Dbatools MCP server

dbatools-mcp-server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for the dbatools PowerShell module.

Exposes dbatools commands as MCP tools so AI assistants (GitHub Copilot, Claude, etc.) can discover, explain, and execute dbatools commands directly — with all metadata sourced from dbatools' own comment-based help.

Features

• listdbatoolscommands — search commands by verb, noun, keyword, or risk level
• getdbatoolscommandhelp** — full normalized help (synopsis, parameters, examples) from Get-Help -Full
• invokedbatoolscommand — execute any dbatools command with safe parameter validation, risk gating, and structured JSON output
• checkdbatoolsenvironment — verify PowerShell + dbatools installation, index freshness, and version alignment
• Version mismatch detection — warns when installed dbatools version differs from the indexed version
• Safe mode — non-readonly commands require explicit confirm: true to execute
• SQL Authentication support — pass SqlCredential: { username, password } for SQL auth instances

Prerequisites

• Node.js 20+
• PowerShell 7+ (pwsh)
• dbatools PowerShell module

Install-Module dbatools -Scope CurrentUser

Quick Start

# 1. Clone the repo
git clone https://github.com/Dataplat/dbatools-mcp-server.git
cd dbatools-mcp-server

# 2. Install Node dependencies
npm install

# 3. Generate the help index from your local dbatools installation
npm run refresh-help

# 4. Build
npm run build

Then open the folder in VS Code — the .vscode/mcp.json file automatically registers the MCP server.

Connecting to VS Code

The included .vscode/mcp.json registers the server as a local STDIO MCP server. Open this folder in VS Code and the server will appear in the GitHub Copilot MCP panel.

{
  "servers": {
    "dbatools": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["${workspaceFolder}/dist/server.js"],
      "env": {
        "DBATOOLS_SAFE_MODE": "true",
        "MAX_OUTPUT_ROWS": "100",
        "COMMAND_TIMEOUT_SECONDS": "60"
      }
    }
  }
}

Configuration

All settings are controlled via environment variables (set in .vscode/mcp.json or your shell):

Refreshing the Help Index

The help index (generated/dbatools-help.json) is generated from your locally installed dbatools module. Re-run whenever dbatools is updated:

Update-Module dbatools -Scope CurrentUser
npm run refresh-help

The server detects version mismatches at runtime and warns you when the index is stale.

Risk Levels

Commands are automatically classified by verb:

Shortened. The full README is on GitHub.