Skip to main content

Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/A-Point-Systems-ltd/ms-sql-mcp/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

Claude Desktop supports MCP servers via claude_desktop_config.json. On Windows this file lives at %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json; on macOS at ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json. Editing this file is the only way to register an MCP server — there is no GUI for it in the current Claude Desktop release.
1

Build or publish the server

Follow the steps in Build and Publish to produce a MssqlMcp.exe binary. Note the full absolute path to the executable — you will paste it into the config in the next step.
2

Locate and open claude_desktop_config.json

Navigate to the config file for your operating system:
  • Windows: Press Win+R, type %APPDATA%\Claude, and open claude_desktop_config.json in a text editor.
  • macOS: Open ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json.
If the file does not exist, create it with an empty JSON object ({}).
3

Add the server entry

Add (or merge) the mcpServers key into the JSON object. Replace C:\\path\\to\\MssqlMcp.exe with the actual path to your executable and update the connection string for your environment:
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "MSSQL MCP": {
      "command": "C:\\path\\to\\MssqlMcp.exe",
      "env": {
        "CONNECTION_STRING": "Server=.;Database=test;Trusted_Connection=True;TrustServerCertificate=True"
      }
    }
  }
}
If claude_desktop_config.json already contains other MCP servers, add the "MSSQL MCP" entry alongside them inside the existing mcpServers object.
4

Restart Claude Desktop

Save the file and fully quit Claude Desktop (from the system tray or menu bar, not just close the window). Relaunch it so it reads the updated config. The server process starts when Claude Desktop starts.
5

Confirm the tools are available

In Claude Desktop, ask:
What tools do you have available?
Claude should list the MSSQL MCP tools, including ListObjects, ReadData, DescribeTable, and others. To do a quick end-to-end test, ask:
List tables in the database
The agent should call ListObjects with objectType=Table and return your table names.

​
Optional environment variables

Extend the env block with any of the following optional variables to control the AI Insights layer and logging: 
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "MSSQL MCP": {
      "command": "C:\\path\\to\\MssqlMcp.exe",
      "env": {
        "CONNECTION_STRING": "Server=.;Database=test;Trusted_Connection=True;TrustServerCertificate=True",
        "USE_INSIGHTS_LAYER": "true",
        "INSIGHTS_AUTOPOPULATE": "true",
        "LOG_FILE_PATH": "C:\\Logs\\mssql-mcp.log"
      }
    }
  }
}
VariableDefaultPurpose
USE_INSIGHTS_LAYERenabledSet to false to disable the AI Insights cache layer entirely.
INSIGHTS_AUTOPOPULATEenabledSet to false to disable automatic baseline insight generation on first introspection.
LOG_FILE_PATH%LOCALAPPDATA%\MssqlMcp\Logs\ (Windows)Full path to a log file, or a directory where timestamped log files will be created.
For Azure SQL with Entra ID interactive authentication, use: 
"CONNECTION_STRING": "Server=tcp:<server>.database.windows.net,1433;Initial Catalog=<database>;Encrypt=Mandatory;TrustServerCertificate=False;Connection Timeout=30;Authentication=Active Directory Interactive"
Claude Desktop uses command (not type: stdio) in its config schema — the stdio transport is inferred automatically. You do not need to add a type field. Restart Claude Desktop after every config change; unlike some editors, Claude Desktop does not hot-reload claude_desktop_config.json while running.

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get started for freeTalk to us