AUTOMATIONSWITCH
OfficialDatabase

MCP Toolbox for Databases

by Google (googleapis)

Google's open-source MCP server for databases. One MCP binary speaks PostgreSQL, MySQL, BigQuery, Spanner, AlloyDB, Cloud SQL, and SQLite. 14,937 GitHub stars and 100 commits on main in the last 30 days. Highest commit cadence in the directory.

14,937·7 tools·Released APR 2025·Apache-2.0
curl -L https://github.com/googleapis/genai-toolbox/releases/latest/download/toolbox -o toolbox && chmod +x toolbox
Share:

Google's open-source MCP server for databases. One binary, seven database backends, configured via tools.yaml. 14,937 stars and 100 commits on main in the last 30 days. The highest commit cadence in the directory.

Reviewed by M. Nouriel · MAY 2026

INSTALL THIS SERVER

Requires authenticationDatabase connection strings configured in tools.yaml. Each source provides credentials per database type (PostgreSQL DSN, BigQuery service account JSON, Spanner instance config, etc.).
{ "mcpServers": { "genai-toolbox": { "command": "/usr/local/bin/toolbox", "args": [ "--tools-file", "/path/to/tools.yaml", "serve", "--stdio" ] } } }
PrereqDownload the toolbox binary from GitHub releases and create a tools.yaml declaring each database source. Docs: https://mcp-toolbox.dev/documentation/introduction/ Path: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS).
{ "mcpServers": { "genai-toolbox": { "command": "/usr/local/bin/toolbox", "args": [ "--tools-file", "/path/to/tools.yaml", "serve", "--stdio" ] } } }
{ "mcpServers": { "genai-toolbox": { "command": "/usr/local/bin/toolbox", "args": [ "--tools-file", "/path/to/tools.yaml", "serve", "--stdio" ] } } }
{ "mcpServers": { "genai-toolbox": { "command": "/usr/local/bin/toolbox", "args": [ "--tools-file", "/path/to/tools.yaml", "serve", "--stdio" ] } } }
{ "mcpServers": { "genai-toolbox": { "command": "/usr/local/bin/toolbox", "args": [ "--tools-file", "/path/to/tools.yaml", "serve", "--stdio" ] } } }

7 TOOLS AVAILABLE

execute_sql
Run a parameterised SQL statement against a configured database
Admin
list_tables
List tables visible to the connected database role
Read
describe_table
Return columns, types, and indexes for a table
Read
list_databases
List databases available to the connected role
Read
get_schema
Retrieve schema definitions for tables or views
Read
run_query
Execute a read-only SELECT and return rows
Read

OUR ASSESSMENT

Strengths
  • 14,937 GitHub stars, top of the database category.
  • 100 commits on main in the last 30 days. Highest cadence in the directory.
  • One MCP binary speaks seven database backends.
  • Apache-2.0 license, Google official maintenance.
  • Go binary, no Python or Node runtime required.
  • tools.yaml config reuses across teams; per-tool authorisation rules supported.
Weaknesses
  • Configuration via tools.yaml steeper than single-database MCPs that auto-detect from a single env var.
  • Per-database tool surfaces vary; check the docs for the exact surface per backend before mounting in production.
  • Go binary requires a release artefact path on disk, less portable than npx-installed MCP servers.
Security Notes

tools.yaml carries database credentials. Store outside the repo and inject via secret manager. Read-only tools (run_query, list_tables) should be the default surface; execute_sql carries write capability and should be gated to specific databases or roles.

Best For

Multi-database teams (Postgres + BigQuery, MySQL + Spanner) wanting one MCP server instead of seven; Google Cloud-heavy stacks adopting agentic database workflows; platform teams standardising on Apache-2.0 vendor-official tooling.

TECHNICAL DETAILS

Language
go
Transport
stdiostreamable-http
Clients
Claude DesktopClaude CodeCursorVS CodeWindsurf
License
Apache-2.0
GitHub
npm
toolbox (Go binary)
Last Release
v0.10+ (Go binary, GitHub releases)MAY 5, 2026
First Released
APR 1, 2025

ADOPTION METRICS

// GitHub Stars
14,937

// Reading this14,937 stars on googleapis/genai-toolbox. 100 commits on main in the last 30 days, the highest cadence in the directory.

// Popularity Rank
#1
Globally · #1 in Database

// Reading thisTop of the database category by star count and cadence. Pairs with single-vendor MCPs (Postgres, MongoDB, Redis, Neo4j) for teams that want both single-DB and multi-DB MCP surfaces available.

SOURCES & VERIFICATION

We don't take any single directory's word for it. Before scoring, we cross-reference 5 public MCP sources, install the server ourselves against the clients we cover, and record when we last re-verified.

01
Discovered
Manual submission
First indexed MAY 5, 2026
02
Cross-referenced
5 directories
PulseMCP, MCP.so, Glama, Smithery, Official MCP Registry
03
Verified against
Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor
Installed and tested across clients
04
Last re-checked
MAY 5, 2026
Weekly re-verification
// How other directories see it

The same server, 5 different lenses. We reconcile these signals into our editorial score, which is why our number sometimes diverges from a directory-aggregate star count.

SourceTheir ratingTheir star countTheir downloadsLast synced
AutomationSwitch This page4.7editorial14,937MAY 5, 2026
PulseMCP— unratedunavailableunavailableMAY 5, 2026
MCP.so— unratedunavailableunavailableMAY 5, 2026
Glama— unratedunavailableunavailableMAY 5, 2026
Smithery— unratedunavailableunavailableMAY 5, 2026
Official MCP Registry— unratedunavailableunavailableMAY 5, 2026

// Counts are directory-reported; we don't adjust them. Discrepancies usually come from different snapshot times or star-caching.

OTHER DATABASE MCP SERVERS

Official5

Postgres MCP

Anthropic

Official MCP server for PostgreSQL. Provides read and write access to PostgreSQL databases with schema introspection, query execution, and transaction support. The reference implementation for database MCP servers.

14 tools84,955
Vendor5

Supabase

Supabase

Persistence layer with full Postgres access and Row Level Security awareness. Query tables, manage schemas, handle auth users, and work with storage buckets.

18 tools2,663
Official4.5

ClickHouse MCP

ClickHouse

Official ClickHouse MCP server with both ClickHouse Tools (production cluster queries) and chDB Tools (embedded ClickHouse for local analytics). Apache-2.0 with destructive-operation protection: write access is opt-in via configuration.

5 tools766
Official4.4

Redis MCP

Redis

Official Redis MCP server with natural-language interface for managing and searching Redis data. EntraID authentication for Azure Managed Redis included; Redis ACL configurable via environment variables. Tool coverage spans strings, lists, hashes, sets, sorted sets, JSON, vectors, and search.

8 tools499
Community4.4

Elasticsearch MCP

cr7258

Elasticsearch and OpenSearch MCP server with index management, document CRUD, search queries, cluster health, and aggregations. 270 stars and 22 commits on main in the last 30 days.

6 tools270
Vendor4

MindsDB

MindsDB

MindsDB ships native MCP server support as part of the main project (mindsdb/mindsdb, 39,093 stars). Federated query layer over 200+ data sources with built-in MCP endpoint for AI agent access to enterprise data.

6 tools39,093
// Get in touch

DISCUSS YOUR
MCP REQUIREMENTS.

Evaluating a server, scoping an internal deployment, or working out whether MCP is the right fit at all. Start the conversation and we will point you at the right piece of the ecosystem.

Discuss Your MCP Requirements →