search_columns
Find database columns by name across PostgreSQL tables. Specify a search term to locate columns with matching names, optionally filtering by schema.
Instructions
Search for columns by name across all tables.
Args:
search_term: Column name pattern to search (case-insensitive)
schema: Optional schema to limit search (default: all user schemas)
Returns:
List of matching columns with table informationInput Schema
TableJSON Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| search_term | Yes | ||
| schema | No |
Implementation Reference
- postgres_mcp/server.py:394-415 (handler)MCP tool handler for 'search_columns', decorated with @mcp.tool(). Delegates to PostgresClient.search_columns and formats the response.
@mcp.tool() @handle_db_error def search_columns(search_term: str, schema: Optional[str] = None) -> dict: """Search for columns by name across all tables. Args: search_term: Column name pattern to search (case-insensitive) schema: Optional schema to limit search (default: all user schemas) Returns: List of matching columns with table information """ client = get_client() columns = client.search_columns(search_term, schema) return { "search_term": search_term, "schema_filter": schema, "matches": columns, "count": len(columns), } - Core implementation of column search logic in PostgresClient class, executing SQL query against information_schema.columns.
def search_columns(self, search_term: str, schema: Optional[str] = None) -> list[dict]: """Search for columns by name. Args: search_term: Column name pattern (supports LIKE wildcards) schema: Optional schema filter Returns: List of matching columns with table info """ # Sanitize search term for LIKE pattern search_pattern = f"%{search_term}%" query = """ SELECT table_schema, table_name, column_name, data_type, is_nullable FROM information_schema.columns WHERE column_name ILIKE %s """ params = [search_pattern] if schema: query += " AND table_schema = %s" params.append(schema) query += """ AND table_schema NOT IN ('information_schema', 'pg_catalog') ORDER BY table_schema, table_name, column_name LIMIT 100 """ with self.get_cursor() as cursor: cursor.execute(query, params) return [dict(row) for row in cursor.fetchall()]