Install

One pip install with the extra for your database. No agent, no server, no system dependencies beyond Python and the driver.

pip install "dblift[postgresql]"
dblift --version

Quote the extra in zsh — square brackets are glob characters. SQLite needs no extra: pip install dblift.

Need MySQL, SQL Server, Oracle, Cosmos, or another of the 20 engines? Use the extra on the capability matrix. The extra installs the driver; database.type selects the plugin.

Framework extras can be combined: pip install "dblift[postgresql,django,otel]".

Extra	What it adds
`dblift[django]`	Django management commands and settings integration.
`dblift[flask]`	Flask helpers and a CLI command.
`dblift[fastapi]`	FastAPI startup guard and health helpers.
`dblift[otel]`	OpenTelemetry spans for every operation.
`dblift[mcp]`	MCP SDK for `dblift mcp` (Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot, Windsurf).

Verify the install

dblift --version
export DBLIFT_DB_URL="postgresql+psycopg://user:password@localhost:5432/mydb"
dblift db check-connection

A missing driver surfaces as an import failure at connection time, not at install time. If a connection fails, check the extra first.

Next: Quickstart.

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