README

FireDAC MCP Server

Turn any database FireDAC can reach into an MCP server that an AI assistant can query and (optionally) modify — driven by a single connection string and a chosen access mode.

You give the server one FireDAC connection string plus a mode (readonly / readwrite / full). It opens the connection, owns it for its whole lifetime, and mediates every call from the AI client — enforcing the access mode and a SQL-safety classifier on the way in, and marshalling result sets to JSON on the way out.

Because it is driven entirely by the connection string and by FireDAC's engine-agnostic metadata API, the same binary works with:

The physical driver-link units are linked in by FireDACMCPServer.dpr; add or remove them there to control which engines a build supports.

Files

Building

Open FireDACMCPServer.dproj in the IDE and build (Shift+F9), or from a command prompt:

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Embarcadero\Studio\37.0\bin\rsvars.bat"
msbuild FireDACMCPServer.dproj /t:Build /p:Config=Debug /p:Platform=Win32

The executable lands in Win32\Debug\FireDACMCPServer.exe.

Usage

FireDACMCPServer [options]

Access modes

Examples

SQLite, read-only (safe default):

FireDACMCPServer -conn="DriverID=SQLite;Database=C:\data\app.db"

PostgreSQL, read/write, password from an environment variable:

set PG_CONN=DriverID=PG;Server=localhost;Database=sales;User_Name=app;Password=secret
FireDACMCPServer -conn-env=PG_CONN -mode=readwrite

SQL Server, read-only, Windows auth:

FireDACMCPServer -conn="DriverID=MSSQL;Server=localhost;Database=Northwind;OSAuthent=Yes;ODBCAdvanced=TrustServerCertificate=yes"

SQL Server + ODBC Driver 18 note: Driver 18 encrypts by default and validates the server certificate, so against a local instance with a self-signed cert you will see "SSL Provider: The certificate chain was issued by an authority that is not trusted." Pass the certificate through with ODBCAdvanced=TrustServerCertificate=yes (keeps encryption on) or disable encryption with Encrypt=No. FireDAC's own TrustServerCertificate parameter is not forwarded to the ODBC driver — use ODBCAdvanced.

Registering with an MCP client (stdio)

Add an entry to your client config (claude_desktop_config.json, .mcp.json, …):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "database": {
      "command": "C:\\path\\to\\FireDACMCPServer.exe",
      "args": [
        "-conn-env=APP_DB_CONN",
        "-mode=readonly"
      ],
      "env": {
        "APP_DB_CONN": "DriverID=SQLite;Database=C:\\data\\app.db"
      }
    }
  }
}

You can also point MCP Inspector at the executable:

npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector FireDACMCPServer.exe -conn="DriverID=SQLite;Database=demo.db" -mode=full

Tools

db_info (read-only, idempotent)

Returns the driver id, access mode, row limits and the password-redacted connection string.

list_tables (read-only)

Lists tables and views on any engine (via FireDAC metadata, not engine-specific SQL). Optional schema argument filters by schema.

describe_table (read-only)

Returns each column's name, type, size, nullable and readOnly flags.

• table (required) — table name, optionally schema-qualified.

run_query (read-only)

Executes a read-only statement (SELECT / WITH / EXPLAIN / SHOW).

• sql (required) — use :name placeholders for values.
• params (optional) — JSON object binding those placeholders, e.g. {"id": 42}.
• max_rows (optional) — capped by the server's -maxrows.

Returns:

{
  "columns": [ { "name": "id", "type": "ftInteger" }, ... ],
  "rows":    [ { "id": 1, "name": "Alice", "age": 30 }, ... ],
  "rowCount": 1,
  "truncated": false
}

run_statement (registered only in read-write / full modes; destructive)

Executes a data- or schema-changing statement.

• sql (required) — INSERT / UPDATE / DELETE / MERGE (read-write) or also DDL (full). Use :name placeholders.
• params (optional) — JSON object binding those placeholders.

Returns { "success": true, "category": "dml" | "ddl", "rowsAffected": N }.

connect (only in deferred mode — see below)

Opens the database connection when none was configured at startup.

• connection_string (optional) — a full FireDAC connection string. If given, the discrete parameters below are ignored.
• driver_id, server, database, user, password (optional) — used to assemble a connection string when connection_string is omitted. An empty user means OS/Windows authentication. For MSSQL, ODBCAdvanced=TrustServerCertificate=yes is added automatically.
• options (optional) — extra Key=Value;... pairs to append.
• mode (optional) — readonly | readwrite | full (default readonly).

Returns { "connected": true, "driverId": "...", "accessMode": "..." }.

Deferred connection (requesting the connection at runtime)

If you start the server without -conn/-conn-env, it does not fail — it comes up in deferred mode:

• It exposes the connect tool plus the normal database tools.
• Until connect succeeds, every database tool returns a clear "No database connection yet. Call the connect tool first." message.
• The AI (prompted by the user) calls connect with a connection string — or the individual driver/server/database/user/password parameters and a mode — and from then on the database tools operate against that connection.

This lets a single registered server ask for its target database at runtime instead of baking it into the client config. Example client entry:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "database-on-demand": {
      "command": "C:\\path\\to\\FireDACMCPServer.exe",
      "args": ["-maxrows=500"]
    }
  }
}

Then, in the client: "Connect to the MCPSandbox database on localhost in read-write mode" → the AI calls connect and starts working.

Why a connect tool and not server-initiated elicitation? The MCP spec has an elicitation/create request a server can use to pop a form on the client. That requires a bidirectional transport; the stdio transport used by Claude Desktop is strictly request→response and cannot deliver a server-initiated request (or a tools/list_changed notification). A connect tool is therefore the robust, universally-supported way to request the connection at runtime. On a bidirectional transport you could drive the same flow through TTMSMCPServer.RequestElicitation instead.

Robustness & safety

This demo is built to be a safe bridge, not just a working one:

• Capability gating by construction. In read-only mode the mutation tool is never registered, so the model cannot even attempt a write.
• SQL classifier. Every statement is classified after comments and string literals are stripped, so keyword/semicolon scanning cannot be fooled by text inside quotes or comments. run_query accepts only reads; run_statement enforces exactly what the current mode allows.
• No statement stacking. SELECT 1; DROP TABLE users is rejected unless -allow-multi is set — this blocks a classic piggy-backed injection.
• Escape statements blocked. ATTACH / DETACH / PRAGMA-writes / VACUUM / GRANT / EXEC … are refused outside full mode.
• Parameterised values. Callers bind literals through params; values are never string-concatenated into SQL.
• Bounded output. Result sets are capped (max_rows) and report truncated; large BLOBs are base64-encoded up to a cap, then summarised.
• Secret hygiene. The connection string is only ever surfaced with its password redacted, and -conn-env keeps it out of process arguments entirely.
• Resilient connection. AutoReconnect recovers from dropped connections; in read-only mode datasets are also opened read-only as defence in depth.

Recommendations for production use

• Prefer a dedicated database user whose grants match the chosen mode (a read-only DB login behind readonly mode is belt-and-braces).
• Pass the connection string via -conn-env, never on the command line.
• Keep readonly as the default and only raise the mode deliberately.

Extending

• More engines: add the matching FireDAC.Phys.* unit pair to the uses clause in FireDACMCPServer.dpr.
• More tools: add a method to TDBConnectionManager and register it in RegisterTools. Follow the existing pattern — classify any SQL through GuardStatement, and marshal results with DatasetToJSON.
• Transactions / stored procedures / schema resources are natural next steps on top of this foundation.

This demo is part of the TMS MCP SDK and is subject to the TMS Software license agreement.