Whodb

What whodb does

The whodb MCP server connects AI agents to WhoDB, a self-hosted workspace for browsing and querying databases. WhoDB Community supports PostgreSQL, CockroachDB, YugabyteDB, QuestDB, MySQL, MariaDB, TiDB, SQLite, DuckDB, MongoDB, FerretDB, Redis, Valkey, Dragonfly, Elasticsearch, OpenSearch, ClickHouse, and Memcached. Available operations can vary by database because each source exposes different concepts and capabilities.

WhoDB is designed for inspecting local databases, helping teammates understand unfamiliar data, and working without a full desktop database client. The broader workspace includes a data grid, schema graph, query scratchpad, imports, exports, and mock-data generation. AI providers are optional for the workspace itself and can include hosted or local providers such as OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, Ollama, and LM Studio.

How it works

The MCP server is included with the WhoDB CLI. After installing the CLI, run whodb mcp serve to start the server. Agents then use the MCP connection to work with the database access exposed by WhoDB. Connection examples and the complete command reference are maintained in the repository's CLI guide.

WhoDB can run as a Docker container, desktop application, Snap package, or terminal application. When running the workspace in Docker, open its web interface on port 8080 and provide database connection details. The MCP command is a separate CLI entry point, so choose the installation and deployment method that fits the agent environment.

Setup and configuration

Install the CLI on macOS or Linux with the project's installation script, or install the npm package globally:

npm install -g @clidey/whodb
whodb mcp serve

For a quick WhoDB deployment, run:

docker run --rm -it -p 8080:8080 clidey/whodb

Persistent Docker sessions require a mounted /data volume and a saved WHODB_ENCRYPTION_KEY. If an HTTPS reverse proxy serves WhoDB, set WHODB_SECURE=true so session cookies are sent only over HTTPS. These settings concern the WhoDB deployment rather than a required MCP variable.

Tools and capabilities

The whodb MCP server is intended for agent access to database exploration and querying through WhoDB. The surrounding WhoDB workspace can:

• Browse, sort, filter, paginate, and edit records in a grid.
• Display table relationships through an interactive schema graph.
• Run queries in a multi-cell scratchpad with autocomplete and history.
• Import and export data.
• Generate mock data for development and testing.
• Provide a terminal workflow through the CLI.

The exact database options available to an individual connection are shown by WhoDB and depend on the selected source.

Limitations and notes

WhoDB Community is licensed under Apache-2.0 and is intended for self-hosting. Database support is not uniform across all connectors, so an operation available for one source may not be available for another. AI providers are optional and are not required to start the MCP server.

Hosted providers can be configured from the WhoDB interface, while Ollama and LM Studio are available as local options. Provider endpoint variables such as WHODB_OLLAMA_HOST, WHODB_OLLAMA_PORT, and WHODB_LMSTUDIO_BASE_URL are only needed when the default local addresses do not fit the deployment. WhoDB Platform is a separate commercial edition with additional organizational features; the repository describes the Community edition.