Supabase

Core Principles

1. Supabase changes frequently — verify against current docs before implementing. Do not rely on training data for Supabase features. Function signatures, config.toml settings, and API conventions change between versions. Before implementing, look up the relevant topic using the documentation access methods below.

2. Verify your work. After implementing any fix, run a test query to confirm the change works. A fix without verification is incomplete.

3. Recover from errors, don't loop. If an approach fails after 2-3 attempts, stop and reconsider. Try a different method, check documentation, inspect the error more carefully, and review relevant logs when available. Supabase issues are not always solved by retrying the same command, and the answer is not always in the logs, but logs are often worth checking before proceeding.

4. RLS by default in exposed schemas. Enable RLS on every table in any exposed schema, especially

public

. This is critical in Supabase because tables in exposed schemas can be reachable through the Data API. For private schemas, prefer RLS as defense in depth. After enabling RLS, create policies that match the actual access model rather than defaulting every table to the same

auth.uid()

pattern.

5. Security checklist. When working on any Supabase task that touches auth, RLS, views, storage, or user data, run through this checklist. These are Supabase-specific security traps that silently create vulnerabilities:

Auth and session security
- Never use
  user_metadata
  claims in JWT-based authorization decisions. In Supabase,
```
raw_user_meta_data
```
  is user-editable and can appear in
```
auth.jwt()
```
  , so it is unsafe for RLS policies or any other authorization logic. Store authorization data in
```
raw_app_meta_data
```
  /
```
app_metadata
```
  instead.
- Deleting a user does not invalidate existing access tokens. Sign out or revoke sessions first, keep JWT expiry short for sensitive apps, and for strict guarantees validate
```
session_id
```
  against
```
auth.sessions
```
  on sensitive operations.
- If you use
  app_metadata
  or
  auth.jwt()
  for authorization, remember JWT claims are not always fresh until the user's token is refreshed.
API key and client exposure
- Never expose the
  service_role
  or secret key in public clients. Prefer publishable keys for frontend code. Legacy
```
anon
```
  keys are only for compatibility. In Next.js, any
```
NEXT_PUBLIC_
```
  env var is sent to the browser.
RLS, views, and privileged database code
- Views bypass RLS by default. In Postgres 15 and above, use
```
CREATE VIEW ... WITH (security_invoker = true)
```
  . In older versions of Postgres, protect your views by revoking access from the
```
anon
```
  and
```
authenticated
```
  roles, or by putting them in an unexposed schema.
- UPDATE requires a SELECT policy. In Postgres RLS, an UPDATE needs to first SELECT the row. Without a SELECT policy, updates silently return 0 rows — no error, just no change.
- Do not put
  security definer
  functions in an exposed schema. Keep them in a private or otherwise unexposed schema.
Storage access control
- Storage upsert requires INSERT + SELECT + UPDATE. Granting only INSERT allows new uploads but file replacement (upsert) silently fails. You need all three.

For any security concern not covered above, fetch the Supabase product security index:

https://supabase.com/docs/guides/security/product-security.md

Supabase CLI

Always discover commands via

--help

— never guess. The CLI structure changes between versions.

bash

supabase --help                    # All top-level commands
supabase <group> --help            # Subcommands (e.g., supabase db --help)
supabase <group> <command> --help  # Flags for a specific command

Supabase CLI Known gotchas:

```
supabase db query
```
requires CLI v2.79.0+ → use MCP
```
execute_sql
```
or
```
psql
```
as fallback
```
supabase db advisors
```
requires CLI v2.81.3+ → use MCP
```
get_advisors
```
as fallback
When you need a new migration SQL file, always create it with
```
supabase migration new <name>
```
first. Never invent a migration filename or rely on memory for the expected format.

Version check and upgrade: Run

supabase --version

to check. For CLI changelogs and version-specific features, consult the CLI documentation or GitHub releases.

Supabase MCP Server

For setup instructions, server URL, and configuration, see the MCP setup guide.

Troubleshooting connection issues — follow these steps in order:

Check if the server is reachable:
```
curl -so /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" https://mcp.supabase.com/mcp
```
A
```
401
```
is expected (no token) and means the server is up. Timeout or "connection refused" means it may be down.
Check
.mcp.json
configuration: Verify the project root has a valid
```
.mcp.json
```
with the correct server URL. If missing, create one pointing to
```
https://mcp.supabase.com/mcp
```
.
Authenticate the MCP server: If the server is reachable and
```
.mcp.json
```
is correct but tools aren't visible, the user needs to authenticate. The Supabase MCP server uses OAuth 2.1 — tell the user to trigger the auth flow in their agent, complete it in the browser, and reload the session.

Supabase Documentation

Before implementing any Supabase feature, find the relevant documentation. Use these methods in priority order:

MCP
search_docs
tool (preferred — returns relevant snippets directly)
Fetch docs pages as markdown — any docs page can be fetched by appending
```
.md
```
to the URL path.
Web search for Supabase-specific topics when you don't know which page to look at.

Making and Committing Schema Changes

To make schema changes, use
execute_sql
(MCP) or
supabase db query
(CLI). These run SQL directly on the database without creating migration history entries, so you can iterate freely and generate a clean migration when ready.

Do NOT use

apply_migration

to change a local database schema — it writes a migration history entry on every call, which means you can't iterate, and

supabase db diff

supabase db pull

will produce empty or conflicting diffs. If you use it, you'll be stuck with whatever SQL you passed on the first try.

When ready to commit your changes to a migration file:

Run advisors →
```
supabase db advisors
```
(CLI v2.81.3+) or MCP
```
get_advisors
```
. Fix any issues.
Review the Security Checklist above if your changes involve views, functions, triggers, or storage.

Generate the migration →

supabase db pull <descriptive-name> --local --yes

Verify →
```
supabase migration list --local
```

Reference Guides

Skill Feedback → references/skill-feedback.md MUST read when the user reports that this skill gave incorrect guidance or is missing information.

supabase

NPX Install

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