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1

Prerequisites

You need:
  • A PostgreSQL database — any version 12+, accessible from your machine
2

Install Isthmus

curl -fsSL https://isthmus.dev/install.sh | sh
The script downloads a prebuilt binary for your platform. If no release is available, it falls back to go install (requires Go 1.25+).Verify the binary is in your PATH:
isthmus --version
See Installation for all methods including manual download, go install, clone & build, and Docker.
3

Configure your MCP client

This example uses Claude Desktop. Open the config file:
open ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Add the Isthmus server:
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "isthmus": {
      "command": "isthmus",
      "env": {
        "DATABASE_URL": "postgres://user:password@localhost:5432/mydb"
      }
    }
  }
}
Replace the DATABASE_URL with your actual PostgreSQL connection string.
See Client Setup for other clients like Cursor, Windsurf, and VS Code.
4

Restart and ask a question

Restart Claude Desktop, then try:
“What tables are in my database?”
Claude will call discover to map out your database structure, then summarize what it finds.

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Next steps