Read Only Postgres

PostgreSQL Read-Only Query Skill

Execute safe, read-only queries against configured PostgreSQL databases.

Requirements

• Python 3.8+
• psycopg2-binary: pip install -r requirements.txt

Setup

Create connections.json in the skill directory or ~/.config/claude/read-only-postgres-connections.json.

Security: Set file permissions to 600 since it contains credentials:

chmod 600 connections.json

{
  "databases": [
    {
      "name": "app-db-dev",
      "description": "Primary app database (public schema: users, organizations, orders, order_items, events)",
      "host": "localhost",
      "port": 5432,
      "database": "app_dev",
      "user": "app_user",
      "password": "app_password",
      "sslmode": "disable"
    },
    {
      "name": "app-db-staging",
      "description": "Staging database (same schema as primary app)",
      "host": "localhost",
      "port": 5432,
      "database": "app_staging",
      "user": "app_user",
      "password": "app_password",
      "sslmode": "disable"
    }
  ]
}

Config Fields

Field	Required	Description
name	Yes	Identifier for the database (case-insensitive)
description	Yes	What data this database contains (used for auto-selection)
host	Yes	Database hostname
port	No	Port number (default: 5432)
database	Yes	Database name
user	Yes	Username
password	Yes	Password
sslmode	No	SSL mode: disable, allow, prefer (default), require, verify-ca, verify-full
pii_masking	No	Object mapping table names to arrays of column names to mask

PII Masking

Mask sensitive data in query results by adding a pii_masking field to any database config. Middle characters are replaced with *, keeping only the first and last characters visible.

{
  "name": "app-db-dev",
  "host": "localhost",
  "database": "app_dev",
  "user": "readonly",
  "password": "secret",
  "pii_masking": {
    "users": ["email", "phone", "first_name", "last_name"],
    "orders": ["shipping_address"]
  }
}

How it works:

• john@email.com → j************m
• 555-1234 → 5******4
• Jo → Jo (2 chars or fewer are not masked)

Masking is applied automatically when querying a matching table. A footer note indicates which columns were masked.

Usage

List configured databases

python3 scripts/query.py --list

Query a database

python3 scripts/query.py --db app-db-dev --query "SELECT id, email, created_at FROM users LIMIT 10"

List tables

python3 scripts/query.py --db app-db-dev --tables

Show schema

python3 scripts/query.py --db app-db-dev --schema

Limit results

python3 scripts/query.py --db app-db-dev --query "SELECT id, status, total_amount FROM orders" --limit 100

Database Selection

Match user intent to database description:

User asks about	Look for description containing
users, accounts	users, accounts
organizations, teams	organizations, teams
orders, payments	orders, payments
events, audit logs	events, audit, logs
analytics or reporting	analytics, reporting
background jobs or queues	jobs, queue, outbox

If unclear, run --list and ask user which database.

Safety Features

• Read-only session: Connection uses PostgreSQL readonly=True mode (primary protection)
• Query validation: Only SELECT, SHOW, EXPLAIN, WITH queries allowed (comments/literals stripped; DDL/DML keywords, data-modifying CTEs, SELECT INTO, and sequence mutation functions blocked)
• Single statement: Multiple statements per query rejected
• SSL support: Configurable SSL mode for encrypted connections
• Query timeout: 30-second statement timeout enforced
• Memory protection: Max 10,000 rows per query to prevent OOM
• Column width cap: 100 char max per column for readable output
• Credential sanitization: Error messages don't leak passwords
• PII masking: Configurable per-table column masking to protect sensitive data in query output

Troubleshooting

Error	Solution
Config not found	Create connections.json in skill directory
Authentication failed	Check username/password in config
Connection timeout	Verify host/port, check firewall/VPN
SSL error	Try "sslmode": "disable" for local databases
Permission warning	Run chmod 600 connections.json

Exit Codes

• 0: Success
• 1: Error (config missing, auth failed, invalid query, database error)

Workflow

1. Run --list to show available databases
2. Match user intent to database description
3. Run --tables or --schema to explore structure
4. Execute query with appropriate LIMIT