database-mcp

MCP servers that give AI clients safe, structured access to SQL databases.

One installable package per database engine, in TypeScript (npm) and Python (PyPI). Every package exposes the same minimal two-tool surface, execute_sql and search_objects, with guardrails on by default: read-only mode, row caps, and statement timeouts.

Packages

Both lines are published and pass the same language-agnostic conformance suite against real databases in CI, so behavior is identical regardless of language. Every engine is also listed on the MCP Registry with both install options.

Go and Rust implementations are planned.

Related MCP server: sql-explorer-mcp

Design principles

• Two tools, no more. A tiny tool surface keeps the model's context window clean. search_objects progressively discloses schema: call it with no arguments to list tables, with a table name to get columns, indexes, and foreign keys.

• Safe by default. Read-only mode is enforced in two layers: a conservative SQL guard, plus a session-level read-only setting in the database itself. Rows are capped (default 1000) and statements time out (default 30s).

• Configured at launch, never via chat. Connection details come from flags, a YAML config file, or environment variables. Credentials are never accepted through a tool call.

• Secrets never appear in logs. Passwords live in non-printable secret types, DSNs are sanitized before logging, and a redaction filter guards the log boundary.

Quick start

Pick your engine's package; each README has the full config surface. SQLite via npm:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sqlite": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@database-mcp/sqlite", "--dsn", "/absolute/path/to/database.db"]
    }
  }
}

Or via PyPI: use "command": "uvx" and "args": ["database-mcp-sqlite", "--dsn", "/absolute/path/to/database.db"]. Flags, environment variables, and YAML config are identical across both lines.

Networked engines take credentials from the environment (MYSQL_*, MARIADB_*, POSTGRES_*/DATABASE_URL, LIBSQL_URL/LIBSQL_AUTH_TOKEN), *_FILE mounted secrets, or a YAML file via --config. Never from a chat prompt.

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md. The short version: the conformance suite is the definition of done. A change is mergeable only when conformance/run.mjs passes against every affected server.

License

MIT