OpenLink MCP Server for ODBC via PyODBC

A lightweight MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for ODBC built with FastAPI and pyodbc. This server is compatible with Virtuoso DBMS and any other DBMS backend that has an ODBC driver.

Features

• Get Schemas: Fetch and list all schema names from the connected database.
• Get Tables: Retrieve table information for specific schemas or all schemas.
• Describe Table: Generate a detailed description of table structures, including:
  • Column names and data types
  • Nullable attributes
  • Primary and foreign keys
• Search Tables: Filter and retrieve tables based on name substrings.
• Execute Stored Procedures: When connected to Virtuoso, execute stored procedures and retrieve results.
• Execute Queries:
  • JSONL result format: Optimized for structured responses.
  • Markdown table format: Ideal for reporting and visualization.

Environment Variables

Update your .env by overriding the defaults to match your preferences.

ODBC_DSN=VOS
ODBC_USER=dba
ODBC_PASSWORD=dba
API_KEY=xxx

Prerequisites

1. Install uv:

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   pip install uv

   Or use Homebrew:

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   brew install uv

2. unixODBC Runtime Environment Checks:

3. Check installation configuration (i.e., location of key INI files) by running: odbcinst -j

4. List available data source names by running: odbcinst -q -s

5. ODBC DSN Setup: Configure your ODBC Data Source Name (typically in ~/.odbc.ini) for the target database. Example for Virtuoso DBMS:

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   [VOS]
   Description = OpenLink Virtuoso
   Driver = /path/to/virtodbcu_r.so
   Database = Demo
   Address = localhost:1111
   WideAsUTF16 = Yes

Installation

Clone this repository:

git clone https://github.com/OpenLinkSoftware/mcp-pyodbc-server.git
cd mcp-pyodbc-server

Configuration

For Claude Desktop users:

Add the following to claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "my_database": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": ["--directory", "/path/to/mcp-pyodbc-server", "run", "mcp-pyodbc-server"],
      "env": {
        "ODBC_DSN": "dsn_name",
        "ODBC_USER": "username",
        "ODBC_PASSWORD": "password",
        "API_KEY": "sk-xxx"
      }
    }
  }
}

Usage

Tools Provided

After successful installation, the following tools will be available to MCP client applications.

Overview

Detailed Description

• podbc_get_schemas

  • Retrieve and return a list of all schema names from the connected database.
  • Input parameters:
    • user (string, optional): Database username. Defaults to "demo".
    • password (string, optional): Database password. Defaults to "demo".
    • dsn (string, optional): ODBC data source name. Defaults to "Local Virtuoso".
  • Returns a JSON string array of schema names.

• podbc_get_tables

  • Retrieve and return a list containing information about tables in a specified schema. If no schema is provided, it uses the connection's default schema.
  • Input parameters:
    • schema (string, optional): Database schema to filter tables. Defaults to connection default.
    • user (string, optional): Database username. Defaults to "demo".
    • password (string, optional): Database password. Defaults to "demo".
    • dsn (string, optional): ODBC data source name. Defaults to "Local Virtuoso".
  • Returns a JSON string containing table information (e.g., TABLE_CAT, TABLE_SCHEM, TABLE_NAME, TABLE_TYPE).

• podbc_filter_table_names

  • Filters and returns information about tables whose names contain a specific substring.
  • Input parameters:
    • q (string, required): The substring to search for within table names.
    • schema (string, optional): Database schema to filter tables. Defaults to connection default.
    • user (string, optional): Database username. Defaults to "demo".
    • password (string, optional): Database password. Defaults to "demo".
    • dsn (string, optional): ODBC data source name. Defaults to "Local Virtuoso".
  • Returns a JSON string containing information for matching tables.

• podbc_describe_table

  • Retrieve and return detailed information about the columns of a specific table.
  • Input parameters:
    • schema (string, required): The database schema name containing the table.
    • table (string, required): The name of the table to describe.
    • user (string, optional): Database username. Defaults to "demo".
    • password (string, optional): Database password. Defaults to "demo".
    • dsn (string, optional): ODBC data source name. Defaults to "Local Virtuoso".
  • Returns a JSON string describing the table's columns (e.g., COLUMN_NAME, TYPE_NAME, COLUMN_SIZE, IS_NULLABLE).

• podbc_query_database

  • Execute a standard SQL query and return the results in JSON format.
  • Input parameters:
    • query (string, required): The SQL query string to execute.
    • user (string, optional): Database username. Defaults to "demo".
    • password (string, optional): Database password. Defaults to "demo".
    • dsn (string, optional): ODBC data source name. Defaults to "Local Virtuoso".
  • Returns query results as a JSON string.

• podbc_query_database_md

  • Execute a standard SQL query and return the results formatted as a Markdown table.
  • Input parameters:
    • query (string, required): The SQL query string to execute.
    • user (string, optional): Database username. Defaults to "demo".
    • password (string, optional): Database password. Defaults to "demo".
    • dsn (string, optional): ODBC data source name. Defaults to "Local Virtuoso".
  • Returns query results as a Markdown table string.

• podbc_query_database_jsonl

  • Execute a standard SQL query and return the results in JSON Lines (JSONL) format (one JSON object per line).
  • Input parameters:
    • query (string, required): The SQL query string to execute.
    • user (string, optional): Database username. Defaults to "demo".
    • password (string, optional): Database password. Defaults to "demo".
    • dsn (string, optional): ODBC data source name. Defaults to "Local Virtuoso".
  • Returns query results as a JSONL string.

• podbc_spasql_query

  • Execute a SPASQL (SQL/SPARQL hybrid) query return results. This is a Virtuoso-specific feature.
  • Input parameters:
    • query (string, required): The SPASQL query string.
    • max_rows (number, optional): Maximum number of rows to return. Defaults to 20.
    • timeout (number, optional): Query timeout in milliseconds. Defaults to 30000.
    • user (string, optional): Database username. Defaults to "demo".
    • password (string, optional): Database password. Defaults to "demo".
    • dsn (string, optional): ODBC data source name. Defaults to "Local Virtuoso".
  • Returns the result from the underlying stored procedure call (e.g., Demo.demo.execute_spasql_query).

• podbc_virtuoso_support_ai

  • Utilizes a Virtuoso-specific AI Assistant function, passing a prompt and optional API key. This is a Virtuoso-specific feature.
  • Input parameters:
    • prompt (string, required): The prompt text for the AI function.
    • api_key (string, optional): API key for the AI service. Defaults to "none".
    • user (string, optional): Database username. Defaults to "demo".
    • password (string, optional): Database password. Defaults to "demo".
    • dsn (string, optional): ODBC data source name. Defaults to "Local Virtuoso".
  • Returns the result from the AI Support Assistant function call (e.g., DEMO.DBA.OAI_VIRTUOSO_SUPPORT_AI).

Troubleshooting

For easier troubleshooting:

1. Install the MCP Inspector:

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   npm install -g @modelcontextprotocol/inspector

2. Start the inspector:

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   npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector uv --directory /path/to/mcp-pyodbc-server run mcp-pyodbc-server

Access the provided URL to troubleshoot server interactions.