MySQL MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) implementation that enables secure interaction with MySQL databases. This server component facilitates communication between AI applications (hosts/clients) and MySQL databases, making database exploration and analysis safer and more structured through a controlled interface.

Note: MySQL MCP Server supports both standard input/output (STDIO) and Streamable HTTP (SSE) transport modes. The SSE mode is recommended for remote/self-hosted deployments.

Deployment options

Hosted — Fronteir AI runs the server for you; no local setup required.
Local — Smithery installs and runs the server on your own machine.

Features

List available MySQL tables as resources
Read table contents
Execute SQL queries with proper error handling
Multi-database mode (Optional MYSQL_DATABASE)
SSE/HTTP transport support (MCP_TRANSPORT=sse)
SSH Tunneling support
Comprehensive schema information
Table data sampling
Secure database access through environment variables
Comprehensive logging

Installation

Manual Installation

pip install mysql-mcp-server

Installing via Smithery

To install MySQL MCP Server for Claude Desktop automatically via Smithery:

npx -y @smithery/cli install designcomputer/mysql-mcp-server --client claude

Installing via Claude Code CLI

claude mcp add --transport stdio designcomputer-mysql_mcp_server uvx mysql_mcp_server

Configuration

Set the following environment variables:

MYSQL_HOST=localhost     # Database host
MYSQL_PORT=3306         # Optional: Database port (defaults to 3306 if not specified)
MYSQL_USER=your_username
MYSQL_PASSWORD=your_password
MYSQL_DATABASE=your_database # Optional: Omit for multi-database mode

# Advanced Configuration
MYSQL_SSL_MODE=DISABLED  # DISABLED, REQUIRED, VERIFY_CA, VERIFY_IDENTITY
MYSQL_CONNECT_TIMEOUT=10 # Timeout in seconds

# Compatibility (Optional)
MYSQL_CHARSET=utf8mb4
MYSQL_COLLATION=utf8mb4_unicode_ci
MYSQL_AUTH_PLUGIN=       # e.g., mysql_native_password for older MySQL versions
MYSQL_USE_PURE=false     # Use pure Python implementation
MYSQL_RAISE_ON_WARNINGS=false

# SSE Transport (Optional)
MCP_TRANSPORT=stdio      # stdio or sse
MCP_SSE_HOST=0.0.0.0     # Listen on all interfaces (required for Docker/hosting)
PORT=8000                # HTTP port (fallback for MCP_SSE_PORT)

# SSH Tunneling (Optional)
MYSQL_SSH_ENABLE=false   # Set to true to enable
MYSQL_SSH_HOST=          # SSH jump host
MYSQL_SSH_PORT=22        # SSH port
MYSQL_SSH_USER=          # SSH username
MYSQL_SSH_KEY_PATH=      # Path to SSH private key
MYSQL_SSH_REMOTE_HOST=localhost # Host from the perspective of the jump host
MYSQL_SSH_REMOTE_PORT=3306
MYSQL_LOCAL_PORT=3330

Multi-Database Mode

When MYSQL_DATABASE is not set, the server operates in multi-database mode:

list_resources returns all user databases (system databases are filtered out)
Use fully qualified table names like mydb.mytable in SQL queries
Note: Only single SQL statements are supported. Multi-statement queries (e.g., USE db; SELECT ...) are not supported.

Available Tools

`execute_sql`

Executes any standard SQL query.

Arguments: query (string)
Features: Supports SELECT, SHOW, DESCRIBE, and DML (INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE). DML operations are marked with a destructive hint.
Limitation: Single statements only. Multi-statement queries are not supported.
Cross-database: Use database.table notation to query any database regardless of the MYSQL_DATABASE setting.

`get_schema_info`

Provides detailed metadata about database structures.

Arguments: table_name (optional string)
Output: Column names, types, nullability, default values, and comments.
Scope: Only queries tables in the database set by MYSQL_DATABASE. Does not support database.table notation.
Identifier rules: Table names must contain only alphanumeric characters, underscores, and $.

`get_table_sample`

Fetches a representative sample of data.

Arguments: table_name (string), limit (optional integer, max 20)
Use Case: Quickly understand data formats and content without fetching large result sets.
Scope: Only queries tables in the database set by MYSQL_DATABASE. Does not support database.table notation.
Identifier rules: Table names must contain only alphanumeric characters, underscores, and $.

Tool Scope: execute_sql can query any database using database.table notation. get_schema_info and get_table_sample are limited to the database specified by MYSQL_DATABASE. If you need schema or sample data from a different database, use execute_sql instead (e.g., DESCRIBE other_db.mytable).

Usage

With Claude Desktop

Add this to your claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mysql": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": [
        "--directory",
        "path/to/mysql_mcp_server",
        "run",
        "mysql_mcp_server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "MYSQL_HOST": "localhost",
        "MYSQL_PORT": "3306",
        "MYSQL_USER": "your_username",
        "MYSQL_PASSWORD": "your_password",
        "MYSQL_DATABASE": "your_database"
      }
    }
  }
}

For more detailed examples and agent-specific guidance, see MCP_USECASES.md.

With Visual Studio Code

Add this to your mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mysql": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "--from",
        "mysql-mcp-server",
        "mysql_mcp_server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "MYSQL_HOST": "localhost",
        "MYSQL_PORT": "3306",
        "MYSQL_USER": "your_username",
        "MYSQL_PASSWORD": "your_password",
        "MYSQL_DATABASE": "your_database"
      }
    }
  }
}

Note: Will need to install uv for this to work

Debugging with MCP Inspector

While MySQL MCP Server isn’t intended to be run standalone or directly from the command line with Python, you can use the MCP Inspector to debug it.

The MCP Inspector provides a convenient way to test and debug your MCP implementation:

# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt
# Use the MCP Inspector for debugging (do not run directly with Python)

The MySQL MCP Server is designed to be integrated with AI applications like Claude Desktop and should not be run directly as a standalone Python program.

Development

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/designcomputer/mysql_mcp_server.git
cd mysql_mcp_server
# Create virtual environment
python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate  # or `venv\Scripts\activate` on Windows
# Install development dependencies
pip install -r requirements-dev.txt
# Copy the example config and edit with your credentials
cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env with your MySQL connection details
# Run tests
pytest

Security Considerations

Identifier Validation: Table and database names passed to get_schema_info and get_table_sample are validated against a strict whitelist (alphanumeric, underscore, and $ only). Dots and special characters are rejected to prevent SQL injection.
Encrypted Access: Full support for SSL/TLS and SSH Tunneling for secure remote connections.
Log Privacy: Passwords and SSH private keys are automatically masked in server logs.
Least Privilege: Always use a dedicated MySQL user with minimal required permissions.

See SECURITY.md for a comprehensive guide on securing your deployment.

Security Best Practices

This MCP implementation requires database access to function. For security:

Create a dedicated MySQL user with minimal permissions
Never use root credentials or administrative accounts
Restrict database access to only necessary operations
Enable logging for audit purposes
Regular security reviews of database access

See MySQL Security Configuration Guide for detailed instructions on:

Creating a restricted MySQL user
Setting appropriate permissions
Monitoring database access
Security best practices

⚠️ IMPORTANT: Always follow the principle of least privilege when configuring database access.

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

Contributing

Fork the repository
Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some amazing feature')
Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
Open a Pull Request

@designcomputer/mysql-mcp-server