Query PostgreSQL Databases with Claude

PostgreSQL

A Model Context Protocol server that provides read-only access to PostgreSQL databases. This server enables LLMs to inspect database schemas and execute read-only queries.

Components

Tools

• query
  • Execute read-only SQL queries against the connected database
  • Input: sql (string): The SQL query to execute
  • All queries are executed within a READ ONLY transaction

Resources

The server provides schema information for each table in the database:

• Table Schemas (postgres://<host>/<table>/schema)
  • JSON schema information for each table
  • Includes column names and data types
  • Automatically discovered from database metadata

Configuration

Usage with Claude Desktop

To use this server with the Claude Desktop app, add the following configuration to the "mcpServers" section of your claude_desktop_config.json:

Docker

• when running docker on macos, use host.docker.internal if the server is running on the host network (eg localhost)
• username/password can be added to the postgresql url with postgresql://user:password@host:port/db-name

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

NPX

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

Replace /mydb with your database name.

Usage with VS Code

For quick installation, use one of the one-click install buttons below...

For manual installation, add the following JSON block to your User Settings (JSON) file in VS Code. You can do this by pressing Ctrl + Shift + P and typing Preferences: Open User Settings (JSON).

Optionally, you can add it to a file called .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace. This will allow you to share the configuration with others.

Note that the mcp key is not needed in the .vscode/mcp.json file.

Docker

Note: When using Docker and connecting to a PostgreSQL server on your host machine, use host.docker.internal instead of localhost in the connection URL.

{
  "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}"
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

NPX

{
  "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}"
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

Building

Docker:

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