connect_db
Connect to MySQL database (optional if environment variables are set)
LABSCO SUMMARY
A database an agent can be handed without also handing it a way to change anything.
There is no insert, update or schema-change call in the tool set — query is described as a SELECT, and the rest is inventory and structure. Values travel in params next to the sql string rather than inside it. connect_db makes the target switchable at run time, so one server can be pointed at a different host or database mid-session instead of being restarted with new environment variables.
What it is
A MySQL server whose tool set stops at reading: connect, list, describe and SELECT.
What you get
- SELECT execution where the statement and its values are separate arguments, so values are bound rather than pasted into the SQL string.
- The table list for the connected database.
- The column structure of any single table.
- A connection opened at call time from host, user, password, database and port, for the case where the environment does not already carry them.
Requirements
A reachable MySQL database, with MYSQL_HOST, MYSQL_USER, MYSQL_PASSWORD, MYSQL_DATABASE and MYSQL_PORT in the environment; connect_db takes the same values as arguments when they are not set.
Setup effort
One command plus credentials — npx @malove86/mcp-mysql-server, then supply credentials
USE CASES
01
Getting your bearings in a schema you did not design
List what tables exist, then read the columns of the two or three that look like they hold the answer.
02
Answering a data question in the middle of a conversation
Run the SELECT with its values bound through params instead of pasted into the statement.
03
Pointing the same session at a different database
Supply host, user, password, database and port on the call when the environment is set for somewhere else.
4 tools
Counted once with only startup setup. Other versions, modes or optional credentials may expose a different list.
describe_table
Get table structure
list_tables
List all tables in the database
query
Execute a SELECT query
BEFORE YOU INSTALL
What to know first
Tools you get
4 tools when we connected. From 0.2.2 the server connects automatically when its environment variables are set, so connect_db is optional; the query tool runs SELECT statements only.
Requires
- npx on PATH
- MYSQL_USER in your environment
- MYSQL_PASSWORD in your environment
Where it runs
The documented client runs the server on your machine.
CONTEXT COST
Light Standing cost
Rated by the size of the 4 tool definitions that ride along on every turn, not by how many there are
INSTALLATION
Connect your client
Server setup
TERMINAL
npx @malove86/mcp-mysql-serverMCP Clients
Any MCP client — local
ANY MCP CLIENT — LOCAL · JSON
{
"mcpServers": {
"mysql": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@malove86/mcp-mysql-server"
],
"env": {
"MYSQL_HOST": "<YOUR_MYSQL_HOST>",
"MYSQL_USER": "<YOUR_MYSQL_USER>",
"MYSQL_PASSWORD": "<YOUR_MYSQL_PASSWORD>",
"MYSQL_DATABASE": "<YOUR_MYSQL_DATABASE>",
"MYSQL_PORT": "3306"
}
}
}
}
