PostgreSQL

Expose PostgreSQL as a REST and MCP API with pREST — native adapter, auto CRUD, auth, ACL, and read-only MCP at /_mcp.

pREST turns a PostgreSQL database into an instant REST API and (from v2.1.0) a read-only MCP endpoint. PostgreSQL is the Native adapter — the first and primary dialect implementation.

Last updated: July 11, 2026 · Label: Native

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Supported features

Capability	Status
Connection	supported
Schema discovery	supported
CRUD	supported
Filtering / ordering / pagination	supported
Transactions	supported
Scripts (/_QUERIES)	supported
MCP (/_mcp)	supported (v2.1.0+)
ACL / permissions	supported
pgvector KNN / distance filtering (_korder, :vecdist)	supported (v2.4.0+, requires pgvector extension) — see Parameters

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Connection

export PREST_VERSION=2
export PREST_PG_URL='postgres://user:pass@localhost:5432/mydb?sslmode=disable'
# or discrete PREST_PG_HOST / PREST_PG_USER / PREST_PG_PASS / PREST_PG_DATABASE

TOML [pg] and multi-database [[databases]] are documented in Configuring pREST and Multi-database.

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Quick CRUD example

REST (Representational State Transfer) maps HTTP verbs to CRUD on SQL tables at /{database}/{schema}/{table} — API Reference.

GET /mydb/public/users
POST /mydb/public/users
Content-Type: application/json

{"name": "ada"}

See also Parameters.

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MCP

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is an open standard for connecting AI apps and agents to tools and data. On PostgreSQL, pREST exposes read-only MCP at /_mcp on the same server as REST — MCP over HTTP.

GET /_mcp
POST /_mcp

AI client setup: docs.prestd.com/ai.

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Known limitations

• Requires PostgreSQL 9.5+ (project baseline).

• SQL dialect features beyond what the adapter generates (exotic types, some extensions) may need custom queries.

• Other SQL engines are not this adapter — see roadmap.

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Related

• Databases

• Acronyms (REST, MCP)

• Get pREST

• Deploying with Docker

• Permissions