
Overview of supabase-mcp-server
What is supabase-mcp-server?
The supabase-mcp-server by alexander-zuev is an advanced server solution designed to enable seamless interaction between your favorite Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) and your Supabase database. This server allows developers to execute SQL queries, manage databases comprehensively, access the Management API, and handle user authentication with robust safety protocols. It integrates the Model Context Protocol (MCP), which facilitates secure connections between AI systems and various data sources, enhancing data access and management capabilities.
How to Use supabase-mcp-server
Prerequisites
To get started with the supabase-mcp-server, ensure that Python 3.12 or above is installed on your system. Installation can be done using any Python package manager like pipx or uv, with pipx being recommended for its ability to create isolated environments for each package.
Installation Steps
-
Install the server:
- Use pipx:
pipx install supabase-mcp-server
- Or use uv:
uv pip install supabase-mcp-server
- Use pipx:
-
Configure the server:
- Set environment variables for connecting to your Supabase database and accessing the Management API. These include
SUPABASE_PROJECT_REF
,SUPABASE_DB_PASSWORD
, and optionallySUPABASE_ACCESS_TOKEN
for enhanced functionalities.
- Set environment variables for connecting to your Supabase database and accessing the Management API. These include
-
Connect with MCP Clients:
- The server is compatible with various MCP clients like Cursor, Windsurf, and Cline. Configure these clients to communicate with the server using the appropriate command paths.
Usage
Once installed, the server can be used with any MCP client supporting the stdio
protocol. Simply configure your client to connect with the server, and you can start managing your Supabase databases, executing queries, and leveraging the Management API.
Key Features of supabase-mcp-server
- SQL Query Execution: Supports risk-assessed SQL operations with a three-tier safety system to ensure secure data handling.
- Database Management: Offers tools to manage schemas, tables, and database connections with automatic versioning for schema changes.
- Management API Access: Provides secure access to Supabase's Management API, enabling comprehensive project management capabilities.
- User Authentication Management: Utilizes Supabase's Auth Admin SDK to manage user accounts, including creation, deletion, and updates.
- Installation and Configuration Simplicity: Easy setup via package managers with clear configuration guidelines for seamless integration.
- Safety Controls: Features robust safety mechanisms for SQL operations, API requests, and SDK methods, ensuring data integrity and security.
- Log and Analytics Access: Facilitates access to various Supabase service logs for monitoring and troubleshooting applications.
- Universal Safety Mode: Ensures consistent risk management across all operations with a unified safety manager.
The supabase-mcp-server is a powerful tool for developers looking to enhance their database management capabilities and securely integrate with Supabase services, all while maintaining a high level of safety and control over their operations.
Enable your favorite IDE to safely execute SQL queries, manage your database end-to-end, access Management API, and handle user authentication with built-in safety controls.
🎉 The Future of Supabase MCP Server -> Query MCP
I'm thrilled to announce that Supabase MCP Server is evolving into thequery.dev! While I have big plans for the future, I want to make these commitments super clear:
- The core tool will stay free forever - free & open-source software is how I got into coding
- Premium features will be added on top - enhancing capabilities without limiting existing functionality
- First 2,000 early adopters will get special perks - join early for an exclusive treat! 🚀 BIG v4 Launch Coming Soon! 👉 Join Early Access at thequery.dev
Table of contents
Getting started • Feature overview • Troubleshooting • Changelog
✨ Key features
- 💻 Compatible with Cursor, Windsurf, Cline and other MCP clients supporting
stdio
protocol - 🔐 Control read-only and read-write modes of SQL query execution
- 🔍 Runtime SQL query validation with risk level assessment
- 🛡️ Three-tier safety system for SQL operations: safe, write, and destructive
- 🔄 Robust transaction handling for both direct and pooled database connections
- 📝 Automatic versioning of database schema changes
- 💻 Manage your Supabase projects with Supabase Management API
- 🧑💻 Manage users with Supabase Auth Admin methods via Python SDK
- 🔨 Pre-built tools to help Cursor & Windsurf work with MCP more effectively
- 📦 Dead-simple install & setup via package manager (uv, pipx, etc.)
Getting Started
Prerequisites
Installing the server requires the following on your system:
- Python 3.12+
If you plan to install via
uv
, ensure it's installed.
PostgreSQL Installation
PostgreSQL installation is no longer required for the MCP server itself, as it now uses asyncpg which doesn't depend on PostgreSQL development libraries. However, you'll still need PostgreSQL if you're running a local Supabase instance: MacOS
brew install postgresql@16
Windows
- Download and install PostgreSQL 16+ from
- Ensure "PostgreSQL Server" and "Command Line Tools" are selected during installation
Step 1. Installation
Since v0.2.0 I introduced support for package installation. You can use your favorite Python package manager to install the server via:
# if pipx is installed (recommended)
pipx install supabase-mcp-server
# if uv is installed
uv pip install supabase-mcp-server
pipx
is recommended because it creates isolated environments for each package.
You can also install the server manually by cloning the repository and running pipx install -e .
from the root directory.
Installing from source
If you would like to install from source, for example for local development:
uv venv
# On Mac
source .venv/bin/activate
# On Windows
.venv\Scripts\activate
# Install package in editable mode
uv pip install -e .
Installing via .ai
You can find the full instructions on how to use .ai to connect to this MCP server here.
Step 2. Configuration
The Supabase MCP server requires configuration to connect to your Supabase database, access the Management API, and use the Auth Admin SDK. This section explains all available configuration options and how to set them up.
Environment Variables
The server uses the following environment variables:
| Variable | Required | Default | Description |
| SUPABASE_PROJECT_REF
| Yes | 127.0.0.1:54322
| Your Supabase project reference ID (or local host:port) |
| SUPABASE_DB_PASSWORD
| Yes | postgres
| Your database password |
| SUPABASE_REGION
| Yes* | us-east-1
| AWS region where your Supabase project is hosted |
| SUPABASE_ACCESS_TOKEN
| No | None | Personal access token for Supabase Management API |
| SUPABASE_SERVICE_ROLE_KEY
| No | None | Service role key for Auth Admin SDK |
Note: The default values are configured for local Supabase development. For remote Supabase projects, you must provide your own values for
SUPABASE_PROJECT_REF
andSUPABASE_DB_PASSWORD
. 🚨 CRITICAL CONFIGURATION NOTE: For remote Supabase projects, you MUST specify the correct region where your project is hosted usingSUPABASE_REGION
. If you encounter a "Tenant or user not found" error, this is almost certainly because your region setting doesn't match your project's actual region. You can find your project's region in the Supabase dashboard under Project Settings.
Connection Types
Database Connection
- The server connects to your Supabase PostgreSQL database using the transaction pooler endpoint
- Local development uses a direct connection to
127.0.0.1:54322
- Remote projects use the format:
postgresql://postgres.[project_ref]:[password]@aws-0-[region].pooler.supabase.com:6543/postgres
⚠️ Important: Session pooling connections are not supported. The server exclusively uses transaction pooling for better compatibility with the MCP server architecture.
Management API Connection
- Requires
SUPABASE_ACCESS_TOKEN
to be set - Connects to the Supabase Management API at `
- Only works with remote Supabase projects (not local development)
Auth Admin SDK Connection
- Requires
SUPABASE_SERVICE_ROLE_KEY
to be set - For local development, connects to `
- For remote projects, connects to `
Configuration Methods
The server looks for configuration in this order (highest to lowest priority):
- Environment Variables: Values set directly in your environment
- Local
.env
File: A.env
file in your current working directory (only works when running from source) - Global Config File:
- Windows:
%APPDATA%\supabase-mcp\.env
- macOS/Linux:
~/.config/supabase-mcp/.env
- Default Settings: Local development defaults (if no other config is found)
⚠️ Important: When using the package installed via pipx or uv, local
.env
files in your project directory are not detected. You must use either environment variables or the global config file.
Setting Up Configuration
Option 1: Client-Specific Configuration (Recommended)
Set environment variables directly in your MCP client configuration (see client-specific setup instructions in Step 3). Most MCP clients support this approach, which keeps your configuration with your client settings.
Option 2: Global Configuration
Create a global .env
configuration file that will be used for all MCP server instances:
# Create config directory
# On macOS/Linux
mkdir -p ~/.config/supabase-mcp
# On Windows (PowerShell)
mkdir -Force "$env:APPDATA\supabase-mcp"
# Create and edit .env file
# On macOS/Linux
nano ~/.config/supabase-mcp/.env
# On Windows (PowerShell)
notepad "$env:APPDATA\supabase-mcp\.env"
Add your configuration values to the file:
SUPABASE_PROJECT_REF=your-project-ref
SUPABASE_DB_PASSWORD=your-db-password
SUPABASE_REGION=us-east-1
SUPABASE_ACCESS_TOKEN=your-access-token
SUPABASE_SERVICE_ROLE_KEY=your-service-role-key
Option 3: Project-Specific Configuration (Source Installation Only)
If you're running the server from source (not via package), you can create a .env
file in your project directory with the same format as above.
Finding Your Supabase Project Information
- Project Reference: Found in your Supabase project URL: ``
- Database Password: Set during project creation or found in Project Settings → Database
- Access Token: Generate at
- Service Role Key: Found in Project Settings → API → Project API keys
Supported Regions
The server supports all Supabase regions:
us-west-1
- West US (North California)us-east-1
- East US (North Virginia) - defaultus-east-2
- East US (Ohio)ca-central-1
- Canada (Central)eu-west-1
- West EU (Ireland)eu-west-2
- West Europe (London)eu-west-3
- West EU (Paris)eu-central-1
- Central EU (Frankfurt)eu-central-2
- Central Europe (Zurich)eu-north-1
- North EU (Stockholm)ap-south-1
- South Asia (Mumbai)ap-southeast-1
- Southeast Asia (Singapore)ap-northeast-1
- Northeast Asia (Tokyo)ap-northeast-2
- Northeast Asia (Seoul)ap-southeast-2
- Oceania (Sydney)sa-east-1
- South America (São Paulo)
Limitations
- No Self-Hosted Support: The server only supports official Supabase.com hosted projects and local development
- No Connection String Support: Custom connection strings are not supported
- No Session Pooling: Only transaction pooling is supported for database connections
- API and SDK Features: Management API and Auth Admin SDK features only work with remote Supabase projects, not local development
Step 3. Usage
In general, any MCP client that supports stdio
protocol should work with this MCP server. This server was explicitly tested to work with:
- Cursor
- Windsurf
- Cline
- Claude Desktop Additionally, you can also use .ai to install this server a number of clients, including the ones above. Follow the guides below to install this MCP server in your client.
Cursor
Go to Settings -> Features -> MCP Servers and add a new server with this configuration:
# can be set to any name
name: supabase
type: command
# if you installed with pipx
command: supabase-mcp-server
# if you installed with uv
command: uv run supabase-mcp-server
# if the above doesn't work, use the full path (recommended)
command: /full/path/to/supabase-mcp-server # Find with 'which supabase-mcp-server' (macOS/Linux) or 'where supabase-mcp-server' (Windows)
If configuration is correct, you should see a green dot indicator and the number of tools exposed by the server. How successful Cursor config looks like
Windsurf
Go to Cascade -> Click on the hammer icon -> Configure -> Fill in the configuration:
"mcpServers": {
"supabase": {
"command": "/Users/username/.local/bin/supabase-mcp-server", // update path
"env": {
"SUPABASE_PROJECT_REF": "your-project-ref",
"SUPABASE_DB_PASSWORD": "your-db-password",
"SUPABASE_REGION": "us-east-1", // optional, defaults to us-east-1
"SUPABASE_ACCESS_TOKEN": "your-access-token", // optional, for management API
"SUPABASE_SERVICE_ROLE_KEY": "your-service-role-key" // optional, for Auth Admin SDK
If configuration is correct, you should see green dot indicator and clickable supabase server in the list of available servers. How successful Windsurf config looks like
Claude Desktop
Claude Desktop also supports MCP servers through a JSON configuration. Follow these steps to set up the Supabase MCP server:
- Find the full path to the executable (this step is critical):
# On macOS/Linux
which supabase-mcp-server
# On Windows
where supabase-mcp-server
Copy the full path that is returned (e.g., /Users/username/.local/bin/supabase-mcp-server
).
2. Configure the MCP server in Claude Desktop:
- Open Claude Desktop
- Go to Settings → Developer -> Edit Config MCP Servers
- Add a new configuration with the following JSON:
"mcpServers": {
"supabase": {
"command": "/full/path/to/supabase-mcp-server", // Replace with the actual path from step 1
"env": {
"SUPABASE_PROJECT_REF": "your-project-ref",
"SUPABASE_DB_PASSWORD": "your-db-password",
"SUPABASE_REGION": "us-east-1", // optional, defaults to us-east-1
"SUPABASE_ACCESS_TOKEN": "your-access-token", // optional, for management API
"SUPABASE_SERVICE_ROLE_KEY": "your-service-role-key" // optional, for Auth Admin SDK
⚠️ Important: Unlike Windsurf and Cursor, Claude Desktop requires the full absolute path to the executable. Using just the command name (
supabase-mcp-server
) will result in a "spawn ENOENT" error. If configuration is correct, you should see the Supabase MCP server listed as available in Claude Desktop. How successful Windsurf config looks like
Cline
Cline also supports MCP servers through a similar JSON configuration. Follow these steps to set up the Supabase MCP server:
- Find the full path to the executable (this step is critical):
# On macOS/Linux
which supabase-mcp-server
# On Windows
where supabase-mcp-server
Copy the full path that is returned (e.g., /Users/username/.local/bin/supabase-mcp-server
).
2. Configure the MCP server in Cline:
- Open Cline in VS Code
- Click on the "MCP Servers" tab in the Cline sidebar
- Click "Configure MCP Servers"
- This will open the
cline_mcp_settings.json
file - Add the following configuration:
"mcpServers": {
"supabase": {
"command": "/full/path/to/supabase-mcp-server", // Replace with the actual path from step 1
"env": {
"SUPABASE_PROJECT_REF": "your-project-ref",
"SUPABASE_DB_PASSWORD": "your-db-password",
"SUPABASE_REGION": "us-east-1", // optional, defaults to us-east-1
"SUPABASE_ACCESS_TOKEN": "your-access-token", // optional, for management API
"SUPABASE_SERVICE_ROLE_KEY": "your-service-role-key" // optional, for Auth Admin SDK
If configuration is correct, you should see a green indicator next to the Supabase MCP server in the Cline MCP Servers list, and a message confirming "supabase MCP server connected" at the bottom of the panel. How successful configuration in Cline looks like
Troubleshooting
Here are some tips & tricks that might help you:
- Debug installation - run
supabase-mcp-server
directly from the terminal to see if it works. If it doesn't, there might be an issue with the installation. - MCP Server configuration - if the above step works, it means the server is installed and configured correctly. As long as you provided the right command, IDE should be able to connect. Make sure to provide the right path to the server executable.
- "No tools found" error - If you see "Client closed - no tools available" in Cursor despite the package being installed:
- Find the full path to the executable by running
which supabase-mcp-server
(macOS/Linux) orwhere supabase-mcp-server
(Windows) - Use the full path in your MCP server configuration instead of just
supabase-mcp-server
- For example:
/Users/username/.local/bin/supabase-mcp-server
orC:\Users\username\.local\bin\supabase-mcp-server.exe
- Environment variables - to connect to the right database, make sure you either set env variables in
mcp_config.json
or in.env
file placed in a global config directory (~/.config/supabase-mcp/.env
on macOS/Linux or%APPDATA%\supabase-mcp\.env
on Windows). - Accessing logs - The MCP server writes detailed logs to a file:
- Log file location:
- macOS/Linux:
~/.local/share/supabase-mcp/mcp_server.log
- Windows:
%USERPROFILE%\.local\share\supabase-mcp\mcp_server.log
- Logs include connection status, configuration details, and operation results
- View logs using any text editor or terminal commands:
# On macOS/Linux
cat ~/.local/share/supabase-mcp/mcp_server.log
# On Windows (PowerShell)
Get-Content "$env:USERPROFILE\.local\share\supabase-mcp\mcp_server.log"
If you are stuck or any of the instructions above are incorrect, please raise an issue.
MCP Inspector
A super useful tool to help debug MCP server issues is MCP Inspector. If you installed from source, you can run supabase-mcp-inspector
from the project repo and it will run the inspector instance. Coupled with logs this will give you complete overview over what's happening in the server.
📝 Running
supabase-mcp-inspector
, if installed from package, doesn't work properly - I will validate and fix in the coming release.
Feature Overview
Database query tools
Since v0.3+ server provides comprehensive database management capabilities with built-in safety controls:
- SQL Query Execution: Execute PostgreSQL queries with risk assessment
- Three-tier safety system:
safe
: Read-only operations (SELECT) - always allowedwrite
: Data modifications (INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE) - require unsafe modedestructive
: Schema changes (DROP, CREATE) - require unsafe mode + confirmation- SQL Parsing and Validation:
- Uses PostgreSQL's parser (pglast) for accurate analysis and provides clear feedback on safety requirements
- Automatic Migration Versioning:
- Database-altering operations operations are automatically versioned
- Generates descriptive names based on operation type and target
- Safety Controls:
- Default SAFE mode allows only read-only operations
- All statements run in transaction mode via
asyncpg
- 2-step confirmation for high-risk operations
- Available Tools:
get_schemas
: Lists schemas with sizes and table countsget_tables
: Lists tables, foreign tables, and views with metadataget_table_schema
: Gets detailed table structure (columns, keys, relationships)execute_postgresql
: Executes SQL statements against your databaseconfirm_destructive_operation
: Executes high-risk operations after confirmationretrieve_migrations
: Gets migrations with filtering and pagination optionslive_dangerously
: Toggles between safe and unsafe modes
Management API tools
Since v0.3.0 server provides secure access to the Supabase Management API with built-in safety controls:
- Available Tools:
send_management_api_request
: Sends arbitrary requests to Supabase Management API with auto-injection of project refget_management_api_spec
: Gets the enriched API specification with safety information- Supports multiple query modes: by domain, by specific path/method, or all paths
- Includes risk assessment information for each endpoint
- Provides detailed parameter requirements and response formats
- Helps LLMs understand the full capabilities of the Supabase Management API
get_management_api_safety_rules
: Gets all safety rules with human-readable explanationslive_dangerously
: Toggles between safe and unsafe operation modes- Safety Controls:
- Uses the same safety manager as database operations for consistent risk management
- Operations categorized by risk level:
safe
: Read-only operations (GET) - always allowedunsafe
: State-changing operations (POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE) - require unsafe modeblocked
: Destructive operations (delete project, etc.) - never allowed- Default safe mode prevents accidental state changes
- Path-based pattern matching for precise safety rules Note: Management API tools only work with remote Supabase instances and are not compatible with local Supabase development setups.
Auth Admin tools
I was planning to add support for Python SDK methods to the MCP server. Upon consideration I decided to only add support for Auth admin methods as I often found myself manually creating test users which was prone to errors and time consuming. Now I can just ask Cursor to create a test user and it will be done seamlessly. Check out the full Auth Admin SDK method docs to know what it can do. Since v0.3.6 server supports direct access to Supabase Auth Admin methods via Python SDK:
- Includes the following tools:
get_auth_admin_methods_spec
to retrieve documentation for all available Auth Admin methodscall_auth_admin_method
to directly invoke Auth Admin methods with proper parameter handling- Supported methods:
get_user_by_id
: Retrieve a user by their IDlist_users
: List all users with paginationcreate_user
: Create a new userdelete_user
: Delete a user by their IDinvite_user_by_email
: Send an invite link to a user's emailgenerate_link
: Generate an email link for various authentication purposesupdate_user_by_id
: Update user attributes by IDdelete_factor
: Delete a factor on a user (currently not implemented in SDK)
Why use Auth Admin SDK instead of raw SQL queries?
The Auth Admin SDK provides several key advantages over direct SQL manipulation:
- Functionality: Enables operations not possible with SQL alone (invites, magic links, MFA)
- Accuracy: More reliable then creating and executing raw SQL queries on auth schemas
- Simplicity: Offers clear methods with proper validation and error handling
- Response format:
- All methods return structured Python objects instead of raw dictionaries
- Object attributes can be accessed using dot notation (e.g.,
user.id
instead ofuser["id"]
) - Edge cases and limitations:
- UUID validation: Many methods require valid UUID format for user IDs and will return specific validation errors
- Email configuration: Methods like
invite_user_by_email
andgenerate_link
require email sending to be configured in your Supabase project - Link types: When generating links, different link types have different requirements:
signup
links don't require the user to existmagiclink
andrecovery
links require the user to already exist in the system- Error handling: The server provides detailed error messages from the Supabase API, which may differ from the dashboard interface
- Method availability: Some methods like
delete_factor
are exposed in the API but not fully implemented in the SDK
Logs & Analytics
The server provides access to Supabase logs and analytics data, making it easier to monitor and troubleshoot your applications:
- Available Tool:
retrieve_logs
- Access logs from any Supabase service - Log Collections:
postgres
: Database server logsapi_gateway
: API gateway requestsauth
: Authentication eventspostgrest
: RESTful API service logspooler
: Connection pooling logsstorage
: Object storage operationsrealtime
: WebSocket subscription logsedge_functions
: Serverless function executionscron
: Scheduled job logspgbouncer
: Connection pooler logs- Features: Filter by time, search text, apply field filters, or use custom SQL queries Simplifies debugging across your Supabase stack without switching between interfaces or writing complex queries.
Automatic Versioning of Database Changes
"With great power comes great responsibility." While execute_postgresql
tool coupled with aptly named live_dangerously
tool provide a powerful and simple way to manage your Supabase database, it also means that dropping a table or modifying one is one chat message away. In order to reduce the risk of irreversible changes, since v0.3.8 the server supports:
- automatic creation of migration scripts for all write & destructive sql operations executed on the database
- improved safety mode of query execution, in which all queries are categorized in:
safe
type: always allowed. Includes all read-only ops.write
type: requireswrite
mode to be enabled by the user.destructive
type: requireswrite
mode to be enabled by the user AND a 2-step confirmation of query execution for clients that do not execute tools automatically.
Universal Safety Mode
Since v0.3.8 Safety Mode has been standardized across all services (database, API, SDK) using a universal safety manager. This provides consistent risk management and a unified interface for controlling safety settings across the entire MCP server. All operations (SQL queries, API requests, SDK methods) are categorized into risk levels:
Low
risk: Read-only operations that don't modify data or structure (SELECT queries, GET API requests)Medium
risk: Write operations that modify data but not structure (INSERT/UPDATE/DELETE, most POST/PUT API requests)High
risk: Destructive operations that modify database structure or could cause data loss (DROP/TRUNCATE, DELETE API endpoints)Extreme
risk: Operations with severe consequences that are blocked entirely (deleting projects) Safety controls are applied based on risk level:- Low risk operations are always allowed
- Medium risk operations require unsafe mode to be enabled
- High risk operations require unsafe mode AND explicit confirmation
- Extreme risk operations are never allowed
How confirmation flow works
Any high-risk operations (be it a postgresql or api request) will be blocked even in unsafe
mode.
Every high-risk operation is blocked
You will have to confirm and approve every high-risk operation explicitly in order for it to be executed.
Explicit approval is always required
Changelog
- 📦 Simplified installation via package manager - ✅ (v0.2.0)
- 🌎 Support for different Supabase regions - ✅ (v0.2.2)
- 🎮 Programmatic access to Supabase management API with safety controls - ✅ (v0.3.0)
- 👷♂️ Read and read-write database SQL queries with safety controls - ✅ (v0.3.0)
- 🔄 Robust transaction handling for both direct and pooled connections - ✅ (v0.3.2)
- 🐍 Support methods and objects available in native Python SDK - ✅ (v0.3.6)
- 🔍 Stronger SQL query validation ✅ (v0.3.8)
- 📝 Automatic versioning of database changes ✅ (v0.3.8)
- 📖 Radically improved knowledge and tools of api spec ✅ (v0.3.8)
- ✍️ Improved consistency of migration-related tools for a more organized database vcs ✅ (v0.3.10) For a more detailed roadmap, please see this discussion on GitHub.
Star History
Star History Chart Enjoy! ☺️
How to Use
To use the supabase-mcp-server, follow these steps:
- Visit https://github.com/alexander-zuev/supabase-mcp-serverhttps://github.com/alexan...
- Follow the setup instructions to create an account (if required)
- Connect the MCP server to your Claude Desktop application
- Start using supabase-mcp-server capabilities within your Claude conversations
Additional Information
Created
March 12, 2025
Company
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