Overview

The DB MCP Server provides a standardized way for AI models to interact with multiple databases simultaneously. Built on the FreePeak/cortex framework, it enables AI assistants to execute SQL queries, manage transactions, explore schemas, and analyze performance across different database systems through a unified interface.

Core Concepts

Multi-Database Support

Unlike traditional database connectors, DB MCP Server can connect to and interact with multiple databases concurrently:

{
  "connections": [
    {
      "id": "mysql1",
      "type": "mysql",
      "host": "localhost",
      "port": 3306,
      "name": "db1",
      "user": "user1",
      "password": "password1"
    },
    {
      "id": "postgres1",
      "type": "postgres",
      "host": "localhost",
      "port": 5432,
      "name": "db2",
      "user": "user2",
      "password": "password2"
    },
    {
      "id": "oracle1",
      "type": "oracle",
      "host": "localhost",
      "port": 1521,
      "service_name": "XEPDB1",
      "user": "user3",
      "password": "password3"
    }
  ]
}

Dynamic Tool Generation

For each connected database, the server automatically generates specialized tools:

// For a database with ID "mysql1", these tools are generated:
query_mysql1       // Execute SQL queries
execute_mysql1     // Run data modification statements
transaction_mysql1 // Manage transactions
schema_mysql1      // Explore database schema
performance_mysql1 // Analyze query performance

Clean Architecture

The server follows Clean Architecture principles with these layers:

1. Domain Layer: Core business entities and interfaces
2. Repository Layer: Data access implementations
3. Use Case Layer: Application business logic
4. Delivery Layer: External interfaces (MCP tools)

Features

• Simultaneous Multi-Database Support: Connect to multiple MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, and Oracle databases concurrently
• Lazy Loading Mode: Defer connection establishment until first use - perfect for setups with 10+ databases (enable with --lazy-loading flag)
• Database-Specific Tool Generation: Auto-creates specialized tools for each connected database
• Clean Architecture: Modular design with clear separation of concerns
• OpenAI Agents SDK Compatibility: Full compatibility for seamless AI assistant integration
• Dynamic Database Tools: Execute queries, run statements, manage transactions, explore schemas, analyze performance
• Unified Interface: Consistent interaction patterns across different database types
• Connection Management: Simple configuration for multiple database connections
• Health Check: Automatic validation of database connectivity on startup

Supported Databases

Database	Status	Features
MySQL	✅ Full Support	Queries, Transactions, Schema Analysis, Performance Insights
PostgreSQL	✅ Full Support (v9.6-17)	Queries, Transactions, Schema Analysis, Performance Insights
SQLite	✅ Full Support	File-based & In-memory databases, SQLCipher encryption support
Oracle	✅ Full Support (10g-23c)	Queries, Transactions, Schema Analysis, RAC, Cloud Wallet, TNS
TimescaleDB	✅ Full Support	Hypertables, Time-Series Queries, Continuous Aggregates, Compression, Retention Policies

Deployment Options

The DB MCP Server can be deployed in multiple ways to suit different environments and integration needs:

Docker Deployment

# Pull the latest image
docker pull freepeak/db-mcp-server:latest

# Run with mounted config file
docker run -p 9092:9092 \
  -v $(pwd)/config.json:/app/my-config.json \
  -e TRANSPORT_MODE=sse \
  -e CONFIG_PATH=/app/my-config.json \
  -e DB_MCP_API_KEY=replace-me-with-a-long-random-string \
  freepeak/db-mcp-server

Note: Mount to /app/my-config.json as the container has a default file at /app/config.json.

API-Key Authentication

The SSE and streamable-HTTP transports accept an Authorization: Bearer <key> header. Set DB_MCP_API_KEY (or pass -api-key) when launching the Docker container; clients must then send the matching bearer token on every request:

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer replace-me-with-a-long-random-string" \
     http://localhost:9092/sse

When no API key is configured the transport remains open (single-user / development use). The middleware lives in internal/delivery/mcp.APIKeyAuth and is exported so you can compose it with your own reverse proxy if you front the container with nginx, Caddy, or Traefik.

STDIO Mode (IDE Integration)

# Run the server in STDIO mode
./bin/server -t stdio -c config.json

For Cursor IDE integration, add to .cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "stdio-db-mcp-server": {
      "command": "/path/to/db-mcp-server/server",
      "args": ["-t", "stdio", "-c", "/path/to/config.json"]
    }
  }
}

SSE Mode (Server-Sent Events)

# Default configuration (localhost:9092)
./bin/server -t sse -c config.json

# Custom host and port
./bin/server -t sse -host 0.0.0.0 -port 8080 -c config.json

Client connection endpoint: http://localhost:9092/sse

Source Code Installation

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/FreePeak/db-mcp-server.git
cd db-mcp-server

# Build the server
make build

# Run the server
./bin/server -t sse -c config.json

Configuration

Database Configuration File

Create a config.json file with your database connections:

{
  "connections": [
    {
      "id": "mysql1",
      "type": "mysql",
      "host": "mysql1",
      "port": 3306,
      "name": "db1",
      "user": "user1",
      "password": "password1",
      "query_timeout": 60,
      "max_open_conns": 20,
      "max_idle_conns": 5,
      "conn_max_lifetime_seconds": 300,
      "conn_max_idle_time_seconds": 60
    },
    {
      "id": "postgres1",
      "type": "postgres",
      "host": "postgres1",
      "port": 5432,
      "name": "db1",
      "user": "user1",
      "password": "password1"
    },
    {
      "id": "sqlite_app",
      "type": "sqlite",
      "database_path": "./data/app.db",
      "journal_mode": "WAL",
      "cache_size": 2000,
      "read_only": false,
      "use_modernc_driver": true,
      "query_timeout": 30,
      "max_open_conns": 1,
      "max_idle_conns": 1
    },
    {
      "id": "sqlite_encrypted",
      "type": "sqlite",
      "database_path": "./data/secure.db",
      "encryption_key": "your-secret-key-here",
      "journal_mode": "WAL",
      "use_modernc_driver": false
    },
    {
      "id": "sqlite_memory",
      "type": "sqlite",
      "database_path": ":memory:",
      "cache_size": 1000,
      "use_modernc_driver": true
    }
  ]
}

Command-Line Options

# Basic syntax
./bin/server -t <transport> -c <config-file>

# SSE transport options
./bin/server -t sse -host <hostname> -port <port> -c <config-file>

# Lazy loading mode (recommended for 10+ databases)
./bin/server -t stdio -c <config-file> --lazy-loading

# Customize log directory (useful for multi-project setups)
./bin/server -t stdio -c <config-file> -log-dir /tmp/db-mcp-logs

# Inline database configuration
./bin/server -t stdio -db-config '{"connections":[...]}'

# Environment variable configuration
export DB_CONFIG='{"connections":[...]}'
./bin/server -t stdio

Available Flags:

• -t, -transport: Transport mode (stdio or sse)
• -c, -config: Path to database configuration file
• -p, -port: Server port for SSE mode (default: 9092)
• -h, -host: Server host for SSE mode (default: localhost)
• -log-level: Log level (debug, info, warn, error)
• -log-dir: Directory for log files (default: ./logs in current directory)
• -db-config: Inline JSON database configuration

SQLite Configuration Options

When using SQLite databases, you can leverage these additional configuration options:

SQLite Connection Parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
database_path	string	Required	Path to SQLite database file or :memory: for in-memory
encryption_key	string	-	Key for SQLCipher encrypted databases
read_only	boolean	false	Open database in read-only mode
cache_size	integer	2000	SQLite cache size in pages
journal_mode	string	"WAL"	Journal mode: DELETE, TRUNCATE, PERSIST, WAL, OFF
use_modernc_driver	boolean	true	Use modernc.org/sqlite (CGO-free) or mattn/go-sqlite3

SQLite Examples

Basic File Database

{
  "id": "my_sqlite_db",
  "type": "sqlite",
  "database_path": "./data/myapp.db",
  "journal_mode": "WAL",
  "cache_size": 2000
}

Encrypted Database (SQLCipher)

{
  "id": "encrypted_db",
  "type": "sqlite",
  "database_path": "./data/secure.db",
  "encryption_key": "your-secret-encryption-key",
  "use_modernc_driver": false
}

In-Memory Database

{
  "id": "memory_db",
  "type": "sqlite",
  "database_path": ":memory:",
  "cache_size": 1000
}

Read-Only Database

{
  "id": "reference_data",
  "type": "sqlite",
  "database_path": "./data/reference.db",
  "read_only": true,
  "journal_mode": "DELETE"
}

Oracle Configuration Options

When using Oracle databases, you can leverage these additional configuration options:

Oracle Connection Parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
host	string	Required	Oracle database host
port	integer	1521	Oracle listener port
service_name	string	-	Service name (recommended for RAC)
sid	string	-	System identifier (legacy, use service_name instead)
user	string	Required	Database username
password	string	Required	Database password
wallet_location	string	-	Path to Oracle Cloud wallet directory
tns_admin	string	-	Path to directory containing tnsnames.ora
tns_entry	string	-	Named entry from tnsnames.ora
edition	string	-	Edition-Based Redefinition edition name
pooling	boolean	false	Enable driver-level connection pooling
standby_sessions	boolean	false	Allow queries on standby databases
nls_lang	string	AMERICAN_AMERICA.AL32UTF8	Character set configuration

Oracle Examples

Basic Oracle Connection (Development)

{
  "id": "oracle_dev",
  "type": "oracle",
  "host": "localhost",
  "port": 1521,
  "service_name": "XEPDB1",
  "user": "testuser",
  "password": "testpass",
  "max_open_conns": 50,
  "max_idle_conns": 10,
  "conn_max_lifetime_seconds": 1800
}

Oracle with SID (Legacy)

{
  "id": "oracle_legacy",
  "type": "oracle",
  "host": "oracledb.company.com",
  "port": 1521,
  "sid": "ORCL",
  "user": "app_user",
  "password": "app_password"
}

Oracle Cloud Autonomous Database (with Wallet)

{
  "id": "oracle_cloud",
  "type": "oracle",
  "user": "ADMIN",
  "password": "your-cloud-password",
  "wallet_location": "/path/to/wallet_DBNAME",
  "service_name": "dbname_high"
}

Oracle RAC (Real Application Clusters)

{
  "id": "oracle_rac",
  "type": "oracle",
  "host": "scan.company.com",
  "port": 1521,
  "service_name": "production",
  "user": "app_user",
  "password": "app_password",
  "max_open_conns": 100,
  "max_idle_conns": 20
}

Oracle with TNS Entry

{
  "id": "oracle_tns",
  "type": "oracle",
  "tns_admin": "/opt/oracle/network/admin",
  "tns_entry": "PROD_DB",
  "user": "app_user",
  "password": "app_password"
}

Oracle with Edition-Based Redefinition

{
  "id": "oracle_ebr",
  "type": "oracle",
  "host": "oracledb.company.com",
  "port": 1521,
  "service_name": "production",
  "user": "app_user",
  "password": "app_password",
  "edition": "v2_0"
}

Oracle Connection String Priority

When multiple connection methods are configured, the following priority is used:

1. TNS Entry (if tns_entry and tns_admin are configured)
2. Wallet (if wallet_location is configured) - for Oracle Cloud
3. Standard (host:port/service_name) - default method

Available Tools

For each connected database, DB MCP Server automatically generates these specialized tools:

Query Tools

Tool Name	Description
query_<db_id>	Execute SELECT queries and get results as a tabular dataset
execute_<db_id>	Run data manipulation statements (INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE)
transaction_<db_id>	Begin, commit, and rollback transactions

Schema Tools

Tool Name	Description
schema_<db_id>	Get information about tables, columns, indexes, and foreign keys
generate_schema_<db_id>	Generate SQL or code from database schema

Performance Tools

Tool Name	Description
performance_<db_id>	Analyze query performance and get optimization suggestions

TimescaleDB Tools

For PostgreSQL databases with TimescaleDB extension, these additional specialized tools are available:

Tool Name	Description
timescaledb_<db_id>	Perform general TimescaleDB operations
create_hypertable_<db_id>	Convert a standard table to a TimescaleDB hypertable
list_hypertables_<db_id>	List all hypertables in the database
time_series_query_<db_id>	Execute optimized time-series queries with bucketing
time_series_analyze_<db_id>	Analyze time-series data patterns
continuous_aggregate_<db_id>	Create materialized views that automatically update
refresh_continuous_aggregate_<db_id>	Manually refresh continuous aggregates

For detailed documentation on TimescaleDB tools, see TIMESCALEDB_TOOLS.md.

Unified Tool Mode

If you connect many databases (5+), the per-database tool naming generates a large number of tools (5 × N). Some MCP clients — Claude in particular — apply strict limits on the total number of tools and tool description size that can cause the agent to fail to load the server, ignore tools, or refuse to call them. Issue #18 documents this exact symptom: "the db-mcp-server does not function properly with Claude, even though it works fine with OpenAI".

For these clients, launch the server with the --unified-tools flag to register six consolidated tools (query, execute, transaction, performance, schema, list_databases) instead of per-database tools:

./bin/server -t stdio -c config.json --unified-tools

In unified mode, each tool accepts a required database parameter that names which database the call should target. See the Configuration section for the full list of available databases. This dramatically reduces the tool count and the cumulative description size, which resolves the Claude compatibility issues.

For very large configurations, also enable --lazy-loading so that startup doesn't open connections to databases that may never be queried during the session.

Examples

Querying Multiple Databases

-- Query the MySQL database
query_mysql1("SELECT * FROM users LIMIT 10")

-- Query the PostgreSQL database in the same context
query_postgres1("SELECT * FROM products WHERE price > 100")

-- Query the SQLite database
query_sqlite_app("SELECT * FROM local_data WHERE created_at > datetime('now', '-1 day')")

-- Query the Oracle database
query_oracle_dev("SELECT * FROM employees WHERE hire_date > SYSDATE - 30")

Managing Transactions

-- Start a transaction
transaction_mysql1("BEGIN")

-- Execute statements within the transaction
execute_mysql1("INSERT INTO orders (customer_id, product_id) VALUES (1, 2)")
execute_mysql1("UPDATE inventory SET stock = stock - 1 WHERE product_id = 2")

-- Commit or rollback
transaction_mysql1("COMMIT")
-- OR
transaction_mysql1("ROLLBACK")

Exploring Database Schema

-- Get all tables in the database
schema_mysql1("tables")

-- Get columns for a specific table
schema_mysql1("columns", "users")

-- Get constraints
schema_mysql1("constraints", "orders")

Working with SQLite-Specific Features

-- Create a table in SQLite
execute_sqlite_app("CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS local_cache (key TEXT PRIMARY KEY, value TEXT, timestamp DATETIME)")

-- Use SQLite-specific date functions
query_sqlite_app("SELECT * FROM events WHERE date(created_at) = date('now')")

-- Query SQLite master table for schema information
query_sqlite_app("SELECT name, sql FROM sqlite_master WHERE type='table' AND name NOT LIKE 'sqlite_%'")

-- Performance optimization with WAL mode
execute_sqlite_app("PRAGMA journal_mode = WAL")
execute_sqlite_app("PRAGMA synchronous = NORMAL")

Working with Oracle-Specific Features

-- Query user tables (excludes system schemas)
query_oracle_dev("SELECT table_name FROM user_tables ORDER BY table_name")

-- Use Oracle-specific date functions
query_oracle_dev("SELECT employee_id, hire_date FROM employees WHERE hire_date >= TRUNC(SYSDATE, 'YEAR')")

-- Oracle sequence operations
execute_oracle_dev("CREATE SEQUENCE emp_seq START WITH 1000 INCREMENT BY 1")
query_oracle_dev("SELECT emp_seq.NEXTVAL FROM DUAL")

-- Oracle-specific data types
query_oracle_dev("SELECT order_id, TO_CHAR(order_date, 'YYYY-MM-DD HH24:MI:SS') FROM orders")

-- Get schema metadata from Oracle data dictionary
query_oracle_dev("SELECT column_name, data_type, nullable FROM user_tab_columns WHERE table_name = 'EMPLOYEES'")

-- Use Oracle analytic functions
query_oracle_dev("SELECT employee_id, salary, RANK() OVER (ORDER BY salary DESC) as salary_rank FROM employees")

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

• Connection Failures: Verify network connectivity and database credentials
• Permission Errors: Ensure the database user has appropriate permissions
• Timeout Issues: Check the query_timeout setting in your configuration

Logs

Enable verbose logging for troubleshooting:

./bin/server -t sse -c config.json -v

Testing

Running Tests

The project includes comprehensive unit and integration tests for all supported databases.

Unit Tests

Run unit tests (no database required):

make test
# or
go test -short ./...

Integration Tests

Integration tests require running database instances. We provide Docker Compose configurations for easy setup.

Test All Databases:

# Start test databases
docker-compose -f docker-compose.test.yml up -d

# Run all integration tests
go test ./... -v

# Stop test databases
docker-compose -f docker-compose.test.yml down -v

Test Oracle Database:

# Start Oracle test environment
./oracle-test.sh start

# Run Oracle tests
./oracle-test.sh test
# or manually
ORACLE_TEST_HOST=localhost go test -v ./pkg/db -run TestOracle
ORACLE_TEST_HOST=localhost go test -v ./pkg/dbtools -run TestOracle

# Stop Oracle test environment
./oracle-test.sh stop

# Full cleanup (removes volumes)
./oracle-test.sh cleanup

Test TimescaleDB:

# Start TimescaleDB test environment
./timescaledb-test.sh start

# Run TimescaleDB tests
TIMESCALEDB_TEST_HOST=localhost go test -v ./pkg/db/timescale ./internal/delivery/mcp

# Stop TimescaleDB test environment
./timescaledb-test.sh stop

Regression Tests

Run comprehensive regression tests across all database types:

# Ensure all test databases are running
docker-compose -f docker-compose.test.yml up -d
./oracle-test.sh start

# Run regression tests
MYSQL_TEST_HOST=localhost \
POSTGRES_TEST_HOST=localhost \
ORACLE_TEST_HOST=localhost \
go test -v ./pkg/db -run TestRegression

# Run connection pooling tests
go test -v ./pkg/db -run TestConnectionPooling

Continuous Integration

All tests run automatically on every pull request via GitHub Actions. The CI pipeline includes:

• Unit Tests: Fast tests that don't require database connections
• Integration Tests: Tests against MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, and Oracle databases
• Regression Tests: Comprehensive tests ensuring backward compatibility
• Linting: Code quality checks with golangci-lint

Contributing

We welcome contributions to the DB MCP Server project! To contribute:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'feat: add amazing feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

Please see our CONTRIBUTING.md file for detailed guidelines.

Testing Your Changes

Before submitting a pull request, please ensure:

1. All unit tests pass: go test -short ./...
2. Integration tests pass for affected databases
3. Code follows the project's style guidelines: golangci-lint run ./...
4. New features include appropriate test coverage

License

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