MySQL MCP Server

If you do not set the MYSQL_DATABASE environment variable, the server operates in Multi-database mode:

• list_resources will return all available user databases (system databases are filtered out).
• You must use fully qualified table names (e.g., database_name.table_name) in your SQL queries.
• Limitation: Only single SQL statements are supported. Multi-statement queries (like USE db; SELECT ...) are not allowed.

To use the MySQL MCP server with Claude Desktop, add the following configuration to your claude_desktop_config.json. Ensure you replace the placeholder values in the env block with your actual database credentials.

{
  "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"
      }
    }
  }
}

To use the MySQL MCP server with Visual Studio Code, add this to your mcp.json. Note that you must have uv installed for this configuration to work.

{
  "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"
      }
    }
  }
}

The SSE transport mode has no built-in authentication and binds to 0.0.0.0 by default. If exposing the server beyond localhost, you must place it behind a reverse proxy (like Nginx, Caddy, or Traefik) that enforces authentication.

Recommended Security Pattern:

1. Set MCP_SSE_HOST=127.0.0.1 so the server only listens on the loopback interface.
2. Use a reverse proxy to handle public requests and enforce authentication (e.g., HTTP Basic Auth).
3. Configure MCP_SSE_ALLOWED_HOSTS to include your proxy's public hostname.

Example Nginx Configuration:

location /sse {
    auth_basic "MCP";
    auth_basic_user_file /etc/nginx/.htpasswd;
    proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8000;
    proxy_set_header Host $host;
    proxy_buffering off;
}
location /messages/ {
    auth_basic "MCP";
    auth_basic_user_file /etc/nginx/.htpasswd;
    proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8000;
}

You can install the MySQL MCP Server using several methods depending on your environment:

Manual Installation

Install via pip:

pip install mysql-mcp-server

Via Smithery (Automatic Claude Desktop setup)

Use the Smithery CLI to install the server for Claude Desktop:

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

Via Claude Code CLI

Add the server to Claude Code using uvx:

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

When first connecting to a MySQL instance, use the list_resources capability to discover available data.

• List all tables (Single-DB mode): Call list_resources to see the tables in the current database.
• List all databases (Multi-DB mode): Call list_resources. It returns URIs in the format mysql://database/my_db.
• List tables in a specific database: In multi-DB mode, read the resource URI for the target database (e.g., mysql://database/my_db) to discover its tables.

The server exposes MySQL tables and databases as MCP resources using the mysql:// URI scheme.

• List Databases: If no default database is configured, you can discover databases via mysql://database/{db_name}.
• List Tables: In a specific database, you can list tables via mysql://database/{db_name}.
• Read Table Data: You can read a sample of data (up to 100 rows) from a table using mysql://{table_name}/data.

The server provides guided workflows via MCP prompts. In Claude Code, these are accessed via /mcp__mysql__<prompt_name>; in Claude Desktop, they appear in the prompts menu.

Example (Claude Code):

/mcp__mysql__explore_database
/mcp__mysql__analyze_table customers

Use get_table_sample to quickly verify table contents and data formats (such as date formats or status strings) without fetching large datasets. It returns a small sample of rows along with column names.

• Default behavior: Fetches 5 rows.
• Maximum limit: 20 rows.
• Custom limit: Use the limit parameter to specify the number of rows.

get_table_sample({"table_name": "orders", "limit": 10})

Use the get_schema_info tool to retrieve detailed column information, data types, and comments to understand table structures and relationships.

• To get an overview of all tables: Pass an empty object {}.
• To get detailed info for a specific table: Pass an object containing the table_name key.

Provides detailed metadata about database structures.

• Arguments: table_name (optional string)
• Output: Column names, types, nullability, default values, and comments.
• Cross-database: Pass database.table to query a table outside the configured MYSQL_DATABASE.
• Identifier rules: Names must contain only alphanumeric characters, underscores, and $ (dots are allowed as a separator between database and table names).