SQL Server MCP server

The SQL Server MCP Server is a standalone service that integrates SQL Server capabilities with the Windsurf IDE. It enables database exploration, query execution, and stored procedure management through a standardized Model Context Protocol interface.

Prerequisites

• .NET 9.0 SDK or higher
• SQL Server instance (local or remote)
• SQL Server client tools

Installation

Building the Application

Build the project using the .NET CLI:

dotnet build

Configuration

1. Create your configuration file:
   • Copy appsettings.example.json to appsettings.json
   • Update the connection string and other settings:

{
  "ConnectionStrings": {
    "DefaultConnection": "Server=your-server;Database=master;User ID=your-username;Password=your-password;TrustServerCertificate=True"
  },
  "LogPath": "C:\\Path\\To\\Your\\LogDirectory\\",
  "DebugMode": "false"
}

2. Configure Windsurf IDE integration:
   • Add the following to your Windsurf MCP configuration file (typically at ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sqlMcpService": {
      "command": "path/to/your/MCPSqlServer.exe",
      "args": [],
      "description": "SQL Server MCP Service"
    }
  }
}

Publishing as Standalone Executable

To create a self-contained executable:

dotnet publish -c Release -r win-x64 --self-contained true -p:PublishSingleFile=true

Configuration Options

The appsettings.json file supports the following options:

• ConnectionStrings:DefaultConnection: SQL Server connection string
• LogPath: Directory where log files will be stored
• DebugMode: Enable detailed logging when set to "true"

Using the MCP Server

The server communicates using a JSON-based protocol over standard input/output. Here are the supported operations:

Connect to SQL Server

{
  "action": "connect",
  "parameters": {
    "connectionString": "Data Source=server;Initial Catalog=master;Integrated Security=True;"
  }
}

List Available Databases

{
  "action": "get_databases",
  "parameters": {}
}

List Tables in a Database

{
  "action": "get_tables",
  "parameters": {
    "database": "AdventureWorks"
  }
}

Get Table Columns

{
  "action": "get_columns",
  "parameters": {
    "database": "AdventureWorks",
    "table": "Customer"
  }
}

List Stored Procedures

{
  "action": "get_procedures",
  "parameters": {
    "database": "AdventureWorks"
  }
}

Execute SQL Query

{
  "action": "execute_query",
  "parameters": {
    "database": "AdventureWorks",
    "query": "SELECT TOP 10 * FROM Customer"
  }
}

Execute System Query

{
  "action": "execute_system_query",
  "parameters": {
    "query": "SELECT @@VERSION"
  }
}

Execute Stored Procedure

{
  "action": "execute_procedure",
  "parameters": {
    "database": "AdventureWorks",
    "procedure": "GetCustomerDetails",
    "parameters": {
      "CustomerID": 1234
    }
  }
}

Error Handling

The server returns error information when operations fail. Common error codes include:

• invalid_request: Malformed JSON or missing required fields
• connection_failed: Failed to connect to SQL Server
• missing_parameter: Required parameter not provided
• query_execution_error: Error executing a SQL query
• database_not_found: Specified database does not exist
• table_not_found: Specified table does not exist

Error responses follow this format:

{
  "success": false,
  "error": {
    "code": "error_code",
    "message": "Error description"
  }
}

Windsurf IDE Integration

Once configured correctly, you can use the server from Windsurf IDE to:

• Browse database schemas
• Execute SQL queries and view results
• Get code completion for table and column names
• Run stored procedures
• Generate SQL code snippets

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 "sqlMcpService" '{"command":"path/to/your/MCPSqlServer.exe","args":[],"description":"SQL Server MCP Service"}'

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": {
        "sqlMcpService": {
            "command": "path/to/your/MCPSqlServer.exe",
            "args": [],
            "description": "SQL Server MCP Service"
        }
    }
}

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": {
        "sqlMcpService": {
            "command": "path/to/your/MCPSqlServer.exe",
            "args": [],
            "description": "SQL Server MCP Service"
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect