Tiger CLI and Tiger MCP
Understand Tiger CLI and Tiger MCP, how they compare to the REST API, and where each fits in your workflow
Tiger CLI and Tiger MCP let you manage Tiger Cloud without opening Tiger Console. You work from your terminal, from a script, or from an AI coding tool such as Claude Code, Cursor, or Codex. Both connect to the same platform and share one login, so anything you can do from the command line, an agent can do too.
To install them and create your first service, see Get started with Tiger CLI and Integrate Tiger Cloud with your AI agent.
What each tool is
Section titled “What each tool is”The three build on each other, from the raw API up to natural language:
- Tiger REST API: the HTTP API for Tiger Cloud and the base layer the other tools build on. It's the complete surface, so call it directly when you build your own integration or need access from your application's language. See the Tiger REST API reference.
- Tiger CLI: a command-line interface that wraps a subset of Tiger REST API. A single binary manages your services, replicas, VPCs, and related infrastructure, and connects you to your databases to run SQL. Every command is explicit and repeatable, which suits scripting, CI/CD, and daily operations.
- Tiger MCP: a Model Context Protocol server that ships inside the Tiger CLI binary. It gives an AI agent typed tools to manage services and run SQL, a set of skills for PostgreSQL and TimescaleDB work such as schema design and hypertable setup, and search across Tiger Data documentation. An agent can use it both to act on your database and to advise you about it in plain language.
Tiger MCP ships inside Tiger CLI, so installing tiger gives you both the command line and the MCP server. They share the same login and the same permissions.
When to use which
Section titled “When to use which”| You want to... | Use |
|---|---|
| Automate or repeat operations in scripts or CI/CD | Tiger CLI |
| Work in natural language, or get design and optimization help | Tiger MCP |
| Build a custom integration in your own language | Tiger REST API |
How Tiger CLI and Tiger MCP work together
Section titled “How Tiger CLI and Tiger MCP work together”The two tools share a login and overlap on most operations, but each does something the other can't.
Tiger MCP can reason about your database. Through its skills and documentation search, an agent designs schemas, finds hypertable candidates, plans migrations, and recommends improvements in plain language. Tiger CLI has no command for any of that.
Tiger CLI gives you precise, repeatable execution: interactive database sessions, connection strings, and commands you can commit to a script or pipeline. An agent working through Tiger MCP is non-deterministic, so it suits exploration and design more than automation.
Many workflows use both. An agent explores your data and proposes a change through Tiger MCP, then you apply and verify it with CLI.
| Task | CLI command | Tiger MCP tool |
|---|---|---|
| Create a service | tiger service create | service_create |
| List services | tiger service list | service_list |
| Get service details | tiger service get | service_get |
| Fork a service | tiger service fork | service_fork |
| Resize a service | tiger service resize | service_resize |
| Start a service | tiger service start | service_start |
| Stop a service | tiger service stop | service_stop |
| Rotate the master password | tiger service update-password | service_update_password |
| View logs | tiger service logs | service_logs |
| Delete a service | tiger service delete | None — CLI only |
| Run SQL | tiger db connect | db_execute_query |
| View schema | tiger db schema | db_schema |
| Print a connection string | tiger db connection-string | None — CLI only |
| Create a database role | tiger db create role | None — CLI only |
| Save a password locally | tiger db save-password | None — CLI only |
| Test connectivity | tiger db test-connection | None — CLI only |
| Search documentation | None — Tiger MCP only | search_docs |
| View a best-practice skill | None — Tiger MCP only | view_skill |
tiger auth, tiger version, tiger config, and tiger mcp manage the tool itself, not Tiger Cloud, so they have no Tiger MCP equivalent. See the Tiger MCP reference for each tool's parameters and return value, and common tasks for the command-line details.
Where they fit in your workflow
Section titled “Where they fit in your workflow”Between them, Tiger CLI and Tiger MCP cover the whole lifecycle of working with Tiger Cloud. Most operations work from either tool. Setup runs through Tiger CLI, and design and review belong to Tiger MCP.
- Set up: install and authenticate Tiger CLI, then connect your agent. Tiger MCP runs once Tiger CLI is in place.
- Build: create services and run the SQL to add hypertables, continuous aggregates, jobs, and policies from either tool, or ask Tiger MCP to design them for you.
- Validate: fork a service to test a change safely from either tool, or ask Tiger MCP to review a schema against best practices.
- Operate: run queries, rotate credentials, resize, and check the state of a service from either tool.
- Debug: pull logs and run diagnostic queries from either tool.
Work safely with AI agents
Section titled “Work safely with AI agents”Because Tiger MCP lets an agent act on your database, decide up front what it may do. Read-only mode is the main control: it blocks the agent's write access, not your own.
- Turn on read-only mode so an agent can query and explore but cannot write data, change schemas, or alter infrastructure. See Restrict Tiger MCP to read-only and best practices for AI agents.
- Point an agent at a fork or a read replica for exploratory work, so production is never in the path.
- Ask for a single computed answer rather than a raw export, so the database does the work and less data leaves it.
What is Tiger CLI? Tiger CLI is a command-line tool for managing Tiger Cloud. From a terminal you can create, fork, resize, start, stop, and inspect services, and connect to your databases, the same actions available in Tiger Console, but scriptable and automatable.
What is Tiger MCP? Tiger MCP lets an AI coding agent (such as Cursor, Claude Code, or VS Code) manage Tiger Cloud and query your data using natural language. It uses the Model Context Protocol, ships inside Tiger CLI, and gives the agent tools for service management and running SQL, plus built-in best-practice guidance (schema design, hypertable setup, migration planning) and documentation search.
Do I need both Tiger CLI and Tiger MCP? No, choose based on who's driving. Use Tiger CLI when you or a script run commands directly in a terminal. Use Tiger MCP when you want an AI agent to do the work for you. Because Tiger MCP is built into the CLI, installing Tiger CLI gives you both.
How is Tiger MCP different from a generic PostgreSQL MCP server? A generic PostgreSQL MCP server usually does one thing: run SQL against a database connection. Tiger MCP also manages the Tiger Cloud service itself (create, fork, resize, view logs), includes built-in safety controls such as read-only mode and per-role access limits, and adds Tiger Data-specific knowledge like documentation search and guidance for features such as hypertables and continuous aggregates.
When should I use Tiger CLI, Tiger MCP, or Tiger REST API? Use Tiger REST API to build Tiger Cloud management into your own application. Use Tiger CLI for direct, scriptable control from a terminal or CI. Use Tiger MCP to let an AI agent manage services and query data for you. Tiger REST API is the complete surface; Tiger CLI wraps a subset of it for scripting and CI; Tiger MCP adds skills and documentation search on top for agent-driven work.
Which AI tools does Tiger MCP work with? Tiger MCP auto-configures for claude-code, cursor, windsurf, codex, gemini, vscode, antigravity, and kiro-cli (see the full list), and works with any client that supports the Model Context Protocol through a standard configuration entry.
Is it safe to let an AI agent access my database through Tiger MCP? Yes, when you use the built-in controls. Run Tiger MCP in read-only mode so an agent can read but not modify data, and scope its access to a specific database role to limit what it can reach. For production, start read-only and grant additional access deliberately. See best practices for AI agents.
Next steps
Section titled “Next steps”- Get started with Tiger CLI: Install the CLI, authenticate, and create your first service from the terminal.
- Integrate Tiger Cloud with your AI agent: Set up Tiger MCP and connect it to Claude Code, Cursor, or another client.
- Get started with the REST API: Manage the same resources over HTTP for custom integrations.
- Common tasks with Tiger CLI and Tiger MCP: Manage services and work with your data, with the CLI command and MCP prompt for each.
- Cookbook: Longer, multi-step prompts for schema design, data analysis, and performance tuning.
- Best practices for AI agents: Use read-only mode, forks, and guardrails to work safely with agents.
- Tiger CLI reference and Tiger MCP reference: Every command, tool, flag, and parameter.
- File an issue in the Tiger CLI repo: Report bugs or request features to help shape the open-source Tiger CLI and Tiger MCP.