Toolbox for Databases MCP server

This open-source MCP server for databases helps you build AI tools that can access your database data more efficiently. It handles complexities like connection pooling and authentication, making development easier and more secure.

Installation

Binary Installation

To install the latest version:

export VERSION=0.14.0
curl -O https://storage.googleapis.com/genai-toolbox/v$VERSION/linux/amd64/toolbox
chmod +x toolbox

Alternative Installation Methods

For Homebrew users:

brew install mcp-toolbox

For Docker users:

export VERSION=0.14.0
docker pull us-central1-docker.pkg.dev/database-toolbox/toolbox/toolbox:$VERSION

Running the Server

First, create a tools.yaml configuration file, then start the server:

./toolbox --tools-file "tools.yaml"

For Docker:

docker run -p 5000:5000 \
  -v $(pwd)/tools.yaml:/app/tools.yaml \
  us-central1-docker.pkg.dev/database-toolbox/toolbox/toolbox:$VERSION \
  --tools-file "/app/tools.yaml"

Integrating With Your Application

Python Integration

Core SDK

pip install toolbox-core

from toolbox_core import ToolboxClient

async with ToolboxClient("http://127.0.0.1:5000") as client:
    tools = await client.load_toolset("toolset_name")

LangChain / LangGraph

pip install toolbox-langchain

from toolbox_langchain import ToolboxClient

async with ToolboxClient("http://127.0.0.1:5000") as client:
    tools = client.load_toolset()

JavaScript/TypeScript Integration

npm install @toolbox-sdk/core

import { ToolboxClient } from '@toolbox-sdk/core';

const URL = 'http://127.0.0.1:5000';
let client = new ToolboxClient(URL);

const tools = await client.loadToolset('toolsetName');

Go Integration

go get github.com/googleapis/mcp-toolbox-sdk-go

package main

import (
  "github.com/googleapis/mcp-toolbox-sdk-go/core"
  "context"
)

func main() {
  URL := "http://127.0.0.1:5000";
  ctx := context.Background()
  
  client, err := core.NewToolboxClient(URL)
  tools, err := client.LoadToolset("toolsetName", ctx)
}

Configuration

Sources Configuration

Define database connections in the sources section of your tools.yaml:

sources:
  my-pg-source:
    kind: postgres
    host: 127.0.0.1
    port: 5432
    database: toolbox_db
    user: toolbox_user
    password: my-password

Tools Configuration

Define the actions an agent can perform using the tools section:

tools:
  search-hotels-by-name:
    kind: postgres-sql
    source: my-pg-source
    description: Search for hotels based on name.
    parameters:
      - name: name
        type: string
        description: The name of the hotel.
    statement: SELECT * FROM hotels WHERE name ILIKE '%' || $1 || '%';

Toolsets Configuration

Group tools together using the toolsets section:

toolsets:
    my_first_toolset:
        - my_first_tool
        - my_second_tool
    my_second_toolset:
        - my_second_tool
        - my_third_tool

To load a specific toolset:

# Load all tools
all_tools = client.load_toolset()

# Load just the tools in my_second_toolset
my_second_toolset = client.load_toolset("my_second_toolset")

How to install this MCP server

For Claude Code

To add this MCP server to Claude Code, run this command in your terminal:

claude mcp add-json "toolbox-for-databases" '{"command":"toolbox","args":["--tools-file","tools.yaml"]}'

See the official Claude Code MCP documentation for more details.

For Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > Tools & Integrations and click "New MCP Server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "toolbox-for-databases": {
            "command": "toolbox",
            "args": [
                "--tools-file",
                "tools.yaml"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explicitly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.

For Claude Desktop

To add this MCP server to Claude Desktop:

1. Find your configuration file:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add this to your configuration file:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "toolbox-for-databases": {
            "command": "toolbox",
            "args": [
                "--tools-file",
                "tools.yaml"
            ]
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect