PG Lens

A browser-based Postgres database explorer. Connect to any Postgres database and browse tables, edit data, run SQL queries, and navigate relations.

Install

Desktop App (macOS)

Download the latest .dmg from Releases.

Currently available for macOS (Apple Silicon). More platforms coming soon.

Note: The app is not signed with an Apple Developer certificate. On first launch macOS will block it. To open it:

1. Open System Settings > Privacy & Security
2. Scroll down and click Open Anyway next to the PG Lens message

Or run this in Terminal after installing:

xattr -cr "/Applications/PG Lens.app"

CLI (npm)

npx @ludviglundh/pglens

Or with a connection string:

npx @ludviglundh/pglens postgres://user:pass@localhost:5432/mydb

No installation required. Starts a local server and opens the UI in your browser.

CLI Options

pglens [connection-string] [options]

Options:
  -p, --port     Port to listen on (default: 4985)
  --host         Host to bind to (default: localhost)
  --no-open      Don't open browser automatically
  -h, --help     Show this help message

MCP Server

PG Lens can run as an MCP server, giving AI assistants (Claude Code, Cursor, etc.) direct access to your PostgreSQL database.

pglens mcp postgres://user:pass@localhost:5432/mydb

By default the MCP server is read-only. To allow write operations:

pglens mcp postgres://user:pass@localhost:5432/mydb --read-write

The connection string can also be provided via the DATABASE_URL environment variable.

Claude Code

Add to .claude/settings.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pglens": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@ludviglundh/pglens", "mcp"],
      "env": { "DATABASE_URL": "postgres://user:pass@localhost:5432/mydb" }
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop / Cursor

Add to your MCP config file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pglens": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@ludviglundh/pglens", "mcp", "postgres://user:pass@localhost:5432/mydb"]
    }
  }
}

Available Tools

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | list_schemas | List all database schemas | | list_tables | Tables and views in a schema with row counts | | describe_table | Columns, indexes, and foreign key references | | get_rows | Paginated rows with sorting, filtering, and search | | list_enums | Enum types and their values | | query | Execute SQL (read-only by default) | | execute_mutation | Batch INSERT/UPDATE/DELETE (requires --read-write) |

A postgres://schema resource is also available, providing a full database schema overview.

Features

Schema Browser

• Schema selector with table search and filter
• Tables and views with row counts
• Enum types with values (toggleable)

Data Browser

• Paginated table with configurable page size (25/50/100/250)
• Column sorting and resizing
• Type-aware cell rendering (timestamps, UUIDs, booleans, enums, JSON, binary, NULL)
• Inline sub-tables for FK and reverse relation navigation
• CSV and JSON export

Filtering

• Inline filter builder with operators: =, <>, >, >=, <, <=, LIKE, ILIKE, NOT LIKE, IN, IS NULL, IS NOT NULL
• Draft-then-apply workflow

CRUD

• Double-click cells to edit via type-specific popover editors
• Inline select for booleans and enums
• Date picker with calendar and time scrollers for timestamps
• Batch mode: stage edits, inserts, and deletes, then review and save
• Add rows via dialog, delete via checkboxes

SQL Editor

• CodeMirror 6 with PostgreSQL syntax highlighting
• Run full query or selected text (Ctrl/Cmd+Enter)
• Export results as CSV or JSON
• Destructive statement warnings

Other

• Dark mode with system detection
• URL state persistence (tabs, pagination survive refresh)
• Collapsible sidebar with settings menu

Security

• Binds to localhost only by default
• Use --host 0.0.0.0 to expose to the network (auto-generates auth token)
• Destructive SQL operations require confirmation

Tech Stack

• Backend: Hono + Node.js
• Frontend: React, Vite, Tailwind CSS, shadcn/ui
• Database: postgres.js + pg_catalog introspection
• Table: TanStack React Table
• SQL Editor: CodeMirror 6
• Desktop: Tauri v2
• URL State: nuqs

Development

# Install dependencies
bun install

# Start dev server (backend + frontend with hot reload)
bun run dev

# Build for production (npm)
bun run build

# Build desktop app (macOS .dmg)
bun run tauri:build

# Type check
bun run typecheck

License

MIT