How to Connect PostgreSQL to ChatGPT Using Sequel

PostgreSQL stores your most important business data. ChatGPT is the conversational AI millions of people use every day. Sequel's MCP server connects the two so you get a natural language interface on top of your PostgreSQL tables. Ask a question in the chat, get a data-backed answer without writing SQL or exporting a spreadsheet.

What You'll Accomplish

After this setup, you'll be able to open a ChatGPT conversation and ask questions like:

• "What's the average order value for customers who signed up in the last 90 days?"
• "Show me all failed transactions from yesterday."
• "Which five cities have the most active users?"

ChatGPT will use Sequel's MCP tools to query your live PostgreSQL database and bring the answer right into the chat.

Prerequisites

• A Sequel account: Sign up free at sequel.sh
• A running PostgreSQL database: local or cloud-hosted
• A ChatGPT Plus, Team, or Enterprise account: required for custom MCP apps

Step 1: Connect Your PostgreSQL Database to Sequel

Sign in to sequel.sh and click Data Sources in the left sidebar.

Click New Connection. On the "Choose a connector" page, select PostgreSQL.

Fill in two fields:

• Connection Name: a memorable label, e.g. My PostgreSQL DB
• Connection String: your full PostgreSQL connection string:

postgresql://username:password@host:5432/database_name

Click Connect. Sequel will verify and save the connection.

Best practice: Use a read-only PostgreSQL user:

CREATE USER sequel_reader WITH PASSWORD 'a_strong_password';
GRANT CONNECT ON DATABASE myapp TO sequel_reader;
GRANT USAGE ON SCHEMA public TO sequel_reader;
GRANT SELECT ON ALL TABLES IN SCHEMA public TO sequel_reader;

Step 2: Add Sequel to ChatGPT

First, enable Developer Mode. Open ChatGPT and go to Settings -> Apps. Click Advanced Settings and toggle Developer Mode on.

Developer Mode lets you add unverified MCP apps. Note that it disables ChatGPT's Memory feature while active.

Now go back to Settings -> Apps and click Create App. Fill in the details:

• Name: Sequel
• Description: Sequel AI Data Analytics (optional)
• MCP Server URL: https://api.sequel.sh/mcp
• Authentication: OAuth

Check "I understand and want to continue", then click Create.

Sequel's authorization page will open in your browser. Review the permissions and click Allow access.

Once authorized, Sequel will appear in your Apps list and you're ready to query.

Step 3: Query Your PostgreSQL Database

Start a new ChatGPT conversation and ask:

Using my PostgreSQL database, how many users registered this month?

What are the top 10 products by total revenue in the last quarter?

Are there any duplicate email addresses in the users table?

ChatGPT will call the Sequel MCP tools, run the SQL against your database, and present the results in the conversation.

What You Can Do Now

• Answer ad-hoc data questions without opening a SQL editor. Great for product managers and analysts.
• Run data audits: ask "Are there orders with missing shipping addresses?" or "Which users have never logged in?"
• Build quick reports: ask ChatGPT to summarize data and format it as a table or bullet points
• Explore schemas you don't know: ask "What tables does this database have?"
• Generate SQL for reuse: describe what you need, review the query ChatGPT generates, then use it in your codebase or BI tool