SQL Server MCP - Cross-Platform Database Integration for AI

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server implementation for SQL Server that enables AI assistants to explore and query SQL Server databases through natural language. Built as a RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) system optimized for database knowledge exploration.

🌟 Features

• 🔍 Schema Exploration - List databases, tables, views, stored procedures
• 🔗 Relationship Mapping - Discover foreign key relationships and table dependencies
• 🔎 Search & Discovery - Global schema search across tables, columns, procedures
• ⚡ Safe Query Execution - Read-only SELECT queries with automatic timeouts and row limits
• 🗄️ Schema Caching - Fast retrieval with configurable TTL (default: 60 minutes)
• 🔐 Security First - Read-only by default, SQL injection prevention, query validation
• 🖥️ Cross-Platform - Native Windows Authentication & macOS Docker support

🎥 Demo

See SQL Server MCP in action with AI assistant integration:

Note: Watch how natural language queries instantly explore database schemas, find relationships, and retrieve data - all without leaving your AI assistant!

🚀 Quick Start

This repository contains two platform-specific implementations:

Windows Version → sql-server-mcp/

• ✅ Windows Authentication (ODBC Driver 17)
• ✅ SQL Server Authentication
• ✅ Native msnodesqlv8 driver for optimal performance
• 📖 Windows Setup Guide

macOS Version → sql-server-mcp-mac/

• ✅ SQL Server Authentication (Docker required)
• ✅ Pure JavaScript mssql driver (no native dependencies)
• 📖 macOS Setup Guide

📦 Installation

🎉 Now Available on MCP Registry!

This server is officially published in the Model Context Protocol Registry:

• Windows: io.github.TharanaBope/sql-server-mcp
• macOS: io.github.TharanaBope/sql-server-mcp-macos

🚀 Quick Start (Recommended)

No installation needed! Just add to your AI assistant's configuration:

Claude Desktop (Windows)

Config Location: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sql-server": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@tharanabopearachchi/sql-server-mcp@latest"],
      "env": {
        "SQL_SERVER": "localhost",
        "SQL_DATABASE": "master",
        "SQL_USE_WINDOWS_AUTH": "true"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop (macOS)

Config Location: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sql-server": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@tharanabopearachchi/sql-server-mcp-macos@latest"],
      "env": {
        "SQL_SERVER": "localhost",
        "SQL_DATABASE": "master",
        "SQL_USE_WINDOWS_AUTH": "false",
        "SQL_USERNAME": "sa",
        "SQL_PASSWORD": "your_password"
      }
    }
  }
}

<details> <summary><b>LM Studio Configuration</b></summary>

Config Location: Varies by platform

• Windows: %USERPROFILE%\.lmstudio\config.json
• macOS: ~/.lmstudio/config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sql-server": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@tharanabopearachchi/sql-server-mcp@latest"],
      "env": {
        "SQL_SERVER": "localhost",
        "SQL_DATABASE": "master",
        "SQL_USE_WINDOWS_AUTH": "true",
        "SQL_USERNAME": "",
        "SQL_PASSWORD": ""
      }
    }
  }
}

</details>

<details> <summary><b>VS Code with Continue Extension</b></summary>

Config Location: ~/.continue/config.json

{
  "experimental": {
    "modelContextProtocolServers": [
      {
        "transport": {
          "type": "stdio",
          "command": "npx",
          "args": ["-y", "@tharanabopearachchi/sql-server-mcp@latest"]
        },
        "env": {
          "SQL_SERVER": "localhost",
          "SQL_DATABASE": "master",
          "SQL_USE_WINDOWS_AUTH": "true"
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

</details>

<details> <summary><b>Cursor IDE</b></summary>

Config Location: Cursor Settings → Features → Model Context Protocol

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sql-server": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@tharanabopearachchi/sql-server-mcp@latest"],
      "env": {
        "SQL_SERVER": "localhost",
        "SQL_DATABASE": "master",
        "SQL_USE_WINDOWS_AUTH": "true"
      }
    }
  }
}

</details>

<details> <summary><b>Cline (VS Code Extension)</b></summary>

Config Location: VS Code Settings → Cline → MCP Settings

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sql-server": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@tharanabopearachchi/sql-server-mcp@latest"],
      "env": {
        "SQL_SERVER": "localhost",
        "SQL_DATABASE": "master",
        "SQL_USE_WINDOWS_AUTH": "true"
      }
    }
  }
}

</details>

Restart your AI assistant and you're ready to go!

🛠️ Development Setup

For development or local modifications:

Windows

cd sql-server-mcp
npm install
npm run build

👉 Complete Windows Setup Instructions

macOS

cd sql-server-mcp-mac
npm install
npm run build

👉 Complete macOS Setup Instructions

🛠️ Available MCP Tools

The server provides 12 powerful tools for database exploration:

Schema Exploration

• list_databases - Discover all available databases
• list_tables - View tables with row counts
• describe_table - Get detailed schema (columns, types, constraints, indexes)
• list_views - List all views
• list_stored_procedures - List stored procedures with metadata
• get_procedure_definition - Get full SQL definition
• get_database_overview - High-level statistics

Relationship Mapping

• get_table_relationships - Get foreign key relationships (incoming & outgoing)
• get_related_tables - Find directly connected tables

Search & Discovery

• search_schema - Search across tables, columns, views, procedures
• find_column_usage - Find all tables containing a specific column

Query Execution

• execute_query - Execute read-only SELECT queries safely

💬 Example Usage

Once configured, you can ask your AI assistant:

"What databases are available on this server?"

"Show me all tables in the Sales database"

"What's the schema of the Orders table?"

"Find all tables that reference the Customers table"

"Search for any columns related to 'email'"

"Execute: SELECT TOP 10 * FROM Products ORDER BY Price DESC"

⚙️ Configuration

Both versions use environment variables for configuration:

SQL_SERVER=localhost
SQL_DATABASE=master
SQL_PORT=1433
SQL_USE_WINDOWS_AUTH=true          # Windows only
SQL_USERNAME=                       # For SQL Auth
SQL_PASSWORD=                       # For SQL Auth
QUERY_TIMEOUT=30
MAX_RESULT_ROWS=1000
ENABLE_SCHEMA_CACHE=true
CACHE_TTL_MINUTES=60

See platform-specific READMEs for detailed configuration instructions.

🔐 Security Features

• ✅ Read-only by default - Write operations disabled unless explicitly enabled
• ✅ Query validation - Only SELECT statements allowed by default
• ✅ Automatic timeouts - Prevents long-running queries
• ✅ Row limits - Prevents memory exhaustion
• ✅ SQL injection prevention - Query sanitization and validation
• ✅ Database whitelisting - Optional restriction to specific databases

🏗️ Architecture

MCP/
├── sql-server-mcp/              # Windows implementation
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── index.ts             # MCP server entry point
│   │   ├── database/            # Connection, caching, queries
│   │   ├── tools/               # 12 MCP tools
│   │   └── types/               # TypeScript interfaces
│   ├── dist/                    # Compiled output
│   ├── package.json
│   └── README.md                # Windows documentation
│
├── sql-server-mcp-mac/          # macOS implementation
│   ├── src/                     # Same structure as Windows
│   └── README.md                # macOS documentation
│
├── LICENSE                      # MIT License
└── README.md                    # This file

🎯 Use Cases

Database Exploration

• "What tables exist in this database?"
• "Show me the structure of the Users table"
• "List all stored procedures"

Schema Research

• "Find all tables with an 'email' column"
• "Search for anything related to 'invoice'"
• "What views are available?"

Relationship Analysis

• "How are Orders and Customers related?"
• "Show me all tables that reference Products"
• "What are the foreign key relationships for this table?"

Data Queries

• "Get the top 10 most expensive products"
• "Show me recent orders"
• "What's the total count of records in each table?"

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request. For major changes, please open an issue first to discuss what you would like to change.

📄 License

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

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Built on Model Context Protocol SDK
• Uses mssql and msnodesqlv8 drivers
• Inspired by the need for better AI-database integration

📚 Resources

• Windows Setup Guide: sql-server-mcp/README.md
• macOS Setup Guide: sql-server-mcp-mac/README.md
• Troubleshooting: Check platform-specific TROUBLESHOOTING.md files
• MCP Documentation: https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol
• Report Issues: https://github.com/TharanaBope/SQL-MCP-Mac-Windows/issues

🌐 Platform-Specific Documentation

Platform	Directory	Key Features
Windows	sql-server-mcp/	Windows Auth, ODBC Driver, Native performance
macOS	sql-server-mcp-mac/	Docker SQL Server, Pure JS, No native deps

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