JDBC Database Explorer MCP server

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for JDBC enables Large Language Models to interact with databases through a simple interface. This server allows LLMs to inspect, query, create, and modify database content by just providing a JDBC URL. It supports numerous database systems including PostgreSQL, Oracle, MariaDB, SQLite, and many others.

Installation

To get started with the MCP server for JDBC:

1. Install JBang by following the instructions at jbang.dev/download
2. Configure your MCP client to connect to the server (configuration details below)

Basic Usage

Starting the Server

Start with an empty in-memory H2 database:

jbang jdbc@quarkiverse/quarkus-mcp-servers

Connect to an existing database by providing a JDBC URL:

jbang jdbc@quarkiverse/quarkus-mcp-servers [jdbc_url]

Connection Examples

Connect to an Oracle database:

jbang jdbc@quarkiverse/quarkus-mcp-servers jdbc:oracle:thin:@localhost:1521:orcl

Connect to PostgreSQL with username and password:

jbang jdbc@quarkiverse/quarkus-mcp-servers jdbc:postgresql://localhost:5432/sakila -u sakila -p p_ssW0rd

Using Sample Databases

JBang can download database files directly from the web using the %{url} syntax.

Chinook Database (Music Store)

jbang jdbc@quarkiverse/quarkus-mcp-servers jdbc:sqlite:%{https://github.com/lerocha/chinook-database/raw/master/ChinookDatabase/DataSources/Chinook_Sqlite.sqlite}

Northwind Database (Customers, Orders, Products)

jbang jdbc@quarkiverse/quarkus-mcp-servers jdbc:sqlite:%{https://github.com/jpwhite3/northwind-SQLite3/raw/refs/heads/main/dist/northwind.db}

Netflix Movies Database

jbang jdbc@quarkiverse/quarkus-mcp-servers jdbc:sqlite:%{https://github.com/lerocha/netflixdb/releases/download/v1.0.0/netflixdb.sqlite}

MCP Components

The server provides several MCP components that LLMs can use:

Tools

• read_query - Run SELECT queries on the database
• write_query - Execute INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE queries
• create_table - Create a new table in the database
• list_tables - List all tables in the database
• describe_table - Show the structure of a specific table

Prompts

• jdbc_demo - Example prompt to help you start exploring the database

Client Configuration

Claude Desktop Configuration

Add this to your claude_desktop_config.json or server_config.json file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "jdbc": {
      "command": "jbang",
      "args": [
        "jdbc@quarkiverse/quarkus-mcp-servers",
        "[jdbc_url]"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Replace [jdbc_url] with your actual JDBC connection URL.

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

JBang Not Found

• Ensure JBang is properly installed and available in your PATH
• Alternatively, use the full path to the JBang executable (e.g., /Users/username/.jbang/jbang)

Enabling Detailed Logging

For more detailed logs, add these parameters to your command:

jbang -Dquarkus.log.file.enable=true -Dquarkus.log.file.path=${user.home}/mcp-jdbc.log jdbc@quarkiverse/quarkus-mcp-servers jdbc:h2:mem:testdb

This will create a log file in your home directory.

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 "jdbc" '{"command":"jbang","args":["jdbc@quarkiverse/quarkus-mcp-servers","[jdbc_url]"]}'

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": {
        "jdbc": {
            "command": "jbang",
            "args": [
                "jdbc@quarkiverse/quarkus-mcp-servers",
                "[jdbc_url]"
            ]
        }
    }
}

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": {
        "jdbc": {
            "command": "jbang",
            "args": [
                "jdbc@quarkiverse/quarkus-mcp-servers",
                "[jdbc_url]"
            ]
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect