supabase-mcp-server MCP — Use Cases, Install & Live Demo

Why use it

Key features

Three-tier query safety: safe (read), write (requires explicit write mode), destructive (requires extra confirmation)
Automatic versioned migrations for schema changes
Management API passthrough with auto-injected project ref
Auth Admin SDK — create/delete users, generate magic links
Logs + analytics across 9+ Supabase services

Live Demo

What it looks like in practice

supabase-2.replay ▶ ready

0/0

Install

Pick your client

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json · Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "supabase-2": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "supabase-mcp-server"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Open Claude Desktop → Settings → Developer → Edit Config. Restart after saving.

~/.cursor/mcp.json · .cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "supabase-2": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "supabase-mcp-server"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Cursor uses the same mcpServers schema as Claude Desktop. Project config wins over global.

VS Code → Cline → MCP Servers → Edit

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "supabase-2": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "supabase-mcp-server"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Click the MCP Servers icon in the Cline sidebar, then "Edit Configuration".

~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "supabase-2": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "supabase-mcp-server"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Same shape as Claude Desktop. Restart Windsurf to pick up changes.

~/.continue/config.json

{
  "mcpServers": [
    {
      "name": "supabase-2",
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "supabase-mcp-server"
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Continue uses an array of server objects rather than a map.

~/.config/zed/settings.json

{
  "context_servers": {
    "supabase-2": {
      "command": {
        "path": "uvx",
        "args": [
          "supabase-mcp-server"
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

Add to context_servers. Zed hot-reloads on save.

claude mcp add supabase-2 -- uvx supabase-mcp-server

One-liner. Verify with claude mcp list. Remove with claude mcp remove.

Use Cases

Real-world ways to use supabase-mcp-server

Ask questions about your app data in Supabase

👤 Founders, PMs on Supabase-backed apps ⏱ ~10 min beginner

When to use: You want usage / retention numbers without opening the Supabase SQL editor.

Prerequisites

QUERY_API_KEY (free at thequery.dev) — Sign up, copy key
SUPABASE_PROJECT_REF + DB password — Supabase dashboard > Project Settings

Flow

Stay in safe mode

Set mode to safe. How many users signed up last week?✓ Copied

→ Read-only result; no mutation possible
Drill in

Of those, how many completed onboarding (have any row in profiles)?✓ Copied

→ Retention-style number

Outcome: Quick answers with ironclad read-only guarantee.

Pitfalls

Switching to write mode for 'just this query' and forgetting to switch back — Tell Claude explicitly: 'Return to safe mode after this query.'

Make and track a schema change as a real migration

👤 Devs on Supabase ⏱ ~15 min intermediate

When to use: You need to add a column or index and want the change captured as a migration file, not an ad-hoc ALTER.

Prerequisites

SUPABASE_ACCESS_TOKEN for Management API — Dashboard > Account > Access Tokens

Flow

Switch to write mode

Set mode to write. Add column plan (text, default 'free') to users table.✓ Copied

→ ALTER executed; migration file created
Review and commit

Show the generated migration file. I'll commit it to our repo.✓ Copied

→ SQL file path + contents

Outcome: Schema change + tracked migration in one step.

Pitfalls

Migration conflicts with CI when team members also make changes — Coordinate via branch-per-migration; don't do this in main during team hours

Combine with: github

Provision test users for dev/staging via Auth Admin SDK

👤 QA engineers, devs ⏱ ~10 min intermediate

When to use: You need 20 test accounts with specific metadata to exercise a feature.

Prerequisites

SUPABASE_SERVICE_ROLE_KEY — Dashboard > API settings (keep secret!)

Flow

Create users in bulk

Create 20 test users: [email protected] through [email protected], password 'Test12345!', with metadata {role: 'qa', plan: 'free'}.✓ Copied

→ 20 user UUIDs returned
Generate magic links

For each, generate a magic sign-in link and save to /tmp/qa-users.tsv.✓ Copied

→ TSV with email + link

Outcome: QA-ready accounts provisioned in under a minute.

Pitfalls

Service role key is god-mode — never put in prompt context in front of a user — Keep in env var; never echo

Combine with: filesystem

Combinations

Pair with other MCPs for X10 leverage

supabase-2 + github

Generate migration file via MCP, commit via git MCP

Add a column via write mode, then commit the generated migration file with message 'feat: add users.plan'.✓ Copied

Tools

What this MCP exposes

Tool	Inputs	When to call	Cost
execute_sql	query: str, mode: 'safe'\|'write'\|'destructive'	Main entry for arbitrary SQL, gated by current mode	1 DB query
set_mode	mode: 'safe'\|'write'\|'destructive'	Change safety tier; default is safe	free
management_api_request	path, method, body?	Manage project settings, extensions, buckets via Management API	1 API call
auth_admin_create_user	email, password?, user_metadata?	Provision users for testing or onboarding	1 Auth call
auth_admin_generate_link	user_id, type: 'magiclink'\|'recovery'	Get a sign-in or recovery URL for a user	1 Auth call
get_logs	service: 'api'\|'auth'\|'db'\|..., since, until	Debug by service	1 API call

Cost & Limits

What this costs to run

API quota: Bounded by Supabase plan (DB connections, Management API rate limits)
Tokens per call: SQL results: depends on LIMIT; always cap
Monetary: Free (Apache 2.0). Supabase costs are your existing bill.
Tip: Stay in safe mode by default. Only escalate when you explicitly intend to mutate.

Security

Permissions, secrets, blast radius

Minimum scopes: SELECT for safe mode; INSERT/UPDATE for write; all for destructive

Credential storage: Env vars. Service role key is especially sensitive.

Data egress: Queries go to your Supabase project; LLM sees the result rows

Never grant: Service role key to anything that can be reached over untrusted transport

Maintainer has announced this MCP is no longer actively maintained — the official Supabase MCP (supabase-community/supabase-mcp) is now recommended.
Destructive mode has no extra wrapper beyond the mode toggle; the toggle itself is the confirmation.

Troubleshooting

Common errors and fixes

QUERY_API_KEY invalid

Regenerate at thequery.dev. Note: this is a separate service wrapping Supabase and requires its own signup.

Write tool refuses in safe mode

Call set_mode write first. Remember to set back to safe when done.

Transaction pool exhausted

Only transaction pooling is supported here. Reduce concurrency or upgrade Supabase plan.

Verify: Supabase dashboard > DB > Connection Pooling

Alternatives

supabase-mcp-server vs others

Alternative	When to use it instead	Tradeoff
Official Supabase MCP	You're starting fresh — use the official one first	Maintained by Supabase; this community one has been deprecated by its author
postgres MCP	You only need SQL, not Auth/Management APIs	Read-only, universal; no Supabase-specific features
Neon MCP	You're on Neon, not Supabase	Adds DB branching for safe migration testing

More

Resources

📖 Read the official README on GitHub

🐙 Browse open issues

🔍 Browse all 400+ MCP servers and Skills