A lightweight MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for ODBC built with **FastAPI** and **pyodbc**. This server is compatible with Virtuoso DBMS and
A lightweight MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for ODBC built with FastAPI and pyodbc. This server is compatible with Virtuoso DBMS and any other DBMS backend that has an ODBC driver. Exposed over MCP by the mcp pyodbc server mcp server, that capability becomes something an assistant can invoke while it works, not something you go and do afterwards.
Everything the assistant can do here goes through one of these:
Overview — The Overview tool exposed by this serverYou will need 4 environment variables: ODBC_DSN, ODBC_USER, ODBC_PASSWORD, API_KEY. The server will not start without them, which is usually why the tools fail to appear on a first run. Keep credentials in your client's env block or a secrets manager rather than in a file you might commit.
odbcinst -j 4. List available data source names by running: odbcinst -q -s 5. ODBC DSN Setup: Configure your ODBC Data Source Name (typically in ~/.odbc.ini) for the target database. Example for Virtuoso DBMS: ---Installation goes through your MCP client rather than a global install: point it at @modelcontextprotocol/inspector on npm and it is fetched when the client starts. The copy-paste blocks for Claude Desktop, Claude Code and Cursor are further down this page.
Among the database access options, the useful question is rarely "what can it do" but "what does it cost you to run" — permissions, credentials, and how much of your context its toolset consumes. MCP Pyodbc Server's toolset — Overview — is a fair guide to whether it matches your workflow. It is maintained by OpenLinkSoftware; worth a glance at recent repository activity before you build anything load-bearing on it.
This entry was verified against MCP Pyodbc Server's own documentation before publication; SyncDev keeps the directory reviewed rather than auto-generated.
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
| Overview | The Overview tool exposed by this server. |
{
"mcpServers": {
"pyodbc-server": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/inspector"],
"env": {
"ODBC_DSN": "your-value",
"ODBC_USER": "your-value",
"ODBC_PASSWORD": "your-value",
"API_KEY": "your-value"
}
}
}
}Add to claude_desktop_config.json, then restart Claude Desktop.
odbcinst -j 4. List available data source names by running: odbcinst -q -s 5. ODBC DSN Setup: Configure your ODBC Data Source Name (typically in ~/.odbc.ini) for the target database. Example for Virtuoso DBMS: ---| Variable | Description | Required |
|---|---|---|
| ODBC_DSN | Endpoint or connection string the server talks to. | Yes |
| ODBC_USER | Configuration value read at startup. | Optional |
| ODBC_PASSWORD | Configuration value read at startup. | Optional |
| API_KEY | Credential the server authenticates with. | Yes |
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