MCP Toolbox for Databases

--- title: "Quickstart (MCP)" type: docs weight: 5 description: > How to get started running Toolbox locally with MCP Inspector. --- ## Overview [Model Context Protocol](https://modelcontextprotocol.io) is an open protocol that standardizes how applications provide context to LLMs. Check out this page on how to [connect to Toolbox via MCP](../../how-to/connect_via_mcp.md). ## Step 1: Set up your database In this section, we will create a database, insert some data that needs to be access by our agent, and create a database user for Toolbox to connect with. 1. Connect to postgres using the `psql` command: ```bash psql -h 127.0.0.1 -U postgres ``` Here, `postgres` denotes the default postgres superuser. 1. Create a new database and a new user: {{< notice tip >}} For a real application, it's best to follow the principle of least permission and only grant the privileges your application needs. {{< /notice >}} ```sql CREATE USER toolbox_user WITH PASSWORD 'my-password'; CREATE DATABASE toolbox_db; GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE toolbox_db TO toolbox_user; ALTER DATABASE toolbox_db OWNER TO toolbox_user; ``` 1. End the database session: ```bash \q ``` 1. Connect to your database with your new user: ```bash psql -h 127.0.0.1 -U toolbox_user -d toolbox_db ``` 1. Create a table using the following command: ```sql CREATE TABLE hotels( id INTEGER NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY, name VARCHAR NOT NULL, location VARCHAR NOT NULL, price_tier VARCHAR NOT NULL, checkin_date DATE NOT NULL, checkout_date DATE NOT NULL, booked BIT NOT NULL ); ``` 1. Insert data into the table. ```sql INSERT INTO hotels(id, name, location, price_tier, checkin_date, checkout_date, booked) VALUES (1, 'Hilton Basel', 'Basel', 'Luxury', '2024-04-22', '2024-04-20', B'0'), (2, 'Marriott Zurich', 'Zurich', 'Upscale', '2024-04-14', '2024-04-21', B'0'), (3, 'Hyatt Regency Basel', 'Basel', 'Upper Upscale', '2024-04-02', '2024-04-20', B'0'), (4, 'Radisson Blu Lucerne', 'Lucerne', 'Midscale', '2024-04-24', '2024-04-05', B'0'), (5, 'Best Western Bern', 'Bern', 'Upper Midscale', '2024-04-23', '2024-04-01', B'0'), (6, 'InterContinental Geneva', 'Geneva', 'Luxury', '2024-04-23', '2024-04-28', B'0'), (7, 'Sheraton Zurich', 'Zurich', 'Upper Upscale', '2024-04-27', '2024-04-02', B'0'), (8, 'Holiday Inn Basel', 'Basel', 'Upper Midscale', '2024-04-24', '2024-04-09', B'0'), (9, 'Courtyard Zurich', 'Zurich', 'Upscale', '2024-04-03', '2024-04-13', B'0'), (10, 'Comfort Inn Bern', 'Bern', 'Midscale', '2024-04-04', '2024-04-16', B'0'); ``` 1. End the database session: ```bash \q ``` ## Step 2: Install and configure Toolbox In this section, we will download Toolbox, configure our tools in a `tools.yaml`, and then run the Toolbox server. 1. Download the latest version of Toolbox as a binary: {{< notice tip >}} Select the [correct binary](https://github.com/googleapis/genai-toolbox/releases) corresponding to your OS and CPU architecture. {{< /notice >}} <!-- {x-release-please-start-version} --> ```bash export OS="linux/amd64" # one of linux/amd64, darwin/arm64, darwin/amd64, or windows/amd64 curl -O https://storage.googleapis.com/genai-toolbox/v0.17.0/$OS/toolbox ``` <!-- {x-release-please-end} --> 1. Make the binary executable: ```bash chmod +x toolbox ``` 1. Write the following into a `tools.yaml` file. Be sure to update any fields such as `user`, `password`, or `database` that you may have customized in the previous step. {{< notice tip >}} In practice, use environment variable replacement with the format ${ENV_NAME} instead of hardcoding your secrets into the configuration file. {{< /notice >}} ```yaml sources: my-pg-source: kind: postgres host: 127.0.0.1 port: 5432 database: toolbox_db user: toolbox_user password: my-password tools: search-hotels-by-name: kind: postgres-sql source: my-pg-source description: Search for hotels based on name. parameters: - name: name type: string description: The name of the hotel. statement: SELECT * FROM hotels WHERE name ILIKE '%' || $1 || '%'; search-hotels-by-location: kind: postgres-sql source: my-pg-source description: Search for hotels based on location. parameters: - name: location type: string description: The location of the hotel. statement: SELECT * FROM hotels WHERE location ILIKE '%' || $1 || '%'; book-hotel: kind: postgres-sql source: my-pg-source description: >- Book a hotel by its ID. If the hotel is successfully booked, returns a NULL, raises an error if not. parameters: - name: hotel_id type: string description: The ID of the hotel to book. statement: UPDATE hotels SET booked = B'1' WHERE id = $1; update-hotel: kind: postgres-sql source: my-pg-source description: >- Update a hotel's check-in and check-out dates by its ID. Returns a message indicating whether the hotel was successfully updated or not. parameters: - name: hotel_id type: string description: The ID of the hotel to update. - name: checkin_date type: string description: The new check-in date of the hotel. - name: checkout_date type: string description: The new check-out date of the hotel. statement: >- UPDATE hotels SET checkin_date = CAST($2 as date), checkout_date = CAST($3 as date) WHERE id = $1; cancel-hotel: kind: postgres-sql source: my-pg-source description: Cancel a hotel by its ID. parameters: - name: hotel_id type: string description: The ID of the hotel to cancel. statement: UPDATE hotels SET booked = B'0' WHERE id = $1; toolsets: my-toolset: - search-hotels-by-name - search-hotels-by-location - book-hotel - update-hotel - cancel-hotel ``` For more info on tools, check out the [Tools](../../resources/tools/) section. 1. Run the Toolbox server, pointing to the `tools.yaml` file created earlier: ```bash ./toolbox --tools-file "tools.yaml" ``` ## Step 3: Connect to MCP Inspector 1. Run the MCP Inspector: ```bash npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector ``` 1. Type `y` when it asks to install the inspector package. 1. It should show the following when the MCP Inspector is up and running (please take note of `<YOUR_SESSION_TOKEN>`): ```bash Starting MCP inspector... ⚙️ Proxy server listening on localhost:6277 🔑 Session token: <YOUR_SESSION_TOKEN> Use this token to authenticate requests or set DANGEROUSLY_OMIT_AUTH=true to disable auth 🚀 MCP Inspector is up and running at: http://localhost:6274/?MCP_PROXY_AUTH_TOKEN=<YOUR_SESSION_TOKEN> ``` 1. Open the above link in your browser. 1. For `Transport Type`, select `Streamable HTTP`. 1. For `URL`, type in `http://127.0.0.1:5000/mcp`. 1. For `Configuration` -> `Proxy Session Token`, make sure `<YOUR_SESSION_TOKEN>` is present. 1. Click Connect.  1. Select `List Tools`, you will see a list of tools configured in `tools.yaml`.  1. Test out your tools here!