sftp -by-cdata

This MCP server provides a read-only interface to SFTP data via the CData JDBC Driver for SFTP. It exposes a set of tools that let you discover the available tables and columns and to run SELECT-style queries, all without writing SQL against the underlying SFTP data source. The server runs as a Java process and communicates through stdio, so it should be run on the same machine as the client (e.g., Claude Desktop) or configured accordingly in the client.

To use it, configure Claude Desktop (or any MCP client) to point to the Java process and the sftp.prp connection file as described in the repository’s instructions. The tools exposed follow a predictable naming pattern based on the server name defined in your config, for example: {servername}_get_tables, {servername}_get_columns, and {servername}_run_query. The actual tool names in JSON-RPC calls are sftp_get_tables, sftp_get_columns, and sftp_run_query when using the examples in the readme. You can retrieve the list of tables, then fetch column information for a specific table, and finally execute a read-only query to pull data into your analysis workflows.

Prerequisites:

• Java JDK (version 8+ is typically required)
• Maven (for building the MCP server from source)

Installation steps:

1. Clone the repository and navigate to it: git clone https://github.com/cdatasoftware/sftp-mcp-server-by-cdata.git cd sftp-mcp-server-by-cdata

2. Build the MCP server: mvn clean install This will produce the JAR file named CDataMCP-jar-with-dependencies.jar in the target directory.

3. Install and license the CData JDBC Driver for SFTP:

   • Download and install the driver from the CData site.
   • Locate the lib folder in the driver installation and run the license command, for example: java -jar cdata.jdbc.sftp.jar --license
   • Enter your name, email, and a license key (or TRIAL if evaluating).

4. Configure the JDBC connection to your SFTP data source:

   • Run the driver’s connection utility to build your connection string: java -jar cdata.jdbc.sftp.jar
   • Save the resulting connection string into a .prp file (e.g., sftp.prp) with properties like Prefix, ServerName, ServerVersion, DriverPath, DriverClass, JdbcUrl, and Tables.

5. Start the MCP server with the .prp file: java -jar /PATH/TO/CDataMCP-jar-with-dependencies.jar /PATH/TO/sftp.prp

Notes:

• The server uses stdio for communication, so it should be accessible from clients on the same machine.
• If you modify the prp file, restart the MCP server to pick up changes.

Tips and common issues:

• Ensure you fully quit and re-launch clients like Claude Desktop after adding or changing MCP server entries so the client picks up new servers.
• If the MCP server does not appear, verify that Java is correctly installed and the path to the JAR and prp file is correct.
• The server is read-only by design in this variant; attempting write/update/delete operations will not be supported.
• When configuring the JDBC connection, handle OAuth flows in the browser if prompted by the driver’s connection utility.
• If you run into connection issues, double-check the JdbcUrl in your .prp file and ensure the DriverPath and DriverClass point to the correct JAR and class.
• The example JSON-RPC payloads in the README can be adapted to your client’s tooling; use the sftp_get_tables, sftp_get_columns, and sftp_run_query methods accordingly.