Postgres Skills vs IBM Db2 for i
Postgres Skills is a plugin bundle for AI coding tools published by Microsoft. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Community GitHub marketplaces). IBM Db2 for i is an MCP server published by Strom-Capital. Marketplaces we read that list it: 2 (Official MCP Registry, npm registry (MCP servers)). As of our marketplace pass on 2026-11-10. This pair was picked by a reader, not by our comparison rule, so search engines are asked not to index the page.
Where each is published
| Marketplace |  IBM Db2 for i | |
|---|---|---|
| Community marketplace microsoft/postgres-skills | Listed Version: 0.2.0 Forks (GitHub): 10 Stars (GitHub): 49 Not marked · First seen |
Not listed |
| Official MCP Registry | Not listed | Listed Version: 3.8.6 Downloads/month (npm): 2 146 Downloads/week (npm): 774 Forks (GitHub): 9 Stars (GitHub): 27 Not marked · First seen |
| npm registry (MCP servers) | Not listed | Listed Version: 3.8.6 Downloads/month (npm): 2 146 Downloads/week (npm): 774 Forks (GitHub): 9 Stars (GitHub): 27 Not marked · First seen |
Each figure is the marketplace's own and is never added up across marketplaces. A marketplace that publishes no figure shows none: no number is not zero.
The facts side by side
| Fact | Postgres Skills | IBM Db2 for i |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplaces that list it (differs) | 1 (worse) | 2 (better) |
| Stars (GitHub) (differs) | 49 (better) | 27 (worse) |
| Forks (GitHub) (differs) | 10 (better) | 9 (worse) |
| Last release (differs) | 2026-11-04 (worse) | 2026-11-06 (better) |
| Where it runs (differs) | On your machine (@microsoft/postgres-mcp) | On your machine (mcp-server-db2i) |
| Transport (differs) | Not stated | stdio |
| Tools it declares | Not published | Not published |
| Environment variables it asks for (differs) | 1, secrets among them: 0 | 10, secrets among them: 1 |
| Parts of the bundle (differs) | 3 | Not a bundle |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| Repository (differs) | github.com/microsoft/postgres-skills | github.com/strom-capital/mcp-server-db2i |
| Changes in the last 7 days (differs) | 1 | 2 |
| First seen (differs) | 2026-10-28 | 2026-10-11 |
Lines where the two differ have a tinted background and bold values. Where the data itself says which value is better (more marketplaces, a larger figure of the same marketplace, a fresher release, a verified mark on a marketplace that lists both), the better one is also marked green with ▲ and the worse one red with ▼. Where it runs, the transport, the tools, the settings, hooks, the bundle's parts, the licence and the week's changes are marked only as different: more or fewer is not better in itself.
What each says it does
Postgres Skills
Single plugin with intelligent routing — generic PG always available, Azure skills gated by connection detection
IBM Db2 for i
Read-only SQL queries and schema inspection for IBM Db2 for i over ODBC, JT400 or Mapepire (SSH).
How to run each
Postgres Skills As a Claude Code plugin
/plugin marketplace add microsoft/postgres-skills
/plugin install postgres-skills@postgres-skillsIBM Db2 for i As a local MCP server: npm package
claude mcp add --env "DB2I_HOSTNAME=<YOUR_DB2I_HOSTNAME>" --env "DB2I_PASSWORD=<YOUR_DB2I_PASSWORD>" --env "DB2I_USERNAME=<YOUR_DB2I_USERNAME>" --transport stdio mcp-server-db2i -- npx -y mcp-server-db2iRequires: DB2I_HOSTNAME, DB2I_PASSWORD (secret), DB2I_USERNAME
Commands built only from what the marketplaces declare; the full set for every client is on each card.
Tools each declares
Neither one's marketplaces publish a list of tools, so there is nothing to compare.
Settings each asks for
Only Postgres Skills asks for
POSTGRES_MCP_QUERY_TIMEOUT_MS
Only IBM Db2 for i asks for
DB2I_DRIVERDB2I_HOSTNAMEDB2I_JDBC_OPTIONSDB2I_MAPEPIRE_OPTIONSDB2I_ODBC_OPTIONSDB2I_PASSWORD (secret)DB2I_PROFILESDB2I_SCHEMADB2I_USERNAMEQUERY_ALLOWED_SCHEMAS
Settings as each marketplace publishes them. Asking for fewer is not better in itself.
What it can do: Postgres Skills · What it can do: IBM Db2 for i · Compare two other plugins
Data comes from public marketplace files in GitHub repositories of their authors. Data comes from the Official MCP Registry (registry.modelcontextprotocol.io), CC0 1.0. Package data comes from the public npm registry (registry.npmjs.org). Figures come from our own regular passes over the marketplaces, last read on . We publish no contact details for plugin publishers.