nile

The Nile MCP Server exposes a standardized interface for interacting with Nile databases from LLM-powered applications. It implements a set of tools that cover core database lifecycle tasks (creating databases, listing databases, getting details, deleting databases), credential management, region discovery, and SQL query execution against Nile databases. The server runs in Node.js and can be consumed either directly through the Node process, or integrated into tools like Claude Desktop or Cursor via the provided MCP server configuration. When connected, you can issue structured MCP commands that map to Nile operations, enabling seamless programmatic control of Nile resources from your AI workflows.

Prerequisites:

• Node.js and npm installed on your system
• A Nile account with API access and workspace slug

Install the stable version of the MCP server:

npm install @niledatabase/nile-mcp-server

For the latest alpha/preview version:

npm install @niledatabase/nile-mcp-server@alpha

Manual installation (from source):

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/nile-mcp-server.git
cd nile-mcp-server

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build the project
npm run build

Starting the server directly with Node:

node dist/index.js

Or in development mode (with auto-rebuild):

npm run dev

Environment variables are loaded from a .env file if present. Common variables include NILE_API_KEY and NILE_WORKSPACE_SLUG. Ensure your Nile API key has the necessary permissions for the actions you intend to perform (database creation, credential management, etc.). When integrating with Claude Desktop or Cursor, use the provided example configurations to point to the built server binary and pass credentials via env variables. If you enable SSE mode (MCP_SERVER_MODE=sse), the server will expose HTTP endpoints for events and messages at http://localhost:3000/sse and http://localhost:3000/messages respectively. Ensure network access to Nile services and that any firewalls allow the required ports.

Common issues:

• Environment variables not loaded: verify that .env is present or that NILE_API_KEY and NILE_WORKSPACE_SLUG are passed to the process.
• Node build artifacts missing: ensure you run npm run build before starting with node dist/index.js.
• Mismatched MCP server configuration in integrations: confirm the command, path to index.js, and environment variable names match your setup.