MCP Firebird

Implementation of Anthropic's MCP (Model Context Protocol) for Firebird databases.

Example Usage

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/e68e873f-f87b-4afd-874f-157086e223af

What is MCP Firebird?

MCP Firebird is a server that implements Anthropic's Model Context Protocol (MCP) for Firebird SQL databases. It allows Large Language Models (LLMs) like Claude to access, analyze, and manipulate data in Firebird databases securely and in a controlled manner.

Key Features

SQL Queries: Execute SQL queries on Firebird databases
Schema Analysis: Get detailed information about tables, columns, and relationships
Database Management: Perform backup, restore, and validation operations
Performance Analysis: Analyze query performance and suggest optimizations
Multiple Transports: Supports STDIO, SSE (Server-Sent Events), and Streamable HTTP transports
Modern Protocol Support: Full support for MCP Streamable HTTP (2025-03-26) and legacy SSE
Unified Server: Automatic protocol detection and backwards compatibility
Claude Integration: Works seamlessly with Claude Desktop and other MCP clients
VSCode Integration: Works with GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio Code
Session Management: Robust session handling with automatic cleanup and configurable timeouts
Security: Includes SQL query validation and security configuration options
Dual Driver Support: Choose between simple installation (default) or native driver with wire encryption support

🚀 Quick Start with Smithery (Recommended for Cloud Deployment)

Deploy MCP Firebird to the cloud in under 5 minutes!

Smithery is the easiest way to deploy MCP Firebird to production:

✅ One-click deployment - No infrastructure setup required ✅ Automatic scaling - Handles traffic spikes automatically ✅ Built-in monitoring - Track usage and performance ✅ Secure credentials - Encrypted environment variables ✅ Auto-updates - Always running the latest version ✅ Global CDN - Low latency worldwide

How to Deploy on Smithery

Visit smithery.ai
Connect your GitHub account
Select the mcpFirebird repository

Configure your Firebird database connection:

host: "your-firebird-server.com"
port: 3050
database: "/path/to/database.fdb"
user: "SYSDBA"
password: "your-secure-password"
useNativeDriver: true  # Enable wire encryption (optional)
logLevel: "info"

Click Deploy - Done! ✨

Your MCP Firebird server will be available at:

https://server.smithery.ai/your-username/mcp-firebird

Using with AI Clients

import { Client } from "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/client/index.js";
import { StreamableHTTPClientTransport } from "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/client/streamableHttp.js";

const transport = new StreamableHTTPClientTransport(
  "https://server.smithery.ai/your-username/mcp-firebird"
);

const client = new Client({
  name: "my-ai-app",
  version: "1.0.0"
});

await client.connect(transport);

📚 For detailed Smithery deployment instructions, see SMITHERY_DEPLOYMENT.md

🔒 Wire Encryption Support

MCP Firebird supports two driver options:

Driver	Installation	Wire Encryption	Use Case
Pure JavaScript (default)	✅ Simple (`npx`)	❌ No	Most users, quick setup
Native Driver (optional)	⚠️ Complex (requires build tools)	✅ Yes	Enterprise, security required

Quick Start (Default - No Wire Encryption)

npx mcp-firebird@alpha --database=/path/to/database.fdb

Advanced (With Wire Encryption Support)

⚠️ CRITICAL: npx does NOT work with the native driver. You MUST install globally.

⚠️ IMPORTANT: Wire encryption must be configured on the Firebird server (firebird.conf), not on the client.

Server Configuration (required first):

# In firebird.conf on the server
WireCrypt = Required  # or Enabled

Client Installation (MUST be global):

# Step 1: Install build tools
# Windows: Visual Studio Build Tools (https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/downloads/)
# Linux: sudo apt-get install build-essential python3 firebird-dev
# macOS: xcode-select --install && brew install firebird

# Step 2: Install MCP Firebird globally
npm install -g mcp-firebird@alpha

# Step 3: Install native driver globally
npm install -g node-firebird-driver-native

# Step 4: Run directly (WITHOUT npx)
mcp-firebird --use-native-driver \
  --database=/path/to/database.fdb \
  --host=localhost \
  --user=SYSDBA \
  --password=masterkey

Why not npx? When npx runs a package from its temporary cache, it cannot access globally installed modules like node-firebird-driver-native. Both packages must be installed globally in the same location.

📚 For detailed installation instructions, see:

Smithery CLI Installation Guide - ⭐ Recommended for local setup
Native Driver Installation Guide - Step-by-step for Windows/Linux/macOS
Wire Encryption Guide
Advanced Installation Guide

🖥️ Local Installation with Smithery CLI

⭐ Recommended for local AI clients (Claude Desktop, Cursor, etc.)

The Smithery CLI provides the easiest way to install and configure MCP Firebird for local use:

Quick Install

# Interactive installation (prompts for configuration)
npx -y @smithery/cli@latest install mcp-firebird --client claude

# Pre-configured installation (skip prompts)
npx -y @smithery/cli@latest install mcp-firebird --client claude --config '{
  "database": "/path/to/database.fdb",
  "user": "SYSDBA",
  "password": "masterkey",
  "useNativeDriver": false
}'

Features

✅ One-command installation - No manual configuration needed
✅ Multiple clients - Works with Claude Desktop, Cursor, and more
✅ Interactive setup - Prompts for all required settings
✅ Auto-configuration - Automatically configures your AI client
✅ Easy management - List, inspect, and uninstall servers easily

Common Commands

# List installed servers
npx @smithery/cli list servers --client claude

# Inspect server configuration
npx @smithery/cli inspect mcp-firebird

# Uninstall server
npx @smithery/cli uninstall mcp-firebird --client claude

📖 Full Guide: Smithery CLI Installation Guide

Manual Installation

Stable Version

# Global installation (stable)
npm install -g mcp-firebird

# Run the server
npx mcp-firebird --database /path/to/database.fdb

# Or use specific stable version
npm install -g [email protected]

Stable Features (v2.2.3):

🐛 FIXED: SSE JSON parsing bug - resolves "Invalid message: [object Object]" errors
✨ Streamable HTTP transport support (MCP 2025-03-26)
🔄 Unified server with automatic protocol detection
📊 Enhanced session management and monitoring
🛠️ Modern MCP SDK integration (v1.13.2)
🔧 Improved error handling and logging
🧪 Comprehensive test suite with 9+ tests for SSE functionality

Alpha Version (Latest Features)

# Install alpha version with latest features
npm install -g mcp-firebird@alpha

# Or use specific alpha version
npm install -g [email protected]

Alpha Features (v2.4.0-alpha.0):

� NEW: Ready for next development cycle
✨ All stable features from v2.2.3 included
🔄 Unified server with automatic protocol detection
📊 Enhanced session management and monitoring
🛠️ Modern MCP SDK integration (v1.13.2)
🔧 Improved error handling and logging
🧪 Comprehensive test suite with 9+ tests for SSE functionality
📚 Enhanced documentation with troubleshooting guides

Note: The SSE JSON parsing bug fix is now available in stable v2.2.3

For backup/restore operations, you'll need to install the Firebird client tools. See Complete Installation for more details.

For VSCode and GitHub Copilot integration, see VSCode Integration.

Basic Usage

With Claude Desktop

Edit the Claude Desktop configuration:

code $env:AppData\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json  # Windows
code ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json  # macOS

Add the MCP Firebird configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-firebird": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-firebird",
        "--host",
        "localhost",
        "--port",
        "3050",
        "--database",
        "C:\\path\\to\\database.fdb",
        "--user",
        "SYSDBA",
        "--password",
        "masterkey"
      ],
      "type": "stdio"
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop

Transport Configuration

MCP Firebird supports multiple transport protocols to accommodate different client needs and deployment scenarios.

STDIO Transport (Default)

The STDIO transport is the standard method for Claude Desktop integration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-firebird": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-firebird",
        "--database", "C:\\path\\to\\database.fdb",
        "--user", "SYSDBA",
        "--password", "masterkey"
      ],
      "type": "stdio"
    }
  }
}

SSE Transport (Server-Sent Events)

SSE transport allows the server to run as a web service, useful for web applications and remote access:

Basic SSE Configuration

# Start SSE server on default port 3003
npx mcp-firebird --transport-type sse --database /path/to/database.fdb

# Custom port and full configuration
npx mcp-firebird \
  --transport-type sse \
  --sse-port 3003 \
  --database /path/to/database.fdb \
  --host localhost \
  --port 3050 \
  --user SYSDBA \
  --password masterkey

Environment Variables for SSE

# Set environment variables
export TRANSPORT_TYPE=sse
export SSE_PORT=3003
export DB_HOST=localhost
export DB_PORT=3050
export DB_DATABASE=/path/to/database.fdb
export DB_USER=SYSDBA
export DB_PASSWORD=masterkey

# Start server
npx mcp-firebird

SSE Client Connection

Once the SSE server is running, clients can connect to:

SSE Endpoint: http://localhost:3003/sse
Messages Endpoint: http://localhost:3003/messages
Health Check: http://localhost:3003/health

Streamable HTTP Transport (Modern)

The latest MCP protocol supporting bidirectional communication:

# Start with Streamable HTTP
npx mcp-firebird --transport-type http --http-port 3003 --database /path/to/database.fdb

Unified Transport (Recommended)

Supports both SSE and Streamable HTTP protocols simultaneously with automatic detection:

# Start unified server (supports both SSE and Streamable HTTP)
npx mcp-firebird --transport-type unified --http-port 3003 --database /path/to/database.fdb

Unified Server Endpoints

SSE (Legacy): http://localhost:3003/sse
Streamable HTTP (Modern): http://localhost:3003/mcp
Auto-Detection: http://localhost:3003/mcp-auto
Health Check: http://localhost:3003/health

Configuration Examples

Development Setup (SSE)

npx mcp-firebird \
  --transport-type sse \
  --sse-port 3003 \
  --database ./dev-database.fdb \
  --user SYSDBA \
  --password masterkey

Production Setup (Unified)

npx mcp-firebird \
  --transport-type unified \
  --http-port 3003 \
  --database /var/lib/firebird/production.fdb \
  --host db-server \
  --port 3050 \
  --user APP_USER \
  --password $DB_PASSWORD

Docker with SSE

docker run -d \
  --name mcp-firebird \
  -p 3003:3003 \
  -e TRANSPORT_TYPE=sse \
  -e SSE_PORT=3003 \
  -e DB_DATABASE=/data/database.fdb \
  -v /path/to/database:/data \
  purodelhi/mcp-firebird:latest

Advanced SSE Configuration

Session Management

Configure session timeouts and limits:

# Environment variables for session management
export SSE_SESSION_TIMEOUT_MS=1800000    # 30 minutes
export MAX_SESSIONS=1000                 # Maximum concurrent sessions
export SESSION_CLEANUP_INTERVAL_MS=60000 # Cleanup every minute

npx mcp-firebird --transport-type sse

CORS Configuration

For web applications, configure CORS settings:

# Allow specific origins
export CORS_ORIGIN="https://myapp.com,https://localhost:3000"
export CORS_METHODS="GET,POST,OPTIONS"
export CORS_HEADERS="Content-Type,mcp-session-id"

npx mcp-firebird --transport-type sse

SSL/TLS Support

For production deployments, use a reverse proxy like nginx:

server {
    listen 443 ssl;
    server_name mcp-firebird.yourdomain.com;

    ssl_certificate /path/to/cert.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /path/to/key.pem;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:3003;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection 'upgrade';
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_cache_bypass $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }
}

Troubleshooting

Firebird Connection Issues

Wire Encryption Incompatibility (Firebird 3.0+) ⚠️ CRITICAL

Error: Incompatible wire encryption levels requested on client and server

IMPORTANT: The node-firebird library does NOT support Firebird 3.0+ wire encryption. The --wire-crypt parameter does NOT work.

ONLY Solution: You MUST disable wire encryption on the Firebird server:

For Firebird 3.0, add to firebird.conf:
```
WireCrypt = Disabled
AuthServer = Srp, Legacy_Auth
```
For Firebird 4.0+, add to firebird.conf:
```
WireCrypt = Disabled
AuthServer = Srp256, Srp, Legacy_Auth
```
For Firebird 5.0 Docker:
```
environment:
  FIREBIRD_CONF_WireCrypt: Disabled
  FIREBIRD_CONF_AuthServer: Srp256, Srp
```
If you cannot change server configuration, see Wire Encryption Limitation for alternatives.
Database Path Issues on Linux/Unix

Problem: Remote connection strings or Unix paths not working

Solution: This is fixed in v2.4.0-alpha.1+. The following paths now work correctly:
- Remote: server:/path/to/database.fdb
- Unix absolute: /var/lib/firebird/database.fdb
- IP-based: 192.168.1.100:/data/db.fdb
I/O Error with Mixed-Case Paths on Windows

Error: I/O error during CreateFile (open) operation

Problem: Database path with mixed case (e.g., C:\MyData\database.fdb) causes errors

Workarounds:
- Use all-uppercase paths: C:\MYDATA\DATABASE.FDB
- Use forward slashes: C:/MyData/database.fdb
- See Wire Encryption Fix Documentation for more details

SSE Connection Issues

Connection Refused

# Check if server is running
curl http://localhost:3003/health

# Check port availability
netstat -an | grep 3003

Session Timeout

# Increase session timeout
export SSE_SESSION_TIMEOUT_MS=3600000  # 1 hour

CORS Errors

# Allow all origins (development only)
export CORS_ORIGIN="*"

Memory Issues

# Reduce max sessions
export MAX_SESSIONS=100

# Enable more frequent cleanup
export SESSION_CLEANUP_INTERVAL_MS=30000

JSON Parsing Issues (Fixed in v2.3.0-alpha.1+)
```
# If experiencing "Invalid message: [object Object]" errors,
# upgrade to the latest alpha version:
npm install mcp-firebird@alpha

# Or use the latest alpha directly:
npx mcp-firebird@alpha --transport-type sse
```
Note: Versions prior to 2.3.0-alpha.1 had a bug where POST requests to /messages endpoint failed to parse JSON body correctly. This has been fixed with improved middleware handling for both application/json and text/plain content types.

Monitoring and Logging

# Enable debug logging
export LOG_LEVEL=debug

# Monitor server health
curl http://localhost:3003/health | jq

# Check active sessions
curl http://localhost:3003/health | jq '.sessions'

Quick Installation via Smithery

To install MCP Firebird for Claude Desktop automatically via Smithery:

npx -y @smithery/cli install @PuroDelphi/mcpFirebird --client claude

Documentation

For more detailed information, check the following documents:

Advanced Topics

Session Management
Security
Performance Tuning
Troubleshooting
Wire Encryption Fix - Firebird 3.0+ compatibility and Linux path fix
SSE JSON Parsing Fix - Details about the v2.3.0-alpha.1 bug fix

Support the Project

Donations

If you find MCP Firebird useful for your work or projects, please consider supporting its development through a donation. Your contributions help maintain and improve this tool.

GitHub Sponsors: Sponsor @PuroDelphi
PayPal: Donate via PayPal

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Your support is greatly appreciated and helps ensure the continued development of MCP Firebird!

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.