postgresql_get_tablesLABSCO SUMMARY
Read-only by construction.
Three tools and no write path is the whole design: the model discovers tables, reads columns and runs SELECTs, so a badly framed question produces a wrong answer rather than a changed record. Two things decide whether it fits. The CData JDBC driver is a separate licensed product, with a trial key to start on. And the assistant can query every table the connection can see — the Tables field in the connection profile does not narrow that, so limit the connection or the account it signs in with.
What it is
A read-only MCP server built on CData's JDBC Driver for PostgreSQL. The driver exposes PostgreSQL as relational tables; the server puts three tools over it, so a client can discover what tables exist, read a table's columns, and run a SELECT — without anyone writing SQL by hand.
What you get
- The tables the driver exposes for PostgreSQL, returned as CSV with a header row —
postgresql_get_tables - The columns of one of those tables, also as CSV, so a query can be composed against real field names —
postgresql_get_columns - A SQL SELECT executed against live PostgreSQL data —
postgresql_run_query - Tool names that carry the prefix you set in the connection profile — the sample uses
Prefix=postgresql— so several CData servers can run side by side without colliding - A
Tablessetting that only picks which tables also get a ready-made description (blank means none); it does not limit what the tools can list or query, so limit the connection or the account it signs in with
Requirements
Java and Maven to build — mvn clean install produces CDataMCP-jar-with-dependencies.jar. The CData JDBC Driver for PostgreSQL is a separate download and needs licensing: run java -jar cdata.jdbc.postgresql.jar --license and enter a name, an email and either TRIAL or a licence key. Connection settings go in a .prp file carrying Prefix, ServerName (the sample uses CDataPostgreSQL), ServerVersion, DriverPath, DriverClass (cdata.jdbc.postgresql.PostgreSQLDriver), the JdbcUrl produced by the driver's connection-string utility, and the optional Tables list. The client then launches java -jar CDataMCP-jar-with-dependencies.jar postgresql.prp. Transport is stdio, so the server has to run on the same machine as the client. If the data source authenticates over OAuth, you approve it in a browser while building the connection string.
Setup effort
Build from source — git clone https://github.com/cdatasoftware/postgresql-mcp-server-by-cdata.git
USE CASES
01
Querying a Postgres database in plain language
The client lists the tables, reads the columns it needs, and writes the SELECT itself from the question you asked.
02
Understanding a schema you inherited
Enumerate tables and their columns to map an unfamiliar database before committing to a reporting query.
03
Checking production numbers mid-conversation
Read live rows rather than a nightly export, so a figure quoted in the conversation is the figure in the database.
3 tools
Listed in project docs. Your client may show a different list.
postgresql_get_columnspostgresql_run_queryBEFORE YOU INSTALL
What to know first
Tools you get
3 tools named in the project's documentation. Tool names start with the Prefix set in the .prp file; with the sample Prefix=postgresql they are postgresql_get_tables, postgresql_get_columns and postgresql_run_query. The build is read-only: run_query executes SQL SELECT only.
Where it runs
The documented client runs the server on your machine.
INSTALLATION
Connect your client
You clone and build this one yourself.
Server setup
TERMINAL
git clone https://github.com/cdatasoftware/postgresql-mcp-server-by-cdata.git
cd postgresql-mcp-server-by-cdata
mvn clean installDownload and install the CData JDBC Driver for PostgreSQL from https://www.cdata.com/drivers/postgresql/download/jdbc
License the driver: from the driver install's lib folder run java -jar cdata.jdbc.postgresql.jar --license, then enter your name, email, and "TRIAL" (or your license key)
Build the connection string: run java -jar cdata.jdbc.postgresql.jar to open the Connection String utility, click "Test Connection" (browser OAuth if the source needs it), and copy the connection string
Create postgresql.prp with:
FILE · postgresql.prp
Prefix=postgresql
ServerName=CDataPostgreSQL
ServerVersion=1.0
DriverPath=<YOUR_DRIVER_PATH>
DriverClass=cdata.jdbc.postgresql.PostgreSQLDriver
JdbcUrl=<YOUR_JDBC_URL>
Tables=Tables only picks which tables also get a ready-made description for your assistant, and empty means none; the server can still list and query every table your connection string reaches, so to keep data out of reach, limit that connection or the account it signs in with.
Add the mcpServers entry (block below) to claude_desktop_config.json, then fully quit and re-open the client
MCP Clients
Claude Desktop
CLAUDE DESKTOP · JSON
{
"mcpServers": {
"postgresql": {
"command": "<YOUR_PATH_TO_JAVA>",
"args": [
"-jar",
"<YOUR_PATH_TO_CDATA_MCP_JAR_WITH>",
"<YOUR_PATH_TO_POSTGRESQL>"
]
}
}
}