README

A lightweight PHP-based Model Context Protocol server that gives AI assistants read-only access to your MySQL databases.

Features

Expose multiple MySQL databases to any MCP-compatible client
Read-only by design — only SELECT, SHOW, DESCRIBE, and EXPLAIN queries are permitted
Simple YAML configuration
Zero framework dependencies

Requirements

PHP 8.4+
ext-pdo and ext-pdo_mysql
ext-yaml (for config parsing)

Installation

composer global require winningsoftware/database-assistant-mcp-server

Configuration

Create a YAML config file anywhere on your system. The server accepts the path to this file as its only argument.

Structure

databases:
  my_app:
    host: '127.0.0.1'
    username: 'root'
    password: 'secret'
    port: 3306
    name: 'my_app_db'
  analytics:
    host: '192.168.1.50'
    username: 'readonly'
    password: 'readonly_pass'
    port: 3306

Each key under databases becomes a target alias that the AI client uses when issuing queries.

Field	Type	Required	Default	Description
`host`	string	yes	—	MySQL hostname or IP
`username`	string	yes	—	Database user
`password`	string	yes	—	Database password
`port`	int	no	3306	MySQL port
`name`	string	no	—	Default database/schema name

Example

databases:
  shop:
    host: 'localhost'
    username: 'shop_reader'
    password: 'r3adOnly!'
    port: 3306

Usage

Your MCP client starts and manages the server process automatically — you don't need to run it manually. Just add it to your client config (e.g. mcp.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "database-assistant": {
      "command": "php",
      "args": [
        "/path/to/database-assistant-mcp-server/bin/database-assistant-mcp-server",
        "/path/to/your/config.yaml"
      ]
    }
  }
}

If installed globally via Composer, the binary path will typically be ~/.composer/vendor/bin/database-assistant-mcp-server.

AI Skill File

A SKILL.md file is included in the project root. Copy it into your AI client's skills directory to give the assistant context on how to use this server effectively (schema discovery workflow, output formatting, etc.).

Security Considerations

The server enforces read-only access at the application level. Only SELECT, SHOW, DESCRIBE, and EXPLAIN statements are executed.
For defence in depth, connect with a MySQL user that has readonly privileges.
Keep your config YAML outside of version control — it contains credentials.

License

GPL-3.0-or-later

winningsoftware / database-assistant-mcp-server

Maintainers

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