io.github.bluwork/postgres-scout-mcp

Scout your PostgreSQL databases with AI - safety features, monitoring, and data quality

DatabasesTypeScriptv1.0.3

Postgres Scout MCP

Scout your PostgreSQL databases with AI - A production-ready Model Context Protocol server with built-in safety features, monitoring, and data quality tools.

npm License

What You Get

You ask:

"How healthy is my production database? Any urgent issues?"

Postgres Scout returns:


Overall Health Score: 78/100

Component Breakdown

ComponentScoreStatus
Cache Performance94/100Healthy
Index Efficiency82/100Good
Table Bloat61/100Needs Attention
Connection Usage75/100Fair

Issues Found

  • HIGH — Table orders has 34% bloat (2.1 GB wasted). VACUUM FULL recommended.
  • MEDIUM — 3 unused indexes on sessions consuming 890 MB.
  • LOW — Cache hit ratio for analytics_events is 71% (target: >90%).

Recommendations

  • Run VACUUM FULL orders during maintenance window
  • Drop unused indexes: idx_sessions_legacy, idx_sessions_old_token, idx_sessions_temp
  • Consider adding analytics_events to shared_buffers or partitioning by date

That's getHealthScore — one of 38 tools covering exploration, diagnostics, optimization, monitoring, data quality, and safe writes.

Quick Start

Claude Code

claude mcp add postgres-scout -- npx -y postgres-scout-mcp postgresql://localhost:5432/mydb

Then ask: "Show me the largest tables and whether they have any bloat issues."

Claude Desktop

Add to your Claude Desktop config (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json on macOS):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "postgres-scout": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "postgres-scout-mcp", "postgresql://localhost:5432/mydb"],
      "type": "stdio"
    }
  }
}
Cursor / VS Code

Add to your MCP settings:

{
  "postgres-scout": {
    "command": "npx",
    "args": ["-y", "postgres-scout-mcp", "postgresql://localhost:5432/mydb"]
  }
}
Read-Only vs Read-Write

The server runs in read-only mode by default. For write operations, run a separate instance:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "postgres-scout-readonly": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "postgres-scout-mcp", "--read-only", "postgresql://localhost:5432/production"],
      "type": "stdio"
    },
    "postgres-scout-readwrite": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "postgres-scout-mcp", "--read-write", "postgresql://localhost:5432/development"],
      "type": "stdio"
    }
  }
}
  • postgres-scout-readonly: Safe exploration, no risk of data modification
  • postgres-scout-readwrite: Write operations when explicitly needed

Tools

Explore — understand your database

  • listDatabases — databases the user has access to
  • getDatabaseStats — size, cache hit ratio, connection info
  • listSchemas — all schemas in the current database
  • listTables — tables with size and row statistics
  • describeTable — columns, constraints, indexes, and more

Query — run and analyze

  • executeQuery — run SELECT queries (or writes in read-write mode)
  • explainQuery — EXPLAIN plans for performance analysis
  • optimizeQuery — optimization recommendations for a specific query

Diagnose — find problems before they find you

  • getHealthScore — overall health score with component breakdown
  • detectAnomalies — anomalies in performance, connections, and data
  • analyzeTableBloat — bloat analysis for VACUUM planning
  • getSlowQueries — slow query analysis (requires pg_stat_statements)
  • suggestVacuum — VACUUM recommendations based on dead tuples and bloat

Optimize — make it faster

  • suggestIndexes — missing index recommendations from query patterns
  • suggestPartitioning — partitioning strategies for large tables
  • getIndexUsage — identify unused or underused indexes

Monitor — watch it live

  • getCurrentActivity — active queries and connections
  • analyzeLocks — lock contention and blocking queries
  • getLiveMetrics — real-time metrics over a time window
  • getHottestTables — tables with highest activity
  • getTableMetrics — comprehensive per-table I/O and scan stats

Data Quality — trust your data

  • findDuplicates — duplicate rows by column combination
  • findMissingValues — NULL analysis across columns
  • findOrphans — orphaned records with invalid foreign keys
  • checkConstraintViolations — test constraints before adding them
  • analyzeTypeConsistency — type inconsistencies in text columns

Relationships — follow the connections

  • exploreRelationships — multi-hop foreign key traversal
  • analyzeForeignKeys — foreign key health and performance

Time Series — temporal analysis

  • findRecent — rows within a time window
  • analyzeTimeSeries — window functions and anomaly detection
  • detectSeasonality — seasonal pattern detection

Export — get data out

  • exportTable — CSV, JSON, JSONL, or SQL
  • generateInsertStatements — INSERT statements for migration

Write (read-write only) — safe modifications

  • previewUpdate / previewDelete — see what would change before committing
  • safeUpdate — UPDATE with dry-run, row limits, empty WHERE protection
  • safeDelete — DELETE with dry-run, row limits, empty WHERE protection
  • safeInsert — INSERT with validation, batching, ON CONFLICT support

Security

  • Read-only by default — write operations must be explicitly enabled
  • All queries use parameterized values
  • SQL injection prevention with input validation and pattern detection
  • Identifier sanitization for table/column names
  • Rate limiting on all operations
  • Query timeouts to prevent long-running queries
  • Response size limits to prevent memory exhaustion

Examples

"What are the largest tables and do they have bloat?"

listTables({ schema: "public" })
analyzeTableBloat({ schema: "public", minSizeMb: 100 })

"Find duplicate emails in the users table."

findDuplicates({ table: "users", columns: ["email"] })

"Which queries are slowest and how can I speed them up?"

getSlowQueries({ minDurationMs: 100, limit: 10 })
suggestIndexes({ schema: "public" })

"Show me what's happening on the database right now."

getCurrentActivity()
getLiveMetrics({ metrics: ["queries", "connections", "cache"], duration: 30000, interval: 1000 })
getHottestTables({ limit: 5, orderBy: "seq_scan" })

"Find orphaned orders that reference deleted customers."

findOrphans({ table: "orders", foreignKey: "customer_id", referenceTable: "customers", referenceColumn: "id" })

Configuration

VariableDefaultDescription
QUERY_TIMEOUT30000Query timeout in milliseconds
MAX_RESULT_ROWS10000Maximum rows returned per query
ENABLE_RATE_LIMITtrueEnable rate limiting
RATE_LIMIT_MAX_REQUESTS100Requests per window
RATE_LIMIT_WINDOW_MS60000Rate limit window (ms)
PGMAXPOOLSIZE10Connection pool max size
PGMINPOOLSIZE2Connection pool min size
PGIDLETIMEOUT10000Idle connection timeout (ms)
ENABLE_LOGGINGfalseEnable file logging
LOG_DIR./logsLog file directory
LOG_LEVELinfoLog verbosity: debug, info, warn, error

CLI flags: --read-only (default), --read-write, --mode <mode>

Logging

File logging is disabled by default. Set ENABLE_LOGGING=true to enable. Two log files are created in LOG_DIR:

  • tool-usage.log — every tool call with timestamp, name, and arguments
  • error.log — errors with stack traces

Connection strings are automatically redacted in all output.

Development

git clone https://github.com/bluwork/postgres-scout-mcp.git
cd postgres-scout-mcp
pnpm install
pnpm build
pnpm test

License

Apache-2.0

Installation

Source-derived launch command. Check the maintainer’s required arguments and credentials before running:

bash
npx -y postgres-scout-mcp

Set up in your AI client

Merge this template into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json. Keep existing servers. Add any arguments, credentials, and permissions required by the maintainer; this template has not been install-tested.

json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "io-github-bluwork-postgres-scout-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "postgres-scout-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop completely for changes to take effect. Confirm the server appears connected in the client’s tool list, then try a read-only example from its documentation.

Claude Desktop setup reference

Package

postgres-scout-mcpnpm

Compatible MCP Clients

io.github.bluwork/postgres-scout-mcp works with any MCP-compatible client. Copy the config snippet from the Configuration section above and add it to the file shown for your client, then restart the application.

  • Claude Desktop~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.jsonRestart Claude Desktop completely for changes to take effect.
  • Cursor~/.cursor/mcp.jsonRestart Cursor for changes to take effect.
  • VS Code.vscode/mcp.jsonReload VS Code window for changes to take effect.
  • Windsurf~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.jsonRestart Windsurf for changes to take effect.
  • Claude Code.mcp.jsonSave at the project root, then start Claude Code in that project and review the MCP server approval prompt. Keep real credentials out of shared files.

Learn More