SQL Tunnel MCP server

Enables secure access to MySQL databases through SSH tunnels with configurable authentication via username/password or SSH keys
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Setup instructions
Provider
t3ta
Release date
Mar 25, 2025
Language
TypeScript

The SQL MCP Server provides a TypeScript implementation of the Model Context Protocol that allows language models and MCP-compatible clients to query PostgreSQL databases. It supports secure database access through SSH bastion tunnels when needed and uses stdin/stdout communication for versatility across local, containerized, or AI applications.

Installation

To install the SQL MCP Server:

  1. Clone the repository and install dependencies:
git clone https://github.com/your-org/sql-mcp-server.git
cd sql-mcp-server
npm install
npm run build

Configuration

Environment Variables

Configure the server using environment variables or a .env file in the project root:

DB_USER=postgres
DB_PASS=yourpassword
DB_HOST=localhost
DB_PORT=5432
DB_NAME=mydatabase
USE_SSH_TUNNEL=true
SSH_BASTION_HOST=bastion.example.com
SSH_BASTION_USER=ec2-user
SSH_PRIVATE_KEY_PATH=~/.ssh/id_rsa

Configuration Options

Variable Description Default
DB_USER Database username postgres
DB_PASS Database password -
DB_HOST Database hostname localhost
DB_PORT Database port 5432
DB_NAME Database name -
USE_SSH_TUNNEL Whether to use SSH tunneling false
SSH_BASTION_HOST SSH bastion hostname -
SSH_BASTION_USER SSH bastion username -
SSH_PRIVATE_KEY_PATH Path to SSH private key ~/.ssh/id_rsa

Usage

Basic Usage

Run the server using npx:

npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-postgres postgresql://<user>:<pass>@localhost:5433/<dbname>

Without SSH Tunneling

For direct connections without SSH tunneling:

DB_HOST=rds-host.amazonaws.com DB_PORT=5432 npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-postgres postgresql://<user>:<pass>@rds-host.amazonaws.com/<dbname>

Communication Protocol

The server communicates using the Model Context Protocol over stdin/stdout.

Example Request

{
  "type": "call_tool",
  "params": {
    "name": "query",
    "arguments": {
      "sql": "SELECT * FROM users LIMIT 10"
    }
  }
}

Example Response

{
  "content": [
    {
      "type": "text",
      "text": "[{\"id\":1,\"name\":\"Alice\"}]"
    }
  ],
  "isError": false
}

Security Features

  • Read-only transactions for PostgreSQL databases
  • SSH bastion tunnel support for secure access to private RDS instances
  • Configurable authentication options

Compatibility

This implementation is compatible with:

  • memory-bank-mcp-server
  • Claude Desktop (via STDIO)
  • Cursor IDE
  • Supabase + MCP integration

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 "sql-mcp-server" '{"command":"npx","args":["-y","@modelcontextprotocol/server-postgres","postgresql://<user>:<pass>@localhost:5433/<dbname>"]}'

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": {
        "sql-mcp-server": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "@modelcontextprotocol/server-postgres",
                "postgresql://<user>:<pass>@localhost:5433/<dbname>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

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": {
        "sql-mcp-server": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "@modelcontextprotocol/server-postgres",
                "postgresql://<user>:<pass>@localhost:5433/<dbname>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect

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