How do I install MySQL Legacy MCP?

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 MySQL Legacy MCP need an API key?

The publisher lists these environment variables: MYSQL_LEGACY_HOST, MYSQL_LEGACY_USER, MYSQL_LEGACY_PASSWORD, MYSQL_LEGACY_PORT, MYSQL_LEGACY_DATABASE, MYSQL_LEGACY_HIDE_SYSTEM_DATABASES, MYSQL_LEGACY_QUERY_TIMEOUT, MYSQL_LEGACY_MAX_ROWS, MYSQL_LEGACY_MAX_RESULT_BYTES, MYSQL_LEGACY_CONNECT_TIMEOUT, MYSQL_LEGACY_POOL_SIZE, MYSQL_LEGACY_ALLOW_INSERT, MYSQL_LEGACY_ALLOW_UPDATE, MYSQL_LEGACY_ALLOW_DELETE, MYSQL_LEGACY_ALLOW_DDL, MYSQL_LEGACY_DISABLE_READ_ONLY_TRANSACTIONS.

What transport does MySQL Legacy MCP use?

MySQL Legacy MCP runs locally over stdio.

When was MySQL Legacy MCP last checked?

Last checked 2026-11-09. Inspect and query MySQL 5.0–5.6; opt-in INSERT/UPDATE/DELETE/DDL. Live-verified 5.0–8.0.

MySQL Legacy 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

MYSQL_LEGACY_HOST — Database host or local tunnel endpoint
MYSQL_LEGACY_USER — Dedicated database reader account
MYSQL_LEGACY_PASSWORD — Nonempty database account password
MYSQL_LEGACY_PORT — TCP port, 1–65535
MYSQL_LEGACY_DATABASE — Optional default database
MYSQL_LEGACY_HIDE_SYSTEM_DATABASES — Hide mysql and information_schema from listings
MYSQL_LEGACY_QUERY_TIMEOUT — Driver query timeout, 100–60000 milliseconds
MYSQL_LEGACY_MAX_ROWS — SELECT response row limit, 1–1000
MYSQL_LEGACY_MAX_RESULT_BYTES — SELECT row-data JSON byte limit, 1024–1048576
MYSQL_LEGACY_CONNECT_TIMEOUT — Connection-establishment timeout, 100–60000 milliseconds
MYSQL_LEGACY_POOL_SIZE — Pooled connection limit, 1–50
MYSQL_LEGACY_ALLOW_INSERT — Enable the mysql_legacy_insert tool
MYSQL_LEGACY_ALLOW_UPDATE — Enable the mysql_legacy_update tool (WHERE clause always required)
MYSQL_LEGACY_ALLOW_DELETE — Enable the mysql_legacy_delete tool (WHERE clause always required)
MYSQL_LEGACY_ALLOW_DDL — Enable the mysql_legacy_ddl tool (table-level statements only)
MYSQL_LEGACY_DISABLE_READ_ONLY_TRANSACTIONS — Disable the read-only transaction wrap around mysql_legacy_select on MySQL 5.6.5+

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

shClaude Code

1MYSQL_LEGACY_HOST=<value> MYSQL_LEGACY_USER=<value> MYSQL_LEGACY_PASSWORD=<secret> MYSQL_LEGACY_PORT=<value> MYSQL_LEGACY_DATABASE=<value> MYSQL_LEGACY_HIDE_SYSTEM_DATABASES=<value> MYSQL_LEGACY_QUERY_TIMEOUT=<value> MYSQL_LEGACY_MAX_ROWS=<value> MYSQL_LEGACY_MAX_RESULT_BYTES=<value> MYSQL_LEGACY_CONNECT_TIMEOUT=<value> MYSQL_LEGACY_POOL_SIZE=<value> MYSQL_LEGACY_ALLOW_INSERT=<value> MYSQL_LEGACY_ALLOW_UPDATE=<value> MYSQL_LEGACY_ALLOW_DELETE=<value> MYSQL_LEGACY_ALLOW_DDL=<value> MYSQL_LEGACY_DISABLE_READ_ONLY_TRANSACTIONS=<value> claude mcp add io.github.rufflet-mysql-legacy-mcp -- npx -y mysql-legacy-mcp@0.2.1

Run in a terminal.

jsonClaude Desktop

1{2  "mcpServers": {3    "io.github.rufflet-mysql-legacy-mcp": {4      "command": "npx",5      "args": [6        "-y",7        "[email protected]"8      ],9      "env": {10        "MYSQL_LEGACY_HOST": "<value>",11        "MYSQL_LEGACY_USER": "<value>",12        "MYSQL_LEGACY_PASSWORD": "<secret>",13        "MYSQL_LEGACY_PORT": "<value>",14        "MYSQL_LEGACY_DATABASE": "<value>",15        "MYSQL_LEGACY_HIDE_SYSTEM_DATABASES": "<value>",16        "MYSQL_LEGACY_QUERY_TIMEOUT": "<value>",17        "MYSQL_LEGACY_MAX_ROWS": "<value>",18        "MYSQL_LEGACY_MAX_RESULT_BYTES": "<value>",19        "MYSQL_LEGACY_CONNECT_TIMEOUT": "<value>",20        "MYSQL_LEGACY_POOL_SIZE": "<value>",21        "MYSQL_LEGACY_ALLOW_INSERT": "<value>",22        "MYSQL_LEGACY_ALLOW_UPDATE": "<value>",23        "MYSQL_LEGACY_ALLOW_DELETE": "<value>",24        "MYSQL_LEGACY_ALLOW_DDL": "<value>",25        "MYSQL_LEGACY_DISABLE_READ_ONLY_TRANSACTIONS": "<value>"26      }27    }28  }29}

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

Tools

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

FAQ

Questions

MySQL Legacy MCP

MCP server for legacy MySQL 5.0–5.6 databases through stdio. The package is on npm as mysql-legacy-mcp and in the official MCP Registry as io.github.Rufflet/mysql-legacy-mcp.

It uses MySQL 5.1-compatible SQL and SHOW metadata queries. Live MCP tests cover MySQL 5.0.51a, 5.1.73, 5.5.62, and 5.6.51. It is deliberately small: read-only by default, with INSERT/UPDATE/DELETE/DDL as opt-in tools disabled unless explicitly enabled; no TLS configuration, and no custom authentication or charset options.

Is this for you?

You need an AI agent to inspect a MySQL 5.0, 5.1, 5.5, or 5.6 database.
Your current MySQL MCP server assumes MySQL 5.7+, JSON functions, or newer information_schema fields.
You need schema inspection and SELECT queries, with write operations off by default and opt-in per statement type.

If you are seeing ER_NOT_SUPPORTED_AUTH_MODE, HANDSHAKE_INSECURE_AUTH, Old password authentication is not supported, legacy TLS errors, or garbled cp1251 / latin1 text, read Troubleshooting first. Those symptoms are not all solved by this package.

Requirements

Node.js 18.14.1 or later
npm
A dedicated MySQL account with only the required read and metadata privileges

Where it is listed

Installation is always local stdio via npm (npx -y mysql-legacy-mcp). Directory pages do not make that faster; they are discovery indexes. The official MCP Registry is the machine-readable source (io.github.Rufflet/mysql-legacy-mcp) that aggregators ingest, including env-var metadata from server.json. Clients that speak that registry can pre-fill configuration from it.

Maintainer submission status for other directories is in docs/RELEASE_CHECKLIST.md.

Quick install

Claude Code

claude mcp add --transport stdio mysql-legacy \
  --env MYSQL_LEGACY_HOST=127.0.0.1 \
  --env MYSQL_LEGACY_USER=legacy_reader \
  --env MYSQL_LEGACY_PASSWORD=replace-with-a-secret \
  --env MYSQL_LEGACY_DATABASE=legacy_app \
  -- npx -y mysql-legacy-mcp

Codex

codex mcp add mysql-legacy \
  --env MYSQL_LEGACY_HOST=127.0.0.1 \
  --env MYSQL_LEGACY_USER=legacy_reader \
  --env MYSQL_LEGACY_PASSWORD=replace-with-a-secret \
  --env MYSQL_LEGACY_DATABASE=legacy_app \
  -- npx -y mysql-legacy-mcp

Cursor and other clients

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mysql-legacy": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mysql-legacy-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "MYSQL_LEGACY_HOST": "127.0.0.1",
        "MYSQL_LEGACY_USER": "legacy_reader",
        "MYSQL_LEGACY_PASSWORD": "replace-with-a-secret",
        "MYSQL_LEGACY_DATABASE": "legacy_app"
      }
    }
  }
}

Use the schema required by your client. Full copy-paste instructions for Claude Desktop, Codex, VS Code, Windsurf, Gemini, Trae, Qoder, and more are in the Installation guide.

Compatibility

MySQL	Status
5.0	Verified: 5.0.51a
5.1	Verified: 5.1.73
5.5	Verified: 5.5.62
5.6	Verified: 5.6.51
5.7	Verified reference only: 5.7.44
8.0	Not a target; default `caching_sha2_password` is unsupported

Each tested target passed all 11 tools — the 7 read-only tools plus the 4 opt-in write tools, with MYSQL_LEGACY_ALLOW_* flags checked both left at their default false and explicitly enabled — through a real MCP stdio session. On MySQL 5.6.5 and later, this also exercised the actual START TRANSACTION READ ONLY path used by mysql_legacy_select; below that version it exercised the silent plain-query fallback. Exact sources, test conditions, and the MySQL 8.0 boundary are recorded in the compatibility audit. This does not cover pre-4.1 old_password, custom connection charsets, TLS, or your server's exact patch level.

Compared with modern MySQL MCP servers

Server	Stated MySQL baseline	Focus
`mysql-legacy-mcp`	Verified live: 5.0–5.6	Legacy schema inspection and SELECT by default; opt-in INSERT/UPDATE/DELETE/DDL, with UPDATE/DELETE always requiring a WHERE clause
`@benborla29/mcp-server-mysql`	5.7+; 8.0+ recommended	Modern MySQL features such as TLS, SSH tunnels, and optional writes

This is a compatibility distinction, not a benchmark: choose the modern server for its modern-database features.

Features

Read-only SELECT tool with parser checks and result-size limits, wrapped in a read-only transaction on MySQL 5.6.5+
SHOW-based database, table, column, CREATE TABLE, and index inspection
Opt-in INSERT/UPDATE/DELETE/DDL tools, each disabled by default and gated by its own MYSQL_LEGACY_ALLOW_* flag; UPDATE and DELETE always require a WHERE clause
A small pooled set of MySQL connections (MYSQL_LEGACY_POOL_SIZE); no reliance on CTEs, JSON functions, or modern metadata columns

Tools

Tool	Purpose
`mysql_legacy_ping`	Return `VERSION()`
`mysql_legacy_select`	Run one parsed SELECT statement
`mysql_legacy_insert`	Run one INSERT statement (opt-in, `MYSQL_LEGACY_ALLOW_INSERT`)
`mysql_legacy_update`	Run one UPDATE statement with a required WHERE clause (opt-in, `MYSQL_LEGACY_ALLOW_UPDATE`)
`mysql_legacy_delete`	Run one DELETE statement with a required WHERE clause (opt-in, `MYSQL_LEGACY_ALLOW_DELETE`)
`mysql_legacy_ddl`	Run one table-level CREATE/ALTER/DROP/TRUNCATE/RENAME statement (opt-in, `MYSQL_LEGACY_ALLOW_DDL`)
`mysql_legacy_list_databases`	List databases
`mysql_legacy_list_tables`	List tables and views
`mysql_legacy_describe_table`	Show columns
`mysql_legacy_show_create_table`	Show table DDL
`mysql_legacy_list_indexes`	Show indexes

Documentation

Installation guide — client-specific setup
Configuration — environment variables, privileges, and security limits
Troubleshooting — authentication, TLS, encoding, and startup errors
Compatibility audit — reproducible version evidence
Roadmap — deliberately deferred work and why

Why this exists

This project came from a QA/fullstack workflow that needed AI-assisted inspection of a production MySQL 5.1 database. It is a focused utility for exploring legacy schemas and preparing migrations.

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md for how to propose changes, run checks locally, and what evidence a compatibility claim needs. Quick start:

npm ci
npm run check
npm run smoke:static

For authorized database testing, see the smoke-test instructions in the compatibility audit.

License

MIT.