PostgreSQL

What it is

A Model Context Protocol server that provides read-only access to PostgreSQL databases. It lets LLMs inspect database schemas and execute read-only queries. It exposes one tool, query, and schema resources for each table, discovered automatically from database metadata.

Who it's for

• Developers who want an LLM client such as Claude Desktop or VS Code to inspect a PostgreSQL schema
• Users who want an LLM to run read-only SQL queries against a PostgreSQL database

Requirements

Setup

1. Claude Desktop with Docker

   Add this to the "mcpServers" section of claude_desktop_config.json. On macOS, use host.docker.internal if the database is on the host network. Username/password can be added to the URL as postgresql://user:password@host:port/db-name.

   jsonCopy

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "postgres": {
         "command": "docker",
         "args": [
           "run", 
           "-i", 
           "--rm", 
           "mcp/postgres", 
           "postgresql://host.docker.internal:5432/mydb"]
       }
     }
   }

2. Claude Desktop with NPX

   Add this to the "mcpServers" section of claude_desktop_config.json. Replace /mydb with your database name.

   jsonCopy

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "postgres": {
         "command": "npx",
         "args": [
           "-y",
           "@modelcontextprotocol/server-postgres",
           "postgresql://localhost/mydb"
         ]
       }
     }
   }

3. VS Code with NPX (manual)

   Add this block to your User Settings (JSON) file (Ctrl + Shift + P, then Preferences: Open User Settings (JSON)), or to .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace to share it with others. The mcp key is not needed in .vscode/mcp.json.

   jsonCopy

   {
     "mcp": {
       "inputs": [
         {
           "type": "promptString",
           "id": "pg_url",
           "description": "PostgreSQL URL (e.g. postgresql://user:pass@localhost:5432/mydb)"
         }
       ],
       "servers": {
         "postgres": {
           "command": "npx",
           "args": [
             "-y",
             "@modelcontextprotocol/server-postgres",
             "${input:pg_url}"
           ]
         }
       }
     }
   }

4. Build the Docker image

   Build the image locally.

   bashCopy

   docker build -t mcp/postgres -f src/postgres/Dockerfile .

Examples

{
  "mcp": {
    "inputs": [
      {
        "type": "promptString",
        "id": "pg_url",
        "description": "PostgreSQL URL (e.g. postgresql://user:pass@host.docker.internal:5432/mydb)"
      }
    ],
    "servers": {
      "postgres": {
        "command": "docker",
        "args": [
          "run",
          "-i",
          "--rm",
          "mcp/postgres",
          "${input:pg_url}"
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

postgres://<host>/<table>/schema

Pros & cons

Images