How do I install Dbatools?

Copy the stdio config for Cursor, Claude Desktop, Claude Code, or VS Code on this page. It uses the publisher's install, not a PlugMCP proxy.

Does Dbatools need an API key?

The publisher lists these environment variables: DBATOOLS_SAFE_MODE, MAX_OUTPUT_ROWS, COMMAND_TIMEOUT_SECONDS, PWSH_EXE.

What transport does Dbatools use?

Dbatools runs locally over stdio.

When was Dbatools last checked?

Last checked 2026-11-09. MCP server for dbatools — exposes SQL Server management commands as MCP tools

Dbatools MCP server

Power your agent

Add this server

The publisher's own command. Not a PlugMCP endpoint.

Add to Cursor Add to VS Code Run on PlugMCP

Host a copy with our keys and logs.

Local command

npx -y [email protected]

Credentials from the publisher

DBATOOLS_SAFE_MODE — Set to 'false' to allow write/destructive dbatools operations. Defaults to true (read-only safe mode).
MAX_OUTPUT_ROWS — Maximum number of rows returned per command. Defaults to 100. Allowed range: 1–10000.
COMMAND_TIMEOUT_SECONDS — Timeout in seconds for each dbatools command. Defaults to 60. Allowed range: 5–3600.
PWSH_EXE — Path to the PowerShell executable. Defaults to 'pwsh'.

Claude Code has no install link for a local command. Copy the command below and run it in a terminal.

shClaude Code

1DBATOOLS_SAFE_MODE=<value> MAX_OUTPUT_ROWS=<value> COMMAND_TIMEOUT_SECONDS=<value> PWSH_EXE=<value> claude mcp add io.github.dataplat-dbatools-mcp-server -- npx -y dbatools-mcp-server@0.5.0

Run in a terminal.

jsonClaude Desktop

1{2  "mcpServers": {3    "io.github.dataplat-dbatools-mcp-server": {4      "command": "npx",5      "args": [6        "-y",7        "[email protected]"8      ],9      "env": {10        "DBATOOLS_SAFE_MODE": "<value>",11        "MAX_OUTPUT_ROWS": "<value>",12        "COMMAND_TIMEOUT_SECONDS": "<value>",13        "PWSH_EXE": "<value>"14      }15    }16  }17}

claude_desktop_config.json

Local · npmPublisher installStep-by-step: add this in Claude

Remote URL or a command on your machine? How the two installs differ

Run on PlugMCP

Host a copy with our keys and logs.

A new server you create. It is not this listing's official endpoint. Use the publisher install when you want their URL and their credentials.

Launch

Server facts

Local

Transport: stdio
Version

Tools

No tool list yet. Remote servers get one after the first health check.

FAQ

Questions

dbatools-mcp-server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for the dbatools PowerShell module.

Exposes dbatools commands as MCP tools so AI assistants (GitHub Copilot, Claude, etc.) can discover, explain, and execute dbatools commands directly — with all metadata sourced from dbatools' own comment-based help.

Features

list_dbatools_commands — search commands by verb, noun, keyword, or risk level
get_dbatools_command_help — full normalized help (synopsis, parameters, examples) from Get-Help -Full
invoke_dbatools_command — execute any dbatools command with safe parameter validation, risk gating, and structured JSON output
check_dbatools_environment — verify PowerShell + dbatools installation, index freshness, and version alignment
Tool annotations — each tool declares readOnlyHint / destructiveHint / idempotentHint / openWorldHint so MCP clients (e.g. VS Code) can surface risk in the UI before a tool is even called
Resources — browse dbatools://command/{name} to read any command's full normalized help as structured JSON, independent of the chat-oriented tool responses
Persistent PowerShell session — invoke_dbatools_command reuses one long-lived pwsh process with dbatools pre-imported instead of spawning (and re-importing dbatools into) a fresh process on every call
Version mismatch detection — warns when installed dbatools version differs from the indexed version
Safe mode — non-readonly commands require explicit confirm: true to execute
SQL Authentication support — pass SqlCredential: { username, password } for SQL auth instances

Prerequisites

Node.js 20+
PowerShell 7+ (pwsh)
dbatools PowerShell module

Install-Module dbatools -Scope CurrentUser

Quick Start

# 1. Clone the repo
git clone https://github.com/Dataplat/dbatools-mcp-server.git
cd dbatools-mcp-server

# 2. Install Node dependencies
npm install

# 3. Generate the help index from your local dbatools installation
npm run refresh-help

# 4. Build
npm run build

Then open the folder in VS Code — the .vscode/mcp.json file automatically registers the MCP server.

Connecting to VS Code

The included .vscode/mcp.json registers the server as a local STDIO MCP server. Open this folder in VS Code and the server will appear in the GitHub Copilot MCP panel.

{
  "servers": {
    "dbatools": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["${workspaceFolder}/dist/server.js"],
      "env": {
        "DBATOOLS_SAFE_MODE": "true",
        "MAX_OUTPUT_ROWS": "100",
        "COMMAND_TIMEOUT_SECONDS": "60"
      }
    }
  }
}

Configuration

All settings are controlled via environment variables (set in .vscode/mcp.json or your shell):

Variable	Default	Description
`PWSH_EXE`	`pwsh`	Path to PowerShell executable
`DBATOOLS_SAFE_MODE`	`true`	When `true`, non-readonly commands require `confirm: true`
`MAX_OUTPUT_ROWS`	`100`	Maximum rows returned per command execution
`COMMAND_TIMEOUT_SECONDS`	`60`	Seconds before PowerShell process is killed
`DBATOOLS_PERSISTENT_SESSION`	`true`	When `true`, `invoke_dbatools_command` reuses one long-lived PowerShell process (dbatools pre-imported) instead of spawning a new process per call. Set to `false` to force a fresh process per call.

Refreshing the Help Index

The help index (generated/dbatools-help.json) is generated from your locally installed dbatools module. Re-run whenever dbatools is updated:

Update-Module dbatools -Scope CurrentUser
npm run refresh-help

The server detects version mismatches at runtime and warns you when the index is stale.

Risk Levels

Commands are automatically classified by verb:

Risk Level	Verbs	Behavior
`readonly`	Get, Test, Find, Compare, …	Always allowed
`change`	Set, New, Add, Copy, Enable, …	Requires `confirm: true` in safe mode
`destructive`	Remove, Drop, Disable, Reset, …	Requires `confirm: true` in safe mode

Each risk tier maps to standard MCP tool annotations (readOnlyHint, destructiveHint, idempotentHint, openWorldHint), so compatible clients can surface risk in their UI before a tool is even invoked. invoke_dbatools_command is a generic dispatcher that can run any command, so its annotation conservatively reflects the worst case (destructiveHint: true) — the actual per-command risk is still enforced at runtime by the safe-mode gate.

Resources

Besides the four tools, the server exposes every indexed command as an MCP resource at dbatools://command/{name} (e.g. dbatools://command/Get-DbaDatabase), returning the same normalized help record as structured JSON — useful for clients that browse/ground on resources rather than calling a tool. The browsable resource list excludes PowerShell aliases (e.g. Attach-DbaDatabase, an alias for Mount-DbaDatabase) since they just forward to another command's help.

Persistent PowerShell Session

By default, invoke_dbatools_command reuses a single long-lived pwsh process with dbatools pre-imported, instead of spawning a fresh process (and re-importing dbatools) on every call. This removes the ~1-2s+ process-startup and module-import cost from every invocation after the first.

A couple of things to be aware of:

Crash/timeout recovery: if a command times out or the session process crashes, it is killed and discarded; the next call transparently starts a fresh session (paying the import cost once more). The call that triggered the failure is not automatically retried.
Cross-call state: dbatools caches some state (e.g. SMO connections via Connect-DbaInstance) within a PowerShell session. With a persistent session, that caching is now visible across tool calls within one MCP server run, where previously every call was fully isolated. Each individual script still runs in its own scope, so plain variables never leak between calls — only dbatools' own internal caching behavior is affected.

Set DBATOOLS_PERSISTENT_SESSION=false to disable this and go back to one fresh process per call.

SQL Authentication

For SQL-auth-only instances (e.g. Docker), pass credentials via the SqlCredential parameter:

{
  "SqlInstance": "localhost,1433",
  "SqlCredential": { "username": "<SqlLogin>", "password": "YourPassword" }
}

Project Structure

dbatools-mcp-server/
├── src/
│   ├── server.ts              # MCP server entry point, tool/resource definitions
│   ├── powershell.ts           # One-shot PowerShell process runner, health checks, version detection
│   ├── powershell-session.ts   # Persistent PowerShell session (long-lived process, dbatools pre-imported)
│   ├── help-indexer.ts         # Help manifest loader and command search
│   ├── tool-registry.ts        # Risk classification, tool annotations, safe argument builder
│   └── types.ts                # Shared TypeScript interfaces
├── scripts/
│   └── refresh-help.ps1       # Generates generated/dbatools-help.json
├── generated/                 # Help index (gitignored, generated locally)
├── .vscode/
│   └── mcp.json               # VS Code MCP local server registration
└── dist/                      # Compiled output (gitignored)

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please open an issue first for significant changes.

This project follows the same community spirit as dbatools.

Dbatools

Add this server

Host a copy with our keys and logs.

Server facts

Tools

Questions

How do I install Dbatools?

Does Dbatools need an API key?

What transport does Dbatools use?

When was Dbatools last checked?

Documentation

dbatools-mcp-server

Features

Prerequisites

Quick Start

Connecting to VS Code

Configuration

Refreshing the Help Index

Risk Levels

Resources

Persistent PowerShell Session

SQL Authentication

Project Structure

Contributing

License