How do I use SQL Server MCP Server?

1. Click on "Install Server". 2. Wait a few minutes for the server to deploy. Once ready, it will show a "Started" state. 3. In the chat, type @ followed by the MCP server name and your instructions, e.g., "@SQL Server MCP Server list all tables in the database" That's it! The server will respond to your query, and you can continue using it as needed. Here is a step-by-step guide with screenshots.

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SQL Server MCP Server

by SteveZhuhaobo

Overview Schema Related Servers Score Discussions

Python

Remote

SQL Server MCP Server

A containerized Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for SQL Server operations. This Docker container provides a complete MCP server that can connect to SQL Server and execute various database operations through the MCP protocol.

Features

Complete SQL Server Integration: Execute queries, manage tables, and perform database operations
Environment Variable Configuration: Easy configuration through environment variables
Authentication Support: Both SQL Server and Windows authentication
Connection Management: Built-in connection handling and retry logic
Health Checks: Container health monitoring and validation
Multi-platform Support: Supports both AMD64 and ARM64 architectures
ODBC Driver Support: Includes Microsoft ODBC Driver 17 for SQL Server

Quick Start

Using Docker Run

# Basic usage with SQL Server authentication
docker run -e SQLSERVER_SERVER=myserver.database.windows.net \
           -e SQLSERVER_DATABASE=mydatabase \
           -e SQLSERVER_USERNAME=myuser \
           -e SQLSERVER_PASSWORD=mypassword \
           sqlserver-mcp:latest

Using Docker Compose

Copy the .env.example file to .env:
```
cp .env.example .env
```
Edit the .env file with your SQL Server credentials:
```
# Edit .env with your settings
nano .env
```
Start the container:
```
docker-compose up -d
```

Configuration

Environment Variables

Required Variables

Variable	Description	Example
`SQLSERVER_SERVER`	SQL Server hostname or IP	`myserver.database.windows.net`

Authentication Variables (choose one method)

Method 1: SQL Server Authentication

Variable	Description	Example
`SQLSERVER_USERNAME`	SQL Server username	`sa`
`SQLSERVER_PASSWORD`	SQL Server password	`MyPassword123!`

Method 2: Windows Authentication

Variable	Description	Example
`SQLSERVER_USE_WINDOWS_AUTH`	Use Windows authentication	`true`

Optional Connection Variables

Variable	Description	Default	Example
`SQLSERVER_DATABASE`	Default database	`master`	`MyDatabase`
`SQLSERVER_DRIVER`	ODBC driver name	`ODBC Driver 17 for SQL Server`	`ODBC Driver 18 for SQL Server`
`SQLSERVER_ENCRYPT`	Encrypt connection	`yes`	`no`
`SQLSERVER_TRUST_CERTIFICATE`	Trust server certificate	`yes`	`no`

Authentication Methods

SQL Server Authentication

The most common authentication method using username and password:

docker run -e SQLSERVER_SERVER=myserver \
           -e SQLSERVER_DATABASE=mydatabase \
           -e SQLSERVER_USERNAME=myuser \
           -e SQLSERVER_PASSWORD=mypassword \
           sqlserver-mcp:latest

Windows Authentication

For domain-joined environments (requires additional container configuration):

docker run -e SQLSERVER_SERVER=myserver \
           -e SQLSERVER_DATABASE=mydatabase \
           -e SQLSERVER_USE_WINDOWS_AUTH=true \
           sqlserver-mcp:latest

Available MCP Tools

The server provides the following MCP tools:

Connection Management

test_connection - Test SQL Server connection and return basic database info

Database Discovery

list_tables - List all tables in the SQL Server database
get_table_schema - Get detailed table schema information

Table Operations

create_table - Create a new table in SQL Server
insert_data - Insert data into a SQL Server table

Query Execution

execute_query - Execute SQL queries with full result sets

Building the Container

Build Script

Use the provided build script for easy building:

# Build with default settings
./build.sh

# Build with specific tag
./build.sh v1.0.0

# Build with registry prefix
REGISTRY=ghcr.io/myorg ./build.sh v1.0.0

# Build and test
./build.sh --test

# Build without cache
./build.sh --no-cache

Manual Build

# Build the image
docker build -t sqlserver-mcp:latest .

# Build for multiple platforms
docker buildx build --platform linux/amd64,linux/arm64 -t sqlserver-mcp:latest .

Deployment Examples

Docker Compose with Secrets

version: '3.8'

services:
  sqlserver-mcp:
    image: sqlserver-mcp:latest
    environment:
      - SQLSERVER_SERVER=myserver.database.windows.net
      - SQLSERVER_DATABASE=mydatabase
      - SQLSERVER_USERNAME=myuser
    secrets:
      - sqlserver_password
    environment:
      - SQLSERVER_PASSWORD_FILE=/run/secrets/sqlserver_password

secrets:
  sqlserver_password:
    file: ./secrets/sqlserver_password.txt

Kubernetes Deployment

apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: sqlserver-mcp
spec:
  replicas: 1
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: sqlserver-mcp
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: sqlserver-mcp
    spec:
      containers:
      - name: sqlserver-mcp
        image: sqlserver-mcp:latest
        env:
        - name: SQLSERVER_SERVER
          value: "myserver.database.windows.net"
        - name: SQLSERVER_DATABASE
          value: "mydatabase"
        - name: SQLSERVER_USERNAME
          value: "myuser"
        - name: SQLSERVER_PASSWORD
          valueFrom:
            secretKeyRef:
              name: sqlserver-secret
              key: password
        resources:
          limits:
            memory: "512Mi"
            cpu: "500m"
          requests:
            memory: "256Mi"
            cpu: "250m"
        livenessProbe:
          exec:
            command:
            - python
            - -c
            - "import server; print('OK')"
          initialDelaySeconds: 30
          periodSeconds: 30
        readinessProbe:
          exec:
            command:
            - python
            - -c
            - "import server; print('OK')"
          initialDelaySeconds: 5
          periodSeconds: 10

Cloud Container Services

AWS ECS Task Definition

{
  "family": "sqlserver-mcp",
  "networkMode": "awsvpc",
  "requiresCompatibilities": ["FARGATE"],
  "cpu": "256",
  "memory": "512",
  "executionRoleArn": "arn:aws:iam::account:role/ecsTaskExecutionRole",
  "containerDefinitions": [
    {
      "name": "sqlserver-mcp",
      "image": "sqlserver-mcp:latest",
      "environment": [
        {"name": "SQLSERVER_SERVER", "value": "myserver.database.windows.net"},
        {"name": "SQLSERVER_DATABASE", "value": "mydatabase"},
        {"name": "SQLSERVER_USERNAME", "value": "myuser"}
      ],
      "secrets": [
        {
          "name": "SQLSERVER_PASSWORD",
          "valueFrom": "arn:aws:secretsmanager:region:account:secret:sqlserver-password"
        }
      ],
      "logConfiguration": {
        "logDriver": "awslogs",
        "options": {
          "awslogs-group": "/ecs/sqlserver-mcp",
          "awslogs-region": "us-east-1",
          "awslogs-stream-prefix": "ecs"
        }
      }
    }
  ]
}

Google Cloud Run

# Deploy to Cloud Run
gcloud run deploy sqlserver-mcp \
  --image=sqlserver-mcp:latest \
  --set-env-vars="SQLSERVER_SERVER=myserver,SQLSERVER_DATABASE=mydatabase,SQLSERVER_USERNAME=myuser" \
  --set-secrets="SQLSERVER_PASSWORD=sqlserver-password:latest" \
  --platform=managed \
  --region=us-central1 \
  --allow-unauthenticated

Azure Container Instances

# Create container instance
az container create \
  --resource-group myResourceGroup \
  --name sqlserver-mcp \
  --image sqlserver-mcp:latest \
  --environment-variables \
    SQLSERVER_SERVER=myserver.database.windows.net \
    SQLSERVER_DATABASE=mydatabase \
    SQLSERVER_USERNAME=myuser \
  --secure-environment-variables \
    SQLSERVER_PASSWORD=mypassword \
  --cpu 0.5 \
  --memory 1

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Connection Timeout

Error: Connection timeout

Solution: Check network connectivity and server availability:

# Test network connectivity
docker run --rm sqlserver-mcp:latest ping myserver.database.windows.net

Authentication Failed

Error: Login failed for user 'myuser'

Solutions:

Verify username and password
Check if user exists and has necessary permissions
Ensure SQL Server authentication is enabled
For Azure SQL Database, use the full username format: user@servername

Driver Not Found

Error: Data source name not found and no default driver specified

Solutions:

Verify ODBC driver is installed (should be included in container)
Check driver name in SQLSERVER_DRIVER environment variable

List available drivers:

docker exec -it sqlserver-mcp-server odbcinst -q -d

SSL/TLS Issues

Error: SSL Provider: The certificate chain was issued by an authority that is not trusted

Solutions:

Set SQLSERVER_TRUST_CERTIFICATE=yes
Or disable encryption: SQLSERVER_ENCRYPT=no
For production, use proper SSL certificates

Container Won't Start

Error: SQLSERVER_SERVER environment variable is required

Solution: Ensure all required environment variables are set:

docker run -e SQLSERVER_SERVER=myserver \
           -e SQLSERVER_USERNAME=myuser \
           -e SQLSERVER_PASSWORD=mypassword \
           sqlserver-mcp:latest

Health Check Failures

If health checks are failing:

Check container logs:
```
docker logs sqlserver-mcp-server
```

Test the connection manually:

docker exec -it sqlserver-mcp-server python -c "
import server
import asyncio
result = asyncio.run(server.test_connection())
print(result)
"

Verify environment variables:

docker exec -it sqlserver-mcp-server env | grep SQLSERVER

Performance Tuning

For better performance with large datasets:

# Increase connection timeout
-e SQLSERVER_CONNECTION_TIMEOUT=60

Logging

Enable detailed logging:

# Add to docker-compose.yml or docker run
environment:
  - PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1
  - LOG_LEVEL=DEBUG

View logs:

# Docker Compose
docker-compose logs -f sqlserver-mcp

# Docker run
docker logs -f sqlserver-mcp-server

Security Considerations

Secrets Management

Never hardcode credentials in Dockerfiles or compose files
Use Docker secrets or external secret management systems
Use environment variables for configuration
Rotate credentials regularly

Network Security

Use private networks for container communication
Limit container privileges (runs as non-root user)
Enable TLS for SQL Server connections (enabled by default)
Use firewall rules to restrict access

Container Security

Regular updates: Keep base images and dependencies updated
Vulnerability scanning: Scan images for security vulnerabilities
Resource limits: Set appropriate CPU and memory limits
Read-only filesystem: Mount application directories as read-only when possible

Development

Local Development

Clone the repository
Build the container:
```
./build.sh --test
```

Run with your configuration:

cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env with your settings
docker-compose up

Testing

Run the test suite:

# Build and test
./build.sh --test

# Manual testing
docker run --rm -e SQLSERVER_SERVER=test sqlserver-mcp:latest python -c "import server; print('Tests passed')"

Support

For issues and questions:

Check the troubleshooting section
Review container logs for error messages
Verify your SQL Server connection settings
Ensure all required environment variables are set

License

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

This server cannot be installed

license - permissive license

quality - not tested

maintenance

How are these scores calculated?

Resources

GitHub Repository

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