Using Supabase MCP - AnalyticDB - Alibaba Cloud Documentation Center

During development, you can use Lingma or Cursor in your IDE to invoke the Supabase Model Context Protocol (MCP) tool using natural language. This lets you create, query, and delete Supabase projects without leaving your coding environment, significantly improving development and operations efficiency.

Introduction to Supabase MCP

MCP is an open standard protocol for integrating external tools and context with Large Language Models (LLMs). The Supabase MCP tool combines Alibaba Cloud Supabase project management features with an LLM agent. This lets you manage the full lifecycle of your Alibaba Cloud Supabase projects using natural language. The core advantages include the following:

Natural language interaction: Complete complex cloud resource operations using conversational language.
Context-aware: Lingma understands conversational context and simplifies instructions for consecutive operations.
All-in-one IDE experience: Avoid frequent switching between your IDE and the console.

Preparations

In your IDE, such as Visual Studio Code, install and log on to the Lingma plug-in, or use a model in Cursor that supports agent invocation.
Obtain an AccessKey.

Configure the Supabase MCP tool

Visual Studio Code + Lingma

In Visual Studio Code, open Lingma, switch to Agent mode, and click MCP Tools.
On the MCP Server management page, click the ➕ icon in the upper-right corner and select Add from Configuration File.

Copy the following content into the lingma_mcp.json file editor. Replace placeholders such as yourAccessKeyID and yourAccessKeySecret with your actual values.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "supabase": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@aliyun-supabase/mcp-server-supabase@latest",
        "--features=aliyun",
        "--read-only", // <optional> If added, the database is in read-only mode.
        "--project-id=<your-project-id>", // <optional>
        "--region-id=<your-region>" // <optional>
      ],
      "env": {
        "ALIYUN_ACCESS_TOKEN": "<yourAccessKeyID>|<yourAccessKeySecret>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Save the lingma_mcp.json file.
The Supabase service and its tools appear in the My Services list. These tools include the official Alibaba Cloud Supabase API, which covers all core project management features. You can also call the corresponding MCP tools to execute SQL directly.

Cursor

Note

To quickly install the MCP in Cursor, click aliyun-supabase. Alternatively, follow these steps to configure it.

In Cursor, navigate to Cursor Settings > Tools & Integrations > MCP Tools. Click New MCP Server to open the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Copy the following content into the file. Replace placeholders such as yourAccessKeyID and yourAccessKeySecret with your actual values.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "supabase": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@aliyun-supabase/mcp-server-supabase@latest",
        "--features=aliyun",
        "--read-only", // Optional parameter. If added, the database is in read-only mode.
        "--project-id=<your-project-id>", // <optional>
        "--region-id=<your-region>" // <optional>
      ],
      "env": {
        "ALIYUN_ACCESS_TOKEN": "<yourAccessKeyID>|<yourAccessKeySecret>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Save the .cursor/mcp.json file.
The Supabase service appears in the Cursor Settings > Tools & Integrations > MCP Tools list and includes a suite of tools.

Qoder

In Qoder, navigate to Preferences > Qoder Settings > MCP Server. Click +ADD to open the mcp.json file.

Copy the following content into the file. Replace placeholders such as yourAccessKeyID and yourAccessKeySecret with your actual values.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "supabase": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@aliyun-supabase/mcp-server-supabase@latest",
        "--features=aliyun",
        "--read-only", // <optional>
        "--project-id=<your-project-id>", // <optional>
        "--region-id=<your-region>" // <optional>
      ],
      "env": {
        "ALIYUN_ACCESS_TOKEN": "<yourAccessKeyID>|<yourAccessKeySecret>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Save the mcp.json file.
The Supabase service appears in the MCP Server list and includes a suite of tools.

Codex

After you install Codex, run the following command in the command line. Replace placeholders such as yourAccessKeyID and yourAccessKeySecret with your actual values.

codex mcp add aliyun-supabase \
--env ALIYUN_ACCESS_TOKEN="<yourAccessKeyID>|<yourAccessKeySecret>" \
-- npx -y @aliyun-supabase/mcp-server-supabase@latest \
--features=aliyun \
--read-only \
--project-id=<your-project-id> \
--region-id=<your-region>

Claude Code

Run the following command. Replace placeholders such as yourAccessKeyID and yourAccessKeySecret with your actual values.

claude mcp add aliyun-supabase \
--env ALIYUN_ACCESS_TOKEN='<yourAccessKeyID>|<yourAccessKeySecret>' \
-- npx -y @aliyun-supabase/mcp-server-supabase@latest \
--features=aliyun \
--project-id=<your-project-id> \
--region-id=<your-region>

Usage examples

After you configure the Supabase MCP tool, you can manage Supabase projects using natural language in the Lingma dialog box.

Query the list of Supabase projects

User instruction: list all my supabase projects on Alibaba Cloud

Lingma automatically parses your intent and calls the corresponding MCP tool, supabase/list_aliyun_supabase_projects. If a required parameter, such as a region ID, is missing, it intelligently infers the parameter and returns a formatted list of projects.

Get details of a single project

User instruction: query the details of this project, do not show sensitive information

Lingma retrieves the project ID from the previous conversation and calls the supabase/get_supabase_project tool to return the project's detailed configuration.

Create a new project in the same VPC

User instruction: create another supabase project in the same vpc

Lingma automatically retrieves network information, such as the VPC ID, from the previous context and calls the supabase/create_supabase_project tool to create the project.

Delete the newly created project

User instruction: delete the project just created

Lingma accurately identifies "the project just created" and calls the supabase/delete_supabase_project tool to delete it.

Use case: Frontend developer completes backend configuration in minutes

For frontend developers, the core task is to quickly build user interfaces and interaction logic. However, during the project startup phase, configuring backend services, such as database connections, is often tedious and time-consuming. This can easily interrupt the coding flow.

This section describes a real-world development scenario. It shows how a frontend developer uses Supabase MCP to build a warehouse and logistics management system. Without leaving the IDE, the developer uses a few simple natural language commands to complete the entire process in minutes. The process covers everything from discovering the Supabase service in the cloud to successfully configuring the local project connection.

Scenario description

A frontend developer is building a warehouse and logistics management system. The developer has finished the user interface but needs to connect the frontend application to a Supabase project in the cloud. This connection is required for dynamic data loading and management.

Efficient configuration with Supabase MCP

Using the following natural language instructions, the developer can complete the entire process in minutes. This process includes discovering the cloud Supabase service and configuring the local project.

list all my supabase projects on Alibaba Cloud
select project sbp-5qo2zxpowmhlxxxx, get VITE_SUPABASE_URL and VITE_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY, and apply them to the .env file of the warehouse and logistics inventory management system
Lingma retrieves the project ID from the conversation, calls the supabase/get_supabase_project tool to retrieve the configuration information, and automatically writes it to the local project's .env file.

Advantages

Supabase MCP provides the following benefits for frontend developers:

Focus on frontend development: Frees frontend developers from tedious backend configuration. This allows them to focus on the UI and business logic.
Simplified workflow: Reduces complex tasks that previously required multiple applications and steps to one or two natural language conversations within the IDE.
No configuration errors: Automates fetching and writing credentials. This eliminates simple errors caused by manual copy-and-paste operations and saves significant debugging time.
Accelerated development: Greatly shortens the time from project startup to a running "Hello World" application. The efficiency gain is especially significant in scenarios that require frequent switching between and setting up different backend environments.

Supabase MCP changes the collaboration model between frontend and backend developers. Backend configuration is no longer an obstacle. It is now a simple job that you can complete through conversation.

FAQ

Why can't I execute MCP tools in Visual Studio Code?

If you have configured the Supabase MCP tool in Visual Studio Code but the agent still cannot automatically execute MCP tools, check your Visual Studio Code settings. Confirm that the agent is allowed to automatically execute MCP tools.

To enable this feature, open the Visual Studio Code settings page, search for Mcp Tools In Agent Mode, and enable Allow Agent mode to auto-execute MCP tools.

How do I resolve the Supabase MCP installation error "No matching version found for @mjackson/multipart-parser@^0.10.1."?

This error might be related to your npm version. If your npm version is v11.4.x, update it and then retry the installation.

How do I resolve the Supabase MCP runtime error "User not authorized to operate on the specified resource or this API doesn't support RAM"?

Ensure that your Alibaba Cloud account has the AliyunGPDBFullAccess access policy.

For more information about issues that occur during the installation and operation of the MCP Server, see MCP FAQ.