MySQL MCP Server for Zed

A Zed extension that integrates MySQL database access through the Model Context Protocol (MCP), powered by @benborla29/mcp-server-mysql.

This extension enables Zed's AI assistant to inspect database schemas, execute SQL queries, and interact with your MySQL databases.

Features

• Direct MySQL Connection — Connect to local or remote MySQL instances via host/port or Unix socket
• Read & Write Operations — Read-only by default; optionally enable INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, and DDL
• Multi-Database Mode — Query across multiple databases when no specific database is set
• SSL/TLS Encryption — Secure your database connections
• Connection Pooling — Configurable pool size for performance

Requirements

• Zed editor (latest version recommended)
• Node.js v20 or higher
• MySQL 5.7 or higher (MySQL 8.0+ recommended)
• A MySQL user with appropriate permissions

Installation

1. Open Zed
2. Go to Extensions (cmd+shift+x on macOS)
3. Search for "MySQL MCP Server"
4. Click Install

Configuration

After installing the extension, configure it in your Zed settings (cmd+,):

Basic Connection

{
  "context_server": {
    "mcp-server-mysql": {
      "source": "extension",
      "enabled": true,
      "settings": {
        "mysql_host": "127.0.0.1",
        "mysql_port": "3306",
        "mysql_user": "root",
        "mysql_pass": "your_password",
        "mysql_db": "your_database"
      }
    }
  }
}

Connecting to Remote Databases via SSH Tunnel

If your MySQL database is on a remote server that isn't publicly accessible, you can use an SSH tunnel. This is managed outside of the extension so you can tailor it to each project's needs.

1. Open a terminal and start the tunnel:

ssh -L 3307:localhost:3306 user@remote-host -N

This forwards local port 3307 to the remote MySQL port 3306 through the SSH connection. Add -f to run it in the background:

ssh -fNL 3307:localhost:3306 user@remote-host

2. Configure the extension to connect through the tunnel:

{
  "context_server": {
    "mcp-server-mysql": {
      "source": "extension",
      "enabled": true,
      "settings": {
        "mysql_host": "127.0.0.1",
        "mysql_port": "3307",
        "mysql_user": "remote_db_user",
        "mysql_pass": "remote_db_password",
        "mysql_db": "remote_database"
      }
    }
  }
}

Unix Socket Connection

For local MySQL instances using Unix sockets:

{
  "context_server": {
    "mcp-server-mysql": {
      "source": "extension",
      "enabled": true,
      "settings": {
        "mysql_socket_path": "/tmp/mysql.sock",
        "mysql_user": "root",
        "mysql_pass": "your_password",
        "mysql_db": "your_database"
      }
    }
  }
}

Full Configuration Reference

Setting	Default	Description
Connection
mysql_host	127.0.0.1	MySQL server host
mysql_port	3306	MySQL server port
mysql_user	root	MySQL username
mysql_pass	""	MySQL password
mysql_db	""	Database name (empty = multi-DB mode)
mysql_socket_path	""	Unix socket path (overrides host/port)
Security
allow_insert_operation	false	Enable INSERT operations
allow_update_operation	false	Enable UPDATE operations
allow_delete_operation	false	Enable DELETE operations
allow_ddl_operation	false	Enable DDL (CREATE, ALTER, DROP)
mysql_ssl	false	Enable SSL/TLS encryption
Performance
mysql_pool_size	10	Connection pool size
mysql_query_timeout	30000	Query timeout (ms)
mysql_cache_ttl	60000	Cache TTL (ms)

Usage

Once configured, the MySQL MCP server provides the following tool to the AI assistant:

mysql_query

Execute SQL queries against the connected database.

Examples you can ask the assistant:

• "Show me all tables in the database"
• "Describe the schema of the users table"
• "Find all orders from the last 7 days"
• "What are the foreign key relationships in this database?"

Multi-Database Mode

When mysql_db is left empty, the assistant can query any database the MySQL user has access to using fully qualified table names:

SELECT * FROM database_name.table_name;

Security

⚠️ Important: By default, only read operations (SELECT) are allowed. Write operations must be explicitly enabled via settings. Only enable write operations if you fully trust the AI assistant with your database.

Credentials are stored in your local Zed settings file and are passed as environment variables to the MCP server process — they are never sent to any external service.

Troubleshooting

• Server not starting: Ensure Node.js v20+ is installed (node --version)
• Connection refused: Verify MySQL is running and credentials are correct
• SSH tunnel issues: Test the tunnel manually with ssh -L 3307:localhost:3306 user@host -N
• Authentication errors (MySQL 8.0+): Ensure your user supports caching_sha2_password

Development

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/toonvd/zed-mysql-mcp.git
cd zed-mysql-mcp

# Build the extension
cargo build

Credits

• MCP Server: @benborla29/mcp-server-mysql by Ben Borla
• Extension structure based on zed-mcp-server-context7 by Akbxr

License

MIT