> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://isthmus.dev/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Quickstart

> Get Isthmus running with Claude Desktop in under 5 minutes.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Prerequisites">
    You need:

    * **A PostgreSQL database** — any version 12+, accessible from your machine
  </Step>

  <Step title="Install Isthmus">
    ```bash theme={null}
    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+](https://go.dev/doc/install)).

    Verify the binary is in your PATH:

    ```bash theme={null}
    isthmus --version
    ```

    <Info>
      See [Installation](/docs/installation) for all methods including manual download, `go install`, clone & build, and Docker.
    </Info>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Configure your MCP client">
    This example uses Claude Desktop. Open the config file:

    <Tabs>
      <Tab title="macOS">
        ```bash theme={null}
        open ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
        ```
      </Tab>

      <Tab title="Windows">
        ```
        %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
        ```
      </Tab>
    </Tabs>

    Add the Isthmus server:

    ```json theme={null}
    {
      "mcpServers": {
        "isthmus": {
          "command": "isthmus",
          "env": {
            "DATABASE_URL": "postgres://user:password@localhost:5432/mydb"
          }
        }
      }
    }
    ```

    Replace the `DATABASE_URL` with your actual PostgreSQL connection string.

    <Info>
      See [Client Setup](/docs/clients/claude-desktop) for other clients like Cursor, Windsurf, and VS Code.
    </Info>
  </Step>

  <Step title="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.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Next steps

* [Installation](/docs/installation) — all install methods including Docker and build from source
* [Configuration](/docs/configuration) — env vars, CLI flags, and a full reference table
* [Tools Reference](/docs/tools/overview) — what each tool does and how the AI uses them
* [Policy Engine](/docs/features/policy-engine) — enrich responses with business context
* [Column Masking](/docs/features/column-masking) — protect PII in query results and sample rows
* [HTTP Transport](/docs/features/http-transport) — serve MCP over HTTP for web clients and ChatGPT Desktop
* [OpenTelemetry](/docs/features/opentelemetry) — tracing and metrics for production monitoring