mcp-odbc

The OpenLink MCP Server for ODBC exposes ODBC-connected data sources to MCP clients. Built on a TypeScript layer that runs atop node-odbc, it forwards MCP method calls to the host system's ODBC Driver Manager via Node.js. The server provides a set of tools that let clients discover schemas and tables, describe tables, filter table names, run SQL queries, and return results in multiple formats (JSON, JSONL, or Markdown). Typical use is to connect the MCP client to a DSN defined in your ODBC configuration, then invoke tools such as get_schemas, get_tables, describe_table, query_database, query_database_md, or query_database_jsonl to retrieve data in convenient formats for downstream processing or display. If you leverage OPAL via ODBC, you can also use the spasql_query or virtuoso_support_ai tool to interact with Virtuoso-specific features and AI-assisted queries.

Prerequisites:\n- Node.js v21.1.0 or higher (use nvm to install: nvm install v21.1.0)\n- npm (comes with Node.js)\n- An installed ODBC driver and runtime environment (unixODBC or your OS equivalent) with a DSN configured.\n\nInstall steps:\n1) Clone the repository:\nbash\ngit clone https://github.com/OpenLinkSoftware/mcp-odbc-server.git\n\n2) Change into the project directory:\nbash\cd mcp-odbc-server\n\n3) Initialize a Node project (if not already initialized):\nbash\nnpm init -y\n\n4) Install required dependencies (as documented):\nbash\nnpm install @modelcontextprotocol/sdk zod tsx odbc dotenv\n\n5) Optionally set the Node.js version default (per README guidance):\nbash\nnvm alias default 21.1.0\n\n6) Start or run the MCP server using npx (as described in mcp_config):\nbash\nnpx -y mcp-odbc-server\n

Environment variables and runtime considerations:\n- ODBC_DSN: Name of the DSN to connect to (e.g., Local Virtuoso).\n- ODBC_USER: Database user name.\n- ODBC_PWD: Database password.\n- ODBCINI: Path to odbc.ini (optional, depends on platform).\n- API_KEY: If you plan to use the OpenLink AI Layer (OPAL) via ODBC, provide your LLM API key here.\n\nTips and common issues:\n- Ensure unixODBC (or your platform's ODBC manager) is correctly installed and that the DSN is accessible from the environment running the MCP server.\n- Use a .env file in the server directory to set ODBC-related environment variables securely.\n- If you encounter connectivity or driver issues, verify DSN connectivity with odbcinst -q -s and test DSN with an ODBC client before invoking MCP tools.\n- When using npx to run the server, ensure network access to fetch the package if not cached locally.\n