TypeSQL vs Kysely

Kysely is a type-safe SQL query builder. You build queries from method calls, and it types them from a DB interface that you write or generate with kysely-codegen.

The same query

With Kysely:

const rows = await db
	.selectFrom("users as u")
	.leftJoin("posts as p", "p.author_id", "u.id")
	.select(["u.id", "u.email", "p.title"])
	.where("u.created_at", ">", new Date("2026-01-01"))
	.execute();

With TypeSQL:

const rows = await sql(
	`SELECT u.id, u.email, p.title
   FROM users u
   LEFT JOIN posts p ON p.author_id = u.id
   WHERE u.created_at > ${sql.param(new Date("2026-01-01"))}`,
).execute();

Both give title as string | null, with no generator and no database connection.

How they differ

	Kysely	TypeSQL
You write	method calls that build SQL	the SQL itself
Types come from	your DB interface	your schema type
Raw SQL	sql<T>`…`, typed by the T you write	checked and typed from the SQL
Dynamic queries	conditional method calls	fragments
Databases	PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, SQL Server and community dialects	PostgreSQL and SQLite; MySQL is planned

Choose Kysely when

• You'd rather compose queries with method calls.
• You use MySQL or SQL Server.
• Your team prefers TypeScript calls over SQL text.

Choose TypeSQL when

• You'd rather write plain SQL.
• You need SQL that Kysely has no method for.
• You want queries you can copy into psql or a SQL log and run as they are.

Using them together

@typesql/kysely takes the same DB interface you pass to new Kysely<DB>() and runs queries on your Kysely instance or transaction. Keep the builder for queries that change shape at runtime, and write the rest as SQL. See From Kysely, Drizzle or Prisma.