What is Redshift Mcp Server

Redshift MCP Server is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server implemented in TypeScript for Amazon Redshift. It provides rich contextual information about your Redshift data warehouse to Cursor IDE and other MCP-compatible clients, enabling LLMs to inspect database schemas and execute read-only queries.

Use cases

Use cases for Redshift MCP Server include data exploration and analysis using Cursor IDE, integrating with other MCP clients for enhanced data interaction, and enabling LLMs to perform read-only queries on Redshift databases for reporting and insights generation.

How to use

To use Redshift MCP Server, create a ‘.cursor/mcp.json’ file in your project directory with the necessary configuration, including the Redshift connection URL. You can also set up a global configuration in your home directory. After installation and building the TypeScript code, start the server using the command ‘npm start’ with the DATABASE_URL environment variable set.

Key features

Key features of Redshift MCP Server include integration with Cursor IDE, support for read-only queries, the ability to inspect database schemas, and compatibility with various MCP clients. It requires Node.js 16 or higher and provides a straightforward setup process.

Where to use

Redshift MCP Server is primarily used in data analytics, business intelligence, and application development environments where Amazon Redshift is utilized as a data warehouse. It is suitable for teams working with large datasets and requiring efficient querying capabilities.

Redshift MCP Server (TypeScript)

This is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for Amazon Redshift implemented in TypeScript. It follows Anthropic’s implementation pattern and provides Cursor IDE and other MCP-compatible clients with rich contextual information about your Redshift data warehouse. This server enables LLMs to inspect database schemas and execute read-only queries.

Integration with MCP Clients

Project-Specific Configuration

Create a .cursor/mcp.json file in your project directory:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "redshift-mcp": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "path/to/dist/index.js"
      ],
      "env": {
        "DATABASE_URL": "redshift://username:password@hostname:port/database?ssl=true"
      }
    }
  }
}

Global Configuration

For using across all projects, create ~/.cursor/mcp.json in your home directory with the same configuration.

Client-Specific Setup

Cursor IDE

1. The server will be automatically detected if configured in mcp.json
2. Tools will appear under “Available Tools” in MCP settings
3. Agent will automatically use the tools when relevant

Other MCP Clients

Configure the server using stdio transport:

{
  "servers": [
    {
      "name": "redshift-mcp",
      "transport": {
        "kind": "stdio",
        "command": [
          "node",
          "path/to/dist/index.js"
        ]
      }
    }
  ]
}

Prerequisites

• Node.js 16 or higher
• TypeScript
• Access to an Amazon Redshift cluster
• Basic knowledge of Redshift and SQL
• Cursor IDE installed

Installation

1. Clone this repository or copy the files to your local system
2. Install the dependencies:

npm install

3. Build the TypeScript code:

npm run build

Usage

The server requires a Redshift connection URL via the DATABASE_URL environment variable:

export DATABASE_URL="redshift://username:password@hostname:port/database?ssl=true"
npm start

Or you can run directly:

DATABASE_URL="redshift://username:password@hostname:port/database?ssl=true" node dist/index.js

For development, you can use:

DATABASE_URL="redshift://username:password@hostname:port/database?ssl=true" npm run dev

Connection URL Format

redshift://username:password@hostname:port/database?ssl=true

• username: Your Redshift username
• password: Your Redshift password
• hostname: Your Redshift cluster endpoint
• port: Usually 5439 for Redshift
• database: The name of your database
• ssl: Set to “true” for secure connection (recommended)

Additional connection parameters:

• ssl=true: Required for secure connections (recommended)
• timeout=10: Connection timeout in seconds
• keepalives=1: Enable TCP keepalive
• keepalives_idle=130: TCP keepalive idle time

Project Structure

• src/index.ts: Main TypeScript implementation
• dist/: Compiled JavaScript output
• package.json: Project dependencies and scripts
• tsconfig.json: TypeScript configuration

Components

Tools Available in Cursor

• query

  • Execute read-only SQL queries against the connected Redshift database
  • Example: “Write a query to show all tables in the public schema”

• describe_table

  • Get detailed information about a specific table
  • Example: “Show me the structure of the users table”

• find_column

  • Find tables containing columns with specific name patterns
  • Example: “Find all tables that have a column containing ‘email’”

Resources Available to Cursor

The server provides schema information that Cursor can use:

• Schema Listings (redshift://<host>/schema/<schema_name>)

  • Lists all tables within a specific schema
  • Automatically discovered from database metadata

• Table Schemas (redshift://<host>/<schema>/<table>/schema)

  • JSON schema information for each table
  • Includes column names, data types, and Redshift-specific attributes (distribution and sort keys)

• Sample Data (redshift://<host>/<schema>/<table>/sample)

  • Sample rows from each table (limited to 5)
  • Sensitive data is automatically redacted

• Statistics (redshift://<host>/<schema>/<table>/statistics)

  • Table statistics including size, row count, and creation time
  • Distribution and compression information

Security Considerations

This server:

• Uses read-only transactions for queries to prevent modifications
• Sanitizes inputs to prevent SQL injection
• Does not expose raw password information in resource URIs
• Automatically redacts sensitive data in sample results (email, phone)
• Should be used in a secure environment since it has access to your database

Example Cursor Interactions

Here are some example questions you can ask Cursor once connected:

1. “Show me all tables in the public schema”
2. “What’s the structure of the customers table?”
3. “Find all tables that contain customer information”
4. “Write a query to count orders by status”
5. “Show me sample data from the products table”

Extending the Server

You can extend this server by:

1. Adding new resource types in the ListResourcesRequestSchema and ReadResourceRequestSchema handlers
2. Adding new tools in the ListToolsRequestSchema and CallToolRequestSchema handlers
3. Enhancing security features or adding authentication

Development

For development, you can use the npm run dev command, which uses ts-node to run the TypeScript code directly without pre-compilation.

License

MIT