MCP Server ODBC via SQLAlchemy

A lightweight MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for ODBC built with FastAPI, pyodbc, and SQLAlchemy. This server is compatible with Virtuoso DBMS and other DBMS backends that implement a SQLAlchemy provider.

Features

Get Schemas: Fetch and list all schema names from the connected database.
Get Tables: Retrieve table information for specific schemas or all schemas.
Describe Table: Generate a detailed description of table structures, including:
- Column names and data types
- Nullable attributes
- Primary and foreign keys
Search Tables: Filter and retrieve tables based on name substrings.
Execute Stored Procedures: In the case of Virtuoso, execute stored procedures and retrieve results.
Execute Queries:
- JSONL result format: Optimized for structured responses.
- Markdown table format: Ideal for reporting and visualization.

Prerequisites

Install uv:
pip install uv
Or use Homebrew:
brew install uv
unixODBC Runtime Environment Checks:
Check installation configuration (i.e., location of key INI files) by running: odbcinst -j
List available data source names by running: odbcinst -q -s
ODBC DSN Setup: Configure your ODBC Data Source Name (~/.odbc.ini) for the target database. Example for Virtuoso DBMS:
[VOS] Description = OpenLink Virtuoso Driver = /path/to/virtodbcu_r.so Database = Demo Address = localhost:1111 WideAsUTF16 = Yes
SQLAlchemy URL Binding: Use the format:
virtuoso+pyodbc://user:password@VOS

Installation

Clone this repository:

git clone https://github.com/OpenLinkSoftware/mcp-sqlalchemy-server.git
cd mcp-sqlalchemy-server

Environment Variables

Update your .envby overriding the defaults to match your preferences

ODBC_DSN=VOS
ODBC_USER=dba
ODBC_PASSWORD=dba
API_KEY=xxx

Configuration

For Claude Desktop users: Add the following to claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "my_database": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": ["--directory", "/path/to/mcp-sqlalchemy-server", "run", "mcp-sqlalchemy-server"],
      "env": {
        "ODBC_DSN": "dsn_name",
        "ODBC_USER": "username",
        "ODBC_PASSWORD": "password",
        "API_KEY": "sk-xxx"
      }
    }
  }
}

Usage

Database Management System (DBMS) Connection URLs

Here are the pyodbc URL examples for connecting to DBMS systems that have been tested using this mcp-server.

Database	URL Format
Virtuoso DBMS	`virtuoso+pyodbc://user:password@ODBC_DSN`
PostgreSQL	`postgresql://user:password@localhost/dbname`
MySQL	`mysql+pymysql://user:password@localhost/dbname`
SQLite	`sqlite:///path/to/database.db`
Once connected, you can interact with your WhatsApp contacts through Claude, leveraging Claude's AI capabilities in your WhatsApp conversations.

Tools Provided

Overview

name	description
podbc_get_schemas	List database schemas accessible to connected database management system (DBMS).
podbc_get_tables	List tables associated with a selected database schema.
podbc_describe_table	Provide the description of a table associated with a designated database schema. This includes information about column names, data types, nulls handling, autoincrement, primary key, and foreign keys
podbc_filter_table_names	List tables, based on a substring pattern from the `q` input field, associated with a selected database schema.
podbc_query_database	Execute a SQL query and return results in JSONL format.
podbc_execute_query	Execute a SQL query and return results in JSONL format.
podbc_execute_query_md	Execute a SQL query and return results in Markdown table format.
podbc_spasql_query	Execute a SPASQL query and return results.
podbc_sparql_query	Execute a SPARQL query and return results.
podbc_virtuoso_support_ai	Interact with the Virtuoso Support Assistant/Agent -- a Virtuoso-specific feature for interacting with LLMs

Detailed Description

podbc_get_schemas
- Retrieve and return a list of all schema names from the connected database.
- Input parameters:
  - user (string, optional): Database username. Defaults to "demo".
  - password (string, optional): Database password. Defaults to "demo".
  - dsn (string, optional): ODBC data source name. Defaults to "Local Virtuoso".
- Returns a JSON string array of schema names.
podbc_get_tables
- Retrieve and return a list containing information about tables in a specified schema. If no schema is provided, uses the connection's default schema.
- Input parameters:
  - schema (string, optional): Database schema to filter tables. Defaults to connection default.
  - user (string, optional): Database username. Defaults to "demo".
  - password (string, optional): Database password. Defaults to "demo".
  - dsn (string, optional): ODBC data source name. Defaults to "Local Virtuoso".
- Returns a JSON string containing table information (e.g., TABLE_CAT, TABLE_SCHEM, TABLE_NAME, TABLE_TYPE).
podbc_filter_table_names
- Filters and returns information about tables whose names contain a specific substring.
- Input parameters:
  - q (string, required): The substring to search for within table names.
  - schema (string, optional): Database schema to filter tables. Defaults to connection default.
  - user (string, optional): Database username. Defaults to "demo".
  - password (string, optional): Database password. Defaults to "demo".
  - dsn (string, optional): ODBC data source name. Defaults to "Local Virtuoso".
- Returns a JSON string containing information for matching tables.
podbc_describe_table
- Retrieve and return detailed information about the columns of a specific table.
- Input parameters:
  - schema (string, required): The database schema name containing the table.
  - table (string, required): The name of the table to describe.
  - user (string, optional): Database username. Defaults to "demo".
  - password (string, optional): Database password. Defaults to "demo".
  - dsn (string, optional): ODBC data source name. Defaults to "Local Virtuoso".
- Returns a JSON string describing the table's columns (e.g., COLUMN_NAME, TYPE_NAME, COLUMN_SIZE, IS_NULLABLE).
podbc_query_database
- Execute a standard SQL query and return the results in JSON format.
- Input parameters:
  - query (string, required): The SQL query string to execute.
  - user (string, optional): Database username. Defaults to "demo".
  - password (string, optional): Database password. Defaults to "demo".
  - dsn (string, optional): ODBC data source name. Defaults to "Local Virtuoso".
- Returns query results as a JSON string.
podbc_query_database_md
- Execute a standard SQL query and return the results formatted as a Markdown table.
- Input parameters:
  - query (string, required): The SQL query string to execute.
  - user (string, optional): Database username. Defaults to "demo".
  - password (string, optional): Database password. Defaults to "demo".
  - dsn (string, optional): ODBC data source name. Defaults to "Local Virtuoso".
- Returns query results as a Markdown table string.
podbc_query_database_jsonl
- Execute a standard SQL query and return the results in JSON Lines (JSONL) format (one JSON object per line).
- Input parameters:
  - query (string, required): The SQL query string to execute.
  - user (string, optional): Database username. Defaults to "demo".
  - password (string, optional): Database password. Defaults to "demo".
  - dsn (string, optional): ODBC data source name. Defaults to "Local Virtuoso".
- Returns query results as a JSONL string.
podbc_spasql_query
- Execute a SPASQL (SQL/SPARQL hybrid) query return results. This is a Virtuoso-specific feature.
- Input parameters:
  - query (string, required): The SPASQL query string.
  - max_rows (number, optional): Maximum number of rows to return. Defaults to 20.
  - timeout (number, optional): Query timeout in milliseconds. Defaults to 30000.
  - user (string, optional): Database username. Defaults to "demo".
  - password (string, optional): Database password. Defaults to "demo".
  - dsn (string, optional): ODBC data source name. Defaults to "Local Virtuoso".
- Returns the result from the underlying stored procedure call (e.g., Demo.demo.execute_spasql_query).
podbc_sparql_query
- Execute a SPARQL query and return results. This is a Virtuoso-specific feature.
- Input parameters:
  - query (string, required): The SPARQL query string.
  - format (string, optional): Desired result format. Defaults to 'json'.
  - timeout (number, optional): Query timeout in milliseconds. Defaults to 30000.
  - user (string, optional): Database username. Defaults to "demo".
  - password (string, optional): Database password. Defaults to "demo".
  - dsn (string, optional): ODBC data source name. Defaults to "Local Virtuoso".
- Returns the result from the underlying function call (e.g., "UB".dba."sparqlQuery").
podbc_virtuoso_support_ai
- Utilizes a Virtuoso-specific AI Assistant function, passing a prompt and optional API key. This is a Virtuoso-specific feature.
- Input parameters:
  - prompt (string, required): The prompt text for the AI function.
  - api_key (string, optional): API key for the AI service. Defaults to "none".
  - user (string, optional): Database username. Defaults to "demo".
  - password (string, optional): Database password. Defaults to "demo".
  - dsn (string, optional): ODBC data source name. Defaults to "Local Virtuoso".
- Returns the result from the AI Support Assistant function call (e.g., DEMO.DBA.OAI_VIRTUOSO_SUPPORT_AI).

Troubleshooting

For easier troubleshooting:

Install the MCP Inspector:
npm install -g @modelcontextprotocol/inspector
Start the inspector:
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector uv --directory /path/to/mcp-sqlalchemy-server run mcp-sqlalchemy-server

Access the provided URL to troubleshoot server interactions.

mcp-sqlalchemy

Integrations