Configure a connection in Devart MCP Server

You can configure a connection to your data source in one of these ways:

Using the Devart MCP Server connection manager
Using the MCP Server configuration file
Using the command line

Prerequisites

1. Install and activate Devart ODBC Driver.

2. Configure an ODBC DSN for the target data source.

For instructions on configuring the DSN connection, see the corresponding driver documentation:

Database data sources

Cloud data sources

Use the connection manager

To configure the ODBC connection to the data source:

1. Open Devart MCP Server and click New.

Create a new MCP Server

2. On the ODBC Settings tab, specify the connection details:

2.1. Under NAME, enter a name for your connection.

2.2. Under ODBC CONNECTION, select one of these options:

Use a preconfigured DSN:

1. Select Use system or user data source.

2. In Dsn, select your data source.

Create a new ODBC connection using a preconfigured DSN

Use a connection string:

1. Select Use Connection String.

2. In Connection String, click the ellipsis (…).

3. On the Machine Data Source tab, select your data source name in the list or click New and follow the wizard instructions to create a new DSN, then click OK.

4. Verify your DSN settings in the configuration dialog, then click OK.

If the connection succeeds, the connection string appears in the Connection String box.

Create a new ODBC connection using a connection string

Note

To create a connection string manually, see the Connection options topic in your driver documentation.

3. Optional: Click Test Connection to verify your connection settings.

4. On the MCP Settings tab, select the transport protocol:

STDIO – Uses the standard input/output streams.
HTTP – Uses the Hypertext Transfer Protocol. Specify the host, port number, and optionally a path prefix to use.

Specify the transport protocol as HTTP

5. Click Save.

6. In the connection list, click the ellipsis (…) next to your connection and select Start.

Click Start to launch the MCP Server

Devart MCP Server starts.

The MCP Server is running

Tip

When Devart MCP Server is running, Start changes to Stop.

To stop the server, select Stop.

To access your data source from an AI tool, register the connection with the AI tool. For instructions, see AI integration.

Edit a data source connection

To edit a connection:

1. Double-click the connection to open it. Alternatively, click the ellipsis (…) and select Edit.

Select Edit to update the connection settings

2. On the Edit MCP Server page, update the connection settings as needed.

3. If you’ve already integrated Devart MCP Server with an AI tool, on the Integration tab, click Unregister, then click Register.

4. Click Save.

5. Click the ellipsis (…), select Stop, then select Start.

Delete a data source connection

To delete a connection:

1. Click the ellipsis (…) next to the required connection and select Delete.

2. In the confirmation dialog, click Yes.

The connection is removed from the MCP Servers page.

Use the configuration file

To configure a connection manually:

1. Create an mcpserver.json file in one of these locations:

The MCP Server installation folder.
C:\ProgramData\Devart\<MCP Server for ...>, where <MCP Server for ...> is the name of the specific MCP Server, for example, C:\ProgramData\Devart\MCP Server for PostgreSQL.

2. Configure the parameters, depending on the transport protocol used by the MCP Server:

STDIO

{
  "Connections": [
    {
      "Name": "My_Connection_1",
      "Driver": "Devart ODBC Driver",
      "DsnName": "My_DSN",
      "ConnectionString": null,
      "ProtocolType": "Stdio"
    }
  ]  

}

where:

Name is the name of the ODBC connection.
Driver is the name of the specific ODBC Driver.
DsnName is the name of your data source.
ConnectionString is set to null because DsnName is used.
ProtocolType specifies the transport protocol.

Note

To use ConnectionString instead of DsnName, specify the connection string for the specific driver and set DsnName to null.

For more information on connection string configuration, see the Connection options topic in your driver documentation.

HTTP

{
  "Connections": [
    {
      "Name": "My_Connection_1",
      "Driver": "Devart ODBC Driver",
      "DsnName": "My_DSN",
      "ConnectionString": null,
      "ProtocolType": "Http",
      "HttpPort": 8080,
      "HttpAddress": "localhost",
      "HttpRoutePrefix": "/prefix"
    }
  ]  

}

where:

Name is the name of the ODBC connection.
Driver is the name of the specific ODBC Driver.
DsnName is the name of your data source.
ConnectionString is set to null because DsnName is in use.
ProtocolType specifies the transport protocol.
HttpPort specifies the HTTP port.
HttpAddress (optional) specifies the HTTP binding address. If you don’t specify this parameter, the MCP Server uses localhost.
HttpRoutePrefix (optional) specifies the HTTP route prefix.

3. Save the file.

4. Start the MCP Server.

Use the command line

You can use the config command to create and manage connections without opening the connection manager or editing the mcpserver.json file manually. You can also use the command in automated deployments, because it requires no user interaction.

The config command reads and writes the same mcpserver.json file that’s described in Use the configuration file. The command uses the first file it finds:

mcpserver.json in the MCP Server installation folder.
mcpserver.json in C:\ProgramData\Devart\<MCP Server for ...>, where <MCP Server for ...> is the name of the specific MCP Server, for example, C:\ProgramData\Devart\MCP Server for PostgreSQL.

If neither file exists, the command creates mcpserver.json in C:\ProgramData\Devart\<MCP Server for ...>.

Tip

To open the connection manager instead, run the config command without a subcommand. For instructions on using the connection manager, see Use the connection manager.

In the following examples, <mcpserver> is the MCP Server executable, for example, Devart.AI.McpServer.Odbc.PostgreSQL.exe.

Note

Run the command from the MCP Server installation folder, or specify the full path to the executable.

View the list of connections

To view the configured connections, run the following command:

<mcpserver> config list

The command displays the path to the configuration file and the connections it contains.

The output of the config list command

The HTTP columns contain values only for connections that use the HTTP transport protocol.

Add a connection

To add a connection, run the following command:

<mcpserver> config add <name> [options]

where <name> is the name of the connection. It must be unique within the configuration file. Pass the same name to the run command to start the MCP Server with this connection.

The table describes the available options.

Option	Description
`--protocol-type` or `-p`	Specifies the transport protocol: `stdio` or `http`. If omitted, `stdio` is used.
`--connection-string` or `-c`	Specifies the connection string for the specific driver.

The following options apply only when --protocol-type is set to http.

Option	Description
`--http-address` or `-ha`	Specifies the address that the MCP Server listens on.
`--http-port` or `-hp`	Specifies the HTTP port, from 0 to 65535. If omitted, `8080` is used.
`--http-route-prefix` or `-hr`	Specifies the route prefix that the MCP Server is served under, for example, `/mcp`.

Examples

Add a connection that uses the STDIO transport protocol.

<mcpserver> config add My_Postgresql -c "DRIVER=Devart ODBC Driver for PostgreSQL;Server=127.0.0.1;Database=test;User ID=postgres;Password=mypassword"

Add a connection that uses the HTTP transport protocol.

<mcpserver> config add My_Postgresql_HTTP -p http -ha localhost -hp 8080 -hr /mcp -c "DRIVER=Devart ODBC Driver for PostgreSQL;Server=127.0.0.1;Database=test;User ID=postgres;Password=mypassword"

Note

The config command sets the ConnectionString parameter. To use DsnName instead, add the connection in the connection manager, or edit the mcpserver.json file manually.

Start the MCP Server with a connection

After you configure a connection, you can start the MCP Server with it.

<mcpserver> run <name>

Edit a connection

To change the settings of an existing connection, run the following command:

<mcpserver> config edit <name> [options]

The options are the same as for adding a connection. Specify at least one option. The options that you omit keep their current values.

For example, you can change the port of a connection that uses the HTTP transport protocol.

<mcpserver> config edit My_Postgresql_HTTP -hp 5500

Delete a connection

To delete a connection, run the following command:

<mcpserver> config delete <name>

Note

If a command can’t be completed, the MCP Server displays the reason and returns a non-zero exit code. In automated deployments, you can use the exit code to detect failures.