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

1. Install uv:

   pip install uv

   Or use Homebrew:

   brew install uv

2. unixODBC Runtime Environment Checks:

3. Check installation configuration (i.e., location of key INI files) by running: odbcinst -j

4. List available data source names by running: odbcinst -q -s

5. 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

6. 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.

Tools Provided

Overview

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:

1. Install the MCP Inspector:

   npm install -g @modelcontextprotocol/inspector

2. 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.