MCP Server for Milvus

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open protocol that enables seamless integration between LLM applications and external data sources and tools. Whether you're building an AI-powered IDE, enhancing a chat interface, or creating custom AI workflows, MCP provides a standardized way to connect LLMs with the context they need.

This repository contains a MCP server that provides access to Milvus vector database functionality.

Prerequisites

Before using this MCP server, ensure you have:

• Python 3.10 or higher
• A running Milvus instance (local or remote)
• uv installed (recommended for running the server)

Usage

The recommended way to use this MCP server is to run it directly with uv without installation. This is how both Claude Desktop and Cursor are configured to use it in the examples below.

If you want to clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/zilliztech/mcp-server-milvus.git
cd mcp-server-milvus

Then you can run the server directly:

uv run src/mcp_server_milvus/server.py --milvus-uri http://localhost:19530

Alternatively you can change the .env file in the src/mcp_server_milvus/ directory to set the environment variables and run the server with the following command:

uv run src/mcp_server_milvus/server.py

Important: the .env file will have higher priority than the command line arguments.

Running Modes

The server supports two running modes: stdio (default) and SSE (Server-Sent Events).

Stdio Mode (Default)

• Description: Communicates with the client via standard input/output. This is the default mode if no mode is specified.

• Usage:

  bash

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  uv run src/mcp_server_milvus/server.py --milvus-uri http://localhost:19530
  

SSE Mode

• Description: Uses HTTP Server-Sent Events for communication. This mode allows multiple clients to connect via HTTP and is suitable for web-based applications.

• Usage:

  bash

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  uv run src/mcp_server_milvus/server.py --sse --milvus-uri http://localhost:19530 --port 8000
  

  • --sse: Enables SSE mode.
  • --port: Specifies the port for the SSE server (default: 8000).

• Debugging in SSE Mode:

  If you want to debug in SSE mode, after starting the SSE service, enter the following command:

  bash

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  mcp dev src/mcp_server_milvus/server.py
  

  The output will be similar to:

  plaintext

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  % mcp dev src/mcp_server_milvus/merged_server.py
  Starting MCP inspector...
  ⚙️ Proxy server listening on port 6277
  🔍 MCP Inspector is up and running at http://127.0.0.1:6274 🚀
  

  You can then access the MCP Inspector at http://127.0.0.1:6274 for testing.

Streamable HTTP Mode

• Description: Uses HTTP with streaming support for communication. This is the recommended transport for production deployments and supports both stateful and stateless operation.

• Usage:

  bash

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  uv run src/mcp_server_milvus/server.py --streamable-http --milvus-uri http://localhost:19530 --port 8000
  

  • --streamable-http: Enables Streamable HTTP mode.
  • --port: Specifies the port for the server (default: 8000).
  • --stateless: Optional flag for stateless mode (no session persistence).

• Stateless Mode:

  bash

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  uv run src/mcp_server_milvus/server.py --streamable-http --stateless --milvus-uri http://localhost:19530 --port 8000
  

Supported Applications

This MCP server can be used with various LLM applications that support the Model Context Protocol:

• Claude Desktop: Anthropic's desktop application for Claude
• Cursor: AI-powered code editor with MCP support
• Custom MCP clients: Any application implementing the MCP client specification

Usage with Claude Desktop

Configuration for Different Modes

SSE Mode Configuration

Follow these steps to configure Claude Desktop for SSE mode:

1. Install Claude Desktop from https://claude.ai/download.
2. Open your Claude Desktop configuration file:
   • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
3. Add the following configuration for SSE mode:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "milvus-sse": {
      "url": "http://your_sse_host:port/sse",
      "disabled": false,
      "autoApprove": []
    }
  }
}

Streamable HTTP Mode Configuration

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "milvus-streamable-http": {
      "url": "http://your_host:port/mcp",
      "disabled": false,
      "autoApprove": []
    }
  }
}

4. Restart Claude Desktop to apply the changes.

Stdio Mode Configuration

For stdio mode, follow these steps:

1. Install Claude Desktop from https://claude.ai/download.
2. Open your Claude Desktop configuration file:
   • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
3. Add the following configuration for stdio mode:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "milvus": {
      "command": "/PATH/TO/uv",
      "args": [
        "--directory",
        "/path/to/mcp-server-milvus/src/mcp_server_milvus",
        "run",
        "server.py",
        "--milvus-uri",
        "http://localhost:19530"
      ]
    }
  }
}

4. Restart Claude Desktop to apply the changes.

Usage with Cursor

Cursor also supports MCP tools. You can integrate your Milvus MCP server with Cursor by following these steps:

Integration Steps

1. Open Cursor Settings > MCP
2. Click on Add new global MCP server
3. After clicking, it will automatically redirect you to the mcp.json file, which will be created if it doesn’t exist

Configuring the mcp.json File

For Stdio Mode:

Overwrite the mcp.json file with the following content:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "milvus": {
      "command": "/PATH/TO/uv",
      "args": [
        "--directory",
        "/path/to/mcp-server-milvus/src/mcp_server_milvus",
        "run",
        "server.py",
        "--milvus-uri",
        "http://127.0.0.1:19530"
      ]
    }
  }
}

For SSE Mode:

1. Start the service by running the following command:

   bash

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   uv run src/mcp_server_milvus/server.py --sse --milvus-uri http://your_sse_host --port port
   

   Note: Replace http://your_sse_host with your actual SSE host address and port with the specific port number you’re using.

2. Once the service is up and running, overwrite the mcp.json file with the following content:

   config.json

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   {
       "mcpServers": {
         "milvus-sse": {
           "url": "http://your_sse_host:port/sse",
           "disabled": false,
           "autoApprove": []
         }
       }
   }
   

For Streamable HTTP Mode:

1. Start the service:

   bash

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   uv run src/mcp_server_milvus/server.py --streamable-http --milvus-uri http://your_host --port port
   

2. Update mcp.json:

   config.json

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   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "milvus-streamable-http": {
         "url": "http://your_host:port/mcp",
         "disabled": false,
         "autoApprove": []
       }
     }
   }
   

Completing the Integration

After completing the above steps, restart Cursor or reload the window to ensure the configuration takes effect.

Verifying the Integration

To verify that Cursor has successfully integrated with your Milvus MCP server:

1. Open Cursor Settings > MCP
2. Check if "milvus", "milvus-sse", or "milvus-streamable-http" appear in the list (depending on the mode you have chosen)
3. Confirm that the relevant tools are listed (e.g., milvus_list_collections, milvus_vector_search, etc.)
4. If the server is enabled but shows an error, check the Troubleshooting section below

Available Tools

The server provides the following tools:

Search and Query Operations

• milvus_text_search: Search for documents using full text search