Boxtalk Data

Boxtalk Data MCP Server provides SQL Server database operations through a Model Context Protocol interface, including paginated data retrieval, record counting, and table structure inspection. It is designed to help you safely access read-only database data with enforced pagination and easy configuration.

How to use

You interact with Boxtalk Data MCP Server through an MCP client to perform three core operations: retrieve paginated table data, count total records in a table, and view the table structure. Use these tools to explore your SQL Server data without exporting large datasets in a single request.

How to install

Prerequisites you need before installing are Node.js version 16 or higher and an accessible SQL Server database with read access.

Steps to install and run the MCP server locally:

# 1) Install dependencies
npm install

# 2) Create your configuration file
cp config.example.json config.json

# 3) Edit the configuration file with your database credentials

Configuration and startup

Configure your database connection in a JSON file. An example configuration is shown here for reference. Populate the fields with your actual database credentials and options.

{
  "database": {
    "user": "your_username",
    "password": "your_password",
    "server": "localhost",
    "database": "your_database_name",
    "options": {
      "encrypt": true,
      "trustServerCertificate": false,
      "enableArithAbort": true
    },
    "pool": {
      "max": 10,
      "min": 0,
      "idleTimeoutMillis": 30000
    }
  }
}

Alternative configuration method

If you want to use a custom configuration file path, set the DB_CONFIG_PATH environment variable when starting the server.

DB_CONFIG_PATH=/path/to/custom/config.json node index.js

Claude Desktop integration (optional)

To run the MCP server with Claude Desktop, add a server entry to your Claude Desktop configuration. Include the path to the Node.js runtime and the MCP index file, and pass the configuration path through an environment variable.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "boxtalk-data": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/boxtalk-data-mcp/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "DB_CONFIG_PATH": "/path/to/boxtalk-data-mcp/config.json"
      }
    }
  }
}

Testing the MCP server

You can verify the server works using the MCP inspector tool. Install the inspector globally and connect to your local server to exercise the available endpoints.

npm install -g @modelcontextprotocol/inspector
mcp-inspector node index.js

Security considerations

Protect your credentials by never committing the configuration file to version control. Use strong passwords, grant only the necessary permissions to the database user, enable encryption in production, and consider using environment variables for sensitive values.

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues, verify the SQL Server is running and reachable, check firewall rules and the server port, and confirm that your credentials are correct. For local development with self-signed certificates, enable trustServerCertificate in the config as needed.

If you specifically need Windows authentication, adjust your config to use a trusted connection with encryption enabled.

Notes

This MCP server enforces pagination to prevent large data dumps by limiting the maximum page size to 1000 records per page. Use the provided tools to inspect data in a controlled, paginated manner.

Available tools

get_table_data

Retrieve paginated data from a SQL Server table with options for page number, page size, and ordering.

get_table_count

Return the total number of records in a specified table.

get_table_structure

Fetch the schema of a table, including columns, data types, and constraints.