Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) - MCP Server for MySQL

Q: What is an MCP Server? A: MCP (Model Context Protocol) is an open protocol standardizing how applications provide context to LLMs. An MCP server acts as a bridge, enabling AI models to access and interact with external data sources and tools, such as MySQL databases.

Q: What are the requirements for installing the MCP Server for MySQL? A: You need Node.js v18 or higher, MySQL 5.7 or higher (8.0+ recommended), and a MySQL user with appropriate permissions for the operations you need. For write operations, the user needs INSERT, UPDATE, and/or DELETE privileges.

Q: How do I install the MCP Server for MySQL? A: You can install it using Claude Desktop configuration, Cursor IDE, Smithery, MCP Get, NPM/PNPM, or by cloning and running it from a local repository.

Q: How do I configure the MCP Server for MySQL? A: Configuration can be done automatically with Smithery or manually by setting environment variables for MySQL connection details, performance settings, security settings, and monitoring settings.

Q: What environment variables are required for basic connection? A: The required environment variables are MYSQL_HOST, MYSQL_PORT, MYSQL_USER, MYSQL_PASS, and MYSQL_DB.

Q: What security features does the MCP Server for MySQL have? A: The server includes SQL injection prevention through prepared statements, query whitelisting/blacklisting, rate limiting, query complexity analysis, configurable connection encryption, and read-only transaction enforcement.

Q: What performance optimizations are included in the MCP Server for MySQL? A: The server includes optimized connection pooling, query result caching, large result set streaming, query execution plan analysis, and configurable query timeouts.

Q: What is Multi-DB Mode? A: Multi-DB Mode allows the MCP Server for MySQL to connect to multiple databases when no specific database is set. To enable it, leave the MYSQL_DB environment variable empty. Queries then require schema qualification.

Q: What are schema-specific permissions? A: Schema-specific permissions allow you to have different levels of access (read-only, read-write, etc.) for different databases. This is configured using SCHEMA_INSERT_PERMISSIONS, SCHEMA_UPDATE_PERMISSIONS, SCHEMA_DELETE_PERMISSIONS, and SCHEMA_DDL_PERMISSIONS.

Q: How do I test the MCP Server for MySQL? A: You need to set up a test database, create a test user, and run the database setup script. Then, you can run the tests using pnpm test.

Q: What do I do if I encounter connection issues? A: Verify that the MySQL server is running and accessible, check credentials and permissions, ensure SSL/TLS configuration is correct, and try connecting with a MySQL client to confirm access.

Q: How do I contribute to the MCP Server for MySQL project? A: Contributions are welcome! Fork the repository, create a feature branch, commit your changes, push to the branch, and submit a pull request.