MySQL Schema Explorer MCP server

The MySQL Schema MCP Server provides compressed schema information for MySQL databases, making it particularly useful when large schema dump files won't fit within context size limits. This server implements the Model Context Protocol (MCP) to deliver efficient database schema exploration capabilities.

Installation

To install the MySQL Schema Explorer MCP server, use the Go install command:

go install github.com/shibayu36/mysql-schema-explorer-mcp@latest

Configuration

After installation, you'll need to configure the MCP server by creating an mcp.json file with your database connection details:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mysql-schema-explorer-mcp": {
      "command": "/path/to/mysql-schema-explorer-mcp",
      "env": {
        "DB_HOST": "127.0.0.1",
        "DB_PORT": "3306",
        "DB_USER": "root",
        "DB_PASSWORD": "root"
      }
    }
  }
}

Setting a Default Database

For convenience when working with a single database, you can specify a default database name using the DB_NAME environment variable:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mysql-schema-explorer-mcp": {
      "command": "/path/to/mysql-schema-explorer-mcp",
      "env": {
        "DB_HOST": "127.0.0.1",
        "DB_PORT": "3306",
        "DB_USER": "root",
        "DB_PASSWORD": "root",
        "DB_NAME": "ecshop"
      }
    }
  }
}

Available Tools

The MCP server provides two main tools for exploring database schemas:

List Tables

The list_tables tool displays all tables in a specified database along with key information:

• Table names
• Table comments
• Primary key information
• Unique key constraints
• Foreign key relationships

Parameters:

• dbName: Database name (optional if DB_NAME environment variable is set)

Describe Tables

The describe_tables tool provides detailed information about specific tables:

• Column definitions
• Key constraints
• Indexes
• Other table metadata

Parameters:

• dbName: Database name (optional if DB_NAME environment variable is set)
• tableNames: An array of table names to retrieve detailed information for

Usage Examples

You can use this MCP server with compatible agents to explore database schemas and generate SQL queries. For example, you could use it to:

• List the 3 most recently ordered products by a specific user
• Generate complex queries based on the database structure
• Explore relationships between tables in large databases

The server will compress and present the schema information in a way that fits within context limits, making it easier to work with large database schemas in AI-assisted workflows.

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 "mysql-schema-explorer-mcp" '{"command":"/path/to/mysql-schema-explorer-mcp","env":{"DB_HOST":"127.0.0.1","DB_PORT":"3306","DB_USER":"root","DB_PASSWORD":"root"}}'

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": {
        "mysql-schema-explorer-mcp": {
            "command": "/path/to/mysql-schema-explorer-mcp",
            "env": {
                "DB_HOST": "127.0.0.1",
                "DB_PORT": "3306",
                "DB_USER": "root",
                "DB_PASSWORD": "root"
            }
        }
    }
}

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": {
        "mysql-schema-explorer-mcp": {
            "command": "/path/to/mysql-schema-explorer-mcp",
            "env": {
                "DB_HOST": "127.0.0.1",
                "DB_PORT": "3306",
                "DB_USER": "root",
                "DB_PASSWORD": "root"
            }
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect