Database MCP

A single-binary MCP server for SQL databases. Connect your AI assistant to MySQL/MariaDB, PostgreSQL, or SQLite with zero runtime dependencies.

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Features

• Multi-database — MySQL/MariaDB, PostgreSQL, and SQLite from one binary
• 9 MCP tools — listDatabases, listTables, getTableSchema, readQuery, writeQuery, createDatabase, dropDatabase, dropTable, explainQuery
• Single binary — ~7 MB, no Python/Node/Docker needed
• Multiple transports — stdio (for Claude Desktop, Cursor) and HTTP (for remote/multi-client)
• Two-layer config — CLI flags > environment variables, with sensible defaults per backend

Install

macOS, Linux, WSL:

curl -fsSL https://dbmcp.haymon.ai/install.sh | bash

Windows PowerShell:

irm https://dbmcp.haymon.ai/install.ps1 | iex

Windows CMD:

curl -fsSL https://dbmcp.haymon.ai/install.cmd -o install.cmd && install.cmd && del install.cmd

See the installation docs for Docker, Cargo, and other methods.

Quick Start

Using .mcp.json (recommended)

Add a .mcp.json file to your project root. MCP clients read this file and configure the server automatically.

Stdio transport — the client starts and manages the server process:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "dbmcp": {
      "command": "dbmcp",
      "args": ["stdio"],
      "env": {
        "DB_BACKEND": "mysql",
        "DB_HOST": "127.0.0.1",
        "DB_PORT": "3306",
        "DB_USER": "root",
        "DB_PASSWORD": "secret",
        "DB_NAME": "mydb"
      }
    }
  }
}

HTTP transport — you start the server yourself, the client connects to it:

# Start the server first
dbmcp http --db-backend mysql --db-user root --db-name mydb --port 9001

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "dbmcp": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "http://127.0.0.1:9001/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Note: The "type": "http" field is required for HTTP transport. Without it, clients like Claude Code will reject the config.

Using CLI flags

# MySQL/MariaDB
dbmcp stdio --db-backend mysql --db-host localhost --db-user root --db-name mydb

# PostgreSQL
dbmcp stdio --db-backend postgres --db-host localhost --db-user postgres --db-name mydb

# SQLite
dbmcp stdio --db-backend sqlite --db-name ./data.db

# HTTP transport
dbmcp http --db-backend mysql --db-user root --db-name mydb --host 0.0.0.0 --port 9001

Using environment variables

DB_BACKEND=mysql DB_USER=root DB_NAME=mydb dbmcp stdio

Configuration

Configuration is loaded with clear precedence:

CLI flags > environment variables > defaults

Environment variables are typically set by your MCP client (via env or envFile in the server config).

Subcommands

Subcommand	Description
stdio	Run in stdio mode
http	Run in HTTP/SSE mode
version	Print version information and exit

A subcommand is required — running dbmcp with no subcommand prints usage help and exits with a non-zero status.

Database Options (shared across subcommands)

Flag	Env Variable	Default	Description
--db-backend	DB_BACKEND	(required)	mysql, mariadb, postgres, or sqlite
--db-host	DB_HOST	localhost	Database host
--db-port	DB_PORT	backend default	3306 (MySQL/MariaDB), 5432 (PostgreSQL)
--db-user	DB_USER	backend default	root (MySQL/MariaDB), postgres (PostgreSQL)
--db-password	DB_PASSWORD	(empty)	Database password
--db-name	DB_NAME	(empty)	Database name or SQLite file path
--db-charset	DB_CHARSET		Character set (MySQL/MariaDB only)

SSL/TLS Options

Flag	Env Variable	Default	Description
--db-ssl	DB_SSL	false	Enable SSL
--db-ssl-ca	DB_SSL_CA		CA certificate path
--db-ssl-cert	DB_SSL_CERT		Client certificate path
--db-ssl-key	DB_SSL_KEY		Client key path
--db-ssl-verify-cert	DB_SSL_VERIFY_CERT	true	Verify server certificate

Server Options

Flag	Env Variable	Default	Description
--db-read-only	DB_READ_ONLY	true	Block write queries
--db-max-pool-size	DB_MAX_POOL_SIZE	5	Max connection pool size (min: 1)
--db-connection-timeout	DB_CONNECTION_TIMEOUT	(unset)	Connection timeout in seconds (min: 1)
--db-query-timeout	DB_QUERY_TIMEOUT	30	Query execution timeout in seconds
--db-page-size	DB_PAGE_SIZE	100	Max items per paginated tool response (range 1–500)

Logging Options

Flag	Env Variable	Default	Description
--log-level	LOG_LEVEL	info	Log level (trace/debug/info/warn/error)

HTTP-only Options (only available with http subcommand)

Flag	Default	Description
--host	127.0.0.1	Bind host
--port	9001	Bind port
--allowed-origins	localhost variants	CORS allowed origins (comma-separated)
--allowed-hosts	localhost,127.0.0.1	Trusted Host headers (comma-separated)

MCP Tools

listDatabases

Lists accessible databases, paginated via cursor / nextCursor. See Cursor Pagination for iteration details. Not available for SQLite.

listTables

Lists tables in a database, paginated via cursor / nextCursor. Requires database. See Cursor Pagination for iteration details.

getTableSchema

Returns column definitions (type, nullable, key, default, extra) and foreign key relationships (constraint name, referenced table/column, on update/delete rules) for a table. Parameters: database, table.

readQuery

Executes a read-only SQL query (SELECT, SHOW, DESCRIBE, USE, EXPLAIN). Always enforces SQL validation as defence-in-depth. Parameters: query, database, cursor. SELECT results paginate via cursor / nextCursor; SHOW, DESCRIBE, USE, and EXPLAIN return a single page and ignore cursor. See Cursor Pagination for iteration details.

writeQuery

Executes a write SQL query (INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, CREATE, ALTER, DROP). Only available when read-only mode is disabled. Parameters: query, database.

createDatabase

Creates a database if it doesn't exist. Only available when read-only mode is disabled. Not available for SQLite. Parameters: database.

dropDatabase

Drops an existing database. Refuses to drop the currently connected database. Only available when read-only mode is disabled. Not available for SQLite. Parameters: database.

dropTable

Drops a table from a database. If the table has foreign key dependents, the database error is surfaced to the user. On PostgreSQL, a cascade parameter is available to force the drop with CASCADE. Only available when read-only mode is disabled. Parameters: database, table, cascade (PostgreSQL only).

explainQuery

Returns the execution plan for a SQL query. Supports an optional analyze parameter for actual execution statistics (PostgreSQL and MySQL/MariaDB). In read-only mode, EXPLAIN ANALYZE is only allowed for read-only statements since it actually executes the query. SQLite uses EXPLAIN QUERY PLAN (no ANALYZE support). Always available regardless of read-only mode. Parameters: query, database, analyze (PostgreSQL/MySQL only).

Security

• Read-only mode (default) — write tools hidden from AI assistant; readQuery enforces AST-based SQL validation
• Single-statement enforcement — multi-statement injection blocked at parse level
• Dangerous function blocking — LOAD_FILE(), INTO OUTFILE, INTO DUMPFILE detected in the AST
• Identifier validation — database/table names validated against control characters and empty strings
• CORS + trusted hosts — configurable for HTTP transport
• SSL/TLS — configured via individual DB_SSL_* variables
• Credential redaction — database password is never shown in logs or debug output

Testing

# Unit tests
cargo test --workspace --lib --bins

# Integration tests (requires Docker)
./tests/run.sh

# Filter by engine
./tests/run.sh --filter mariadb
./tests/run.sh --filter mysql
./tests/run.sh --filter postgres
./tests/run.sh --filter sqlite

# With MCP Inspector
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector ./target/release/dbmcp stdio

# HTTP mode testing
curl -X POST http://localhost:9001/mcp \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Accept: application/json" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"initialize","params":{"protocolVersion":"2024-11-05","capabilities":{},"clientInfo":{"name":"test","version":"0.1"}}}'

Project Structure

This is a Cargo workspace with the following crates:

Crate	Path	Description
dbmcp	. (root)	Main binary — CLI, transports, database backends
dbmcp-sql	crates/backend/	Shared error types, validation, and identifier utilities
dbmcp-config	crates/config/	Configuration structs and CLI argument mapping
dbmcp-server	crates/server/	Shared MCP tool implementations and server info
dbmcp-mysql	crates/mysql/	MySQL/MariaDB backend handler and operations
dbmcp-postgres	crates/postgres/	PostgreSQL backend handler and operations
dbmcp-sqlite	crates/sqlite/	SQLite backend handler and operations
sqlx-json	crates/sqlx-json/	Type-safe row-to-JSON conversion for sqlx (RowExt trait)

Development

cargo build              # Development build
cargo build --release    # Release build (~7 MB)
cargo test               # Run tests
cargo clippy --workspace --tests -- -D warnings  # Lint
cargo fmt                # Format
cargo doc --no-deps      # Build documentation

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License — see the LICENSE file for details.