Use with Cursor

Connect Cursor to PostgreSQL through pREST’s read-only MCP tools. The agent can discover schemas and query data via your running pREST instance.

pREST speaks MCP over HTTP at /_mcp. Cursor launches stdio MCP servers, so you need the official prest-mcp adapter as a bridge.

Requires pREST v2.1.0+.

For Cursor rules and skills (separate from MCP), see pREST for Cursor plugin.

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Prerequisites

• pREST running locally or on a reachable host (see Get pREST)

• prest-mcp installed (Homebrew, Go, or Docker)

• Cursor with MCP support enabled

Verify the HTTP endpoint before configuring Cursor:

curl -s http://localhost:3000/_mcp | head

You should see JSON with "name": "prest" and a tools array. If auth is enabled, include your usual Authorization header.

Prefer a read-only PostgreSQL role for AI access.

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Install the adapter

brew install prest/tap/prest-mcp

Other options: Install pREST MCP Adapter. Confirm the binary is on your PATH:

which prest-mcp

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Configure Cursor

Project config (recommended)

Create or edit .cursor/mcp.json in your project root:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "prest": {
      "command": "prest-mcp",
      "env": {
        "PREST_MCP_URL": "http://localhost:3000/_mcp"
      }
    }
  }
}

With authentication

When auth is enabled on pREST:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "prest": {
      "command": "prest-mcp",
      "env": {
        "PREST_MCP_URL": "https://api.example.com/_mcp",
        "PREST_MCP_TOKEN": "your-jwt-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Prefer injecting the token from your environment or a secret store rather than committing JWTs to git. If you must keep secrets out of the repo, use Cursor’s user-level MCP settings instead of the project file.

Absolute path

If Cursor cannot find prest-mcp on PATH:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "prest": {
      "command": "/opt/homebrew/bin/prest-mcp",
      "env": {
        "PREST_MCP_URL": "http://localhost:3000/_mcp"
      }
    }
  }
}

On Intel Mac Homebrew installs, the path is often /usr/local/bin/prest-mcp.

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Verify in Cursor

1. Restart Cursor or reload MCP servers from Settings → MCP.

2. Confirm the prest server shows as connected.

3. Ask the agent something that needs catalog access, for example:

   • “List databases available through pREST.”

   • “Describe the public.users table.”

   • “Select the first 5 rows from public.orders ordered by id.”

The agent should call tools such as prest.list_databases, prest.describe_table, or prest.select.{database}.{schema}.{table}. Tool behavior and limits are documented in MCP over HTTP.

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Optional: Docker-backed adapter

If you prefer not to install a local binary:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "prest": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "--rm",
        "-i",
        "-e",
        "PREST_MCP_URL=http://host.docker.internal:3000/_mcp",
        "ghcr.io/prest/prest-mcp-adapter:0.1.3"
      ]
    }
  }
}

host.docker.internal reaches pREST on the host from Docker Desktop (macOS/Windows). On Linux you may need --add-host=host.docker.internal:host-gateway or the host’s LAN IP.

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Troubleshooting

Symptom	Fix
Server fails to start	Ensure prest-mcp is installed and the command path is correct
Tools never appear	Confirm curl to /_mcp works; check ACL / empty catalog
Auth errors	Set PREST_MCP_TOKEN to a valid JWT
Connection refused	Start pREST; match host/port in PREST_MCP_URL
Stale tools after schema change	Restart pREST (schema-aware tools are generated at startup)

More detail: Install pREST MCP Adapter and MCP over HTTP.

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Next steps

• pREST for Cursor plugin — rules and skills for pREST workflows

• Read-only PostgreSQL for AI

• PostgreSQL to AI agent

• Use with VS Code and Copilot · Use with Claude Desktop

Related documentation

• MCP Overview

• MCP over HTTP

• Permissions

• Auth