fix(orm): set @updatedAt fields in updateMany

[ErikDakoda]

update sets @updatedAt fields when the data changes a scalar or foreign key field. updateMany and updateManyAndReturn do not, so a bulk update leaves the timestamp unchanged.

Example

model Post {
  id        Int      @id @default(autoincrement())
  title     String
  updatedAt DateTime @updatedAt
}

await db.post.update({ where: { id: 1 }, data: { title: 'A' } });      // updatedAt is set
await db.post.updateMany({ where: { id: 1 }, data: { title: 'B' } });  // updatedAt is not set

The same gap applies to:

• nested updateMany inside a relation update
• the base table of a delegate model, when updateMany runs on a sub model

Prisma sets @updatedAt in updateMany (update_many_record_node calls args.update_datetimes, the same as update_record_node). ZenStack v2 also set it, including for delegate sub models after #2119. So code that moves from Prisma or v2 to v3 loses the timestamp on every bulk update, with no error. The docs describe @updatedAt as automatic and do not list this as a difference.

Fix

The fill step from update moves into a helper, fillUpdatedAtFields. update and updateMany both call it, so the rules are the same:

• The timestamp is set when the data changes a scalar or foreign key field that is not in the ignore list.
• A value given explicitly in the data is kept.
• On a delegate sub model, the filled value goes to the base table through the existing base-model split.

Delegate sub models: match rows before the base write

updateMany on a delegate sub model writes the base table first. Then it runs the filter again to write the sub model's table. If the filter reads a field that the base write changed, the second write matches no rows. With this fix, the base write always changes @updatedAt, so a filter such as where: { updatedAt: { lt: cutoff } } would update the base table only and return count: 0.

This already happens on dev for other base fields:

// RatedVideo extends Video, duration is a Video field
await db.ratedVideo.updateMany({ where: { duration: 100 }, data: { duration: 200, rating: 4 } });
// dev: duration is 200, rating is unchanged, count is 0

The sub model now reads the ids of the matching rows first, then updates by id, as update already does. This applies to top-level and nested updateMany. Ids are sent in batches of 1,000 (100 for compound ids) to stay within the database limits on parameters.

Behavior changes

• Bulk updates now write @updatedAt columns. An app that relied on the old behavior to keep a timestamp unchanged can list the changed fields in @updatedAt(ignore: [...]).
• updateMany on a delegate sub model runs one more query, to read the ids. A row inserted between that read and the writes is not updated.

Tests

• update-many.test.ts: matched rows only, explicit value kept, ignored fields only, updateManyAndReturn, nested updateMany
• delegate.test.ts: updateMany on a sub model sets the base model's updatedAt; a filter on a base field that the update changes still matches the sub model rows, for top-level and nested updateMany

Six of the new tests fail on dev and pass with this change. I ran the ORM e2e suite on SQLite and PostgreSQL. The only failures are tests that also fail on dev in my setup: the MySQL timezone tests (no MySQL server) and policy/now-function.test.ts on PostgreSQL. I did not run the MySQL suite.

Not in this PR

updateManyAndReturn on a delegate sub model fails when the data has only base model fields, for example ratedVideo.updateManyAndReturn({ data: { duration: 7 } }). The base step returns { count }, not rows. This fails on dev too. With this PR, the error message changes.

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

Summary by CodeRabbit

• Bug Fixes
  • Automatic update timestamps are now applied consistently to matching records during bulk and nested updates. Explicitly supplied timestamps are preserved, and setting only a creation timestamp does not change the update timestamp.
  • Updates to delegated models now refresh the base record’s timestamp and match records using their values before the update. Nested updates are limited to the related records that match the filter.

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• packages/orm/src/client/crud/operations/base.ts

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📝 Walkthrough

update and updateMany use shared logic to fill eligible @updatedAt fields. Delegated updateMany calls without an explicit filterModel resolve matching IDs before updating rows in batches. Tests cover timestamps, filter matching, and nested updates.

Changes: ORM updateMany behavior

Layer / File(s)	Summary
Automatic update timestamps packages/orm/src/client/crud/operations/base.ts, tests/e2e/orm/client-api/update-many.test.ts	update and updateMany use fillUpdatedAtFields to populate eligible timestamps. Tests cover automatic timestamps, explicit updatedAt values, createdAt-only updates, returned rows, and nested updates.
Delegated updateMany matching and batching packages/orm/src/client/crud/operations/base.ts, tests/e2e/orm/client-api/delegate.test.ts	Delegated updateMany calls without an explicit filterModel resolve matching IDs and update them in batches. Tests cover filters on fields changed by the write and nested updates.

Priority: ⬇️ Low

Estimated code review effort: 3 (Moderate) | ~20 minutes

Change: Bug fix

Merge Risk: ⚪ Minimal · up to ca9b2

The change makes bulk updates set @updatedAt fields and adds batched ID resolution for delegate models. No unresolved merge-blocking risk is evidenced in the supplied context.

Pre-merge checks · 4 · 1

Failed checks (1 warning)

Check name	Status	Explanation	Resolution
Docstring Coverage		Docstring coverage is 0.00% which is insufficient. The required threshold is 80.00%. Docstring coverage is scoped to functions touched by this diff. Analyzed 2 functions across 3 files.	Write docstrings for the functions missing them to satisfy the coverage threshold.

Passed checks (4 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Description Check		Check skipped - CodeRabbit’s high-level summary is enabled.
Title check		The title clearly and concisely describes the main change: setting @updatedAt fields during updateMany operations.
Linked Issues check		Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
Out of Scope Changes check		Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.

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Inline comments:
Review comments at @packages/orm/src/client/crud/operations/base.ts:
- Around line 1747-1819: Update runUpdateMany in UpdateOperationHandler to
include delegated models in the safeTransactionIf condition, using the model’s
baseModel status alongside needsNestedUpdate. Preserve the existing transaction
guard so callers already inside $transaction do not start a redundant
transaction.

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📒 Files selected for processing (3)

• packages/orm/src/client/crud/operations/base.ts
• tests/e2e/orm/client-api/delegate.test.ts
• tests/e2e/orm/client-api/update-many.test.ts

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