PostgreSQL MCP server

This MCP Postgres Server implements the Model Context Protocol for Cursor, allowing you to use a PostgreSQL database as storage for model contexts. It creates a bridge between Cursor and your database, enabling exploration and querying capabilities.

Prerequisites

• Docker
• Docker Compose

Installation

1. Clone the repository
2. Start the server using Docker Compose:

docker-compose up -d

Setting Up in Cursor

To connect Cursor to your PostgreSQL database through the MCP server:

1. Open Cursor
2. Navigate to Settings > MCP
3. Add a new connection with the following parameters:
   • Name: MCP Postgres Server
   • Type: command
   • Command: docker exec -i mcp-postgres-server node dist/index.js

Available Tools

The MCP PostgreSQL server provides three main tools for Cursor:

1. postgres_query - Execute a read-only SQL query
2. postgres_list_tables - List all tables in the database
3. postgres_describe_table - Get the schema for a specific table

These tools allow Cursor to safely explore and query your database contents.

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues with the server:

Checking Server Logs

View the container logs to identify any errors:

docker logs mcp-postgres-server

Restarting the Server

If the server needs to be restarted:

docker-compose restart

How to install this MCP server

For Claude Code

To add this MCP server to Claude Code, run this command in your terminal:

claude mcp add-json "mcp-postgres-server" '{"command":"docker","args":["exec","-i","mcp-postgres-server","node","dist/index.js"]}'

See the official Claude Code MCP documentation for more details.

For Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > Tools & Integrations and click "New MCP Server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "mcp-postgres-server": {
            "command": "docker",
            "args": [
                "exec",
                "-i",
                "mcp-postgres-server",
                "node",
                "dist/index.js"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explicitly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.

For Claude Desktop

To add this MCP server to Claude Desktop:

1. Find your configuration file:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add this to your configuration file:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "mcp-postgres-server": {
            "command": "docker",
            "args": [
                "exec",
                "-i",
                "mcp-postgres-server",
                "node",
                "dist/index.js"
            ]
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect