model — and that's riskier when the code is written by an agent, since it's easy to ship a query with a missing or incomplete authorization check. ZenStack enforces policy (RBAC/ABAC/relation-based) directly at the ORM layer, on top of Kysely, so every query gets checked the same way regardless of who wrote it and who is calling it. Postgres RLS is an option too, but it's hard to maintain and scale, and it's Postgres-only — ZenStack's approach is…

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