Tag Archives: mcp

MySQL MCP Server v1.7.0 is out

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April 19, 2026

It took three release candidates and more CI tweaks than I’d like to admit, but v1.7.0 is finally tagged GA. Here’s what actually changed and why it matters.

The thing I kept getting asked about: add_connection

Almost every multi-database user hits the same wall: you configure your connections at startup, and that’s it. Want to point Claude at a different instance mid-session? Restart the server. Not great.

add_connection fixes that. Enable it with MYSQL_MCP_EXTENDED=1 and MYSQL_MCP_ENABLE_ADD_CONNECTION=1, and Claude can register a new named connection on the fly — DSN validation, duplicate-name rejection, and a hard block on the root MySQL user all happen before the connection is accepted. Once it’s in, use_connection it works as usual.

It’s intentionally opt-in behind two flags. Allowing an AI client to register arbitrary database connections at runtime warrants an explicit “yes, I want this” from the operator.

Finding stuff across a big schema: search_schema and schema_diff

Two tools I personally felt the absence of every time I was debugging a large schema.

search_schema does what it sounds like — pattern-match against table and column names across all accessible databases. Before this, you’d either write the query yourself or ask Claude to guess where a column lived. Now you just ask.

schema_diff is the one I’m more excited about. Point it at two databases, and it tells you what’s structurally different. Columns that exist in staging but not prod, type mismatches, missing indexes — all surface immediately. We’ve already caught more than a few “oh, that migration never ran” moments with it.

Pagination, retries, and the unglamorous stuff

run_query now supports an offset parameter for SELECT and UNION queries, returning has_more and next_offset in the response. Big result sets no longer mean hitting row caps and wondering what you missed.

Retries got a proper implementation too. Transient errors — bad pooled connections, deadlocks, lock wait timeouts — now trigger exponential backoff instead of just failing. After a driver.ErrBadConn the pool is re-pinged, which cuts recovery time noticeably after a MySQL restart.

Neither of these is flashy, but they’re the kind of thing that makes the tool feel solid rather than fragile.

Column masking

Set MYSQL_MCP_MASK_COLUMNS=email,password,ssn and those columns are redacted in every run_query response. Nothing leaves the server. No query rewrites, no application changes. It’s a small feature that a few teams have been asking for since before v1.6.

One breaking change worth knowing about: SSH host key verification

This one could bite you on upgrade if you’re using SSH tunnels. Host key verification is now on by default. The tunnel checks ~/.ssh/known_hosts (or MYSQL_SSH_KNOWN_HOSTS, or a pinned MYSQL_SSH_HOST_KEY_FINGERPRINT) before allowing the connection.

If you were running without strict host key checking, your tunnel will fail after upgrading until you either add the host key to known_hosts or explicitly opt out with MYSQL_SSH_STRICT_HOST_KEY_CHECKING=false. The opt-out exists, but it’s a MITM risk — the default is the right behavior.

Upgrading

# Homebrew
brew update && brew upgrade mysql-mcp-server
# Docker
docker pull ghcr.io/askdba/mysql-mcp-server:latest

Full changelog: github.com/askdba/mysql-mcp-server/releases/tag/v1.7.0

Questions and issues are welcome on GitHub.

Introducing Lightweight MySQL MCP Server: Secure AI Database Access

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A lightweight, secure, and extensible MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for MySQL designed to bridge the gap between relational databases and large language models (LLMs).

I’m releasing a new open-source project: mysql-mcp-server, a lightweight server that connects MySQL to AI tools via the Model Context Protocol (MCP). It’s designed to make MySQL safely accessible to language models, structured, read-only, and fully auditable.

This project started out of a practical need: as LLMs become part of everyday development workflows, there’s growing interest in using them to explore database schemas, write queries, or inspect real data. But exposing production databases directly to AI tools is a risk, especially without guardrails.

mysql-mcp-server offers a simple, secure solution. It provides a minimal but powerful MCP server that speaks directly to MySQL, while enforcing safety, observability, and structure.

What it does

mysql-mcp-server allows tools that speak MC, such as Claude Desktop, to interact with MySQL in a controlled, read-only environment. It currently supports:

  • Listing databases, tables, and columns
  • Describing table schemas
  • Running parameterized SELECT queries with row limits
  • Introspecting indexes, views, triggers (optional tools)
  • Handling multiple connections through DSNs
  • Optional vector search support if using MyVector
  • Running as either a local MCP-compatible binary or a remote REST API server

By default, it rejects any unsafe operations such as INSERT, UPDATE, or DROP. The goal is to make the server safe enough to be used locally or in shared environments without unintended side effects.

Why this matters

As more developers, analysts, and teams adopt LLMs for querying and documentation, there’s a gap between conversational interfaces and real database systems. Model Context Protocol helps bridge that gap by defining a set of safe, predictable tools that LLMs can use.

mysql-mcp-server brings that model to MySQL in a way that respects production safety while enabling exploration, inspection, and prototyping. It’s helpful in local development, devops workflows, support diagnostics, and even hybrid RAG scenarios when paired with a vector index.

Getting started

You can run it with Docker:

docker run -e MYSQL_DSN='user:pass@tcp(mysql-host:3306)/' \
  -p 7788:7788 ghcr.io/askdba/mysql-mcp-server:latest

Or install via Homebrew:

brew install askdba/tap/mysql-mcp-server
mysql-mcp-server

Once running, you can connect any MCP-compatible client (like Claude Desktop) to the server and begin issuing structured queries.

Use cases

  • Developers inspecting unfamiliar databases during onboarding
  • Data teams writing and validating SQL queries with AI assistance
  • Local RAG applications using MySQL and vector search with MyVector
  • Support and SRE teams need read-only access for troubleshooting

Roadmap and contributions

This is an early release and still evolving. Planned additions include:

  • More granular introspection tools (e.g., constraints, stored procedures)
  • Connection pooling and config profiles
  • Structured logging and tracing
  • More examples for integrating with LLM environments

If you’re working on anything related to MySQL, open-source AI tooling, or database accessibility, I’d be glad to collaborate.

Learn more

If you have feedback, ideas, or want to contribute, the project is open and active. Pull requests, bug reports, and discussions are all welcome.