📋 Prerequisites

• Node.js 20+
• pnpm (or npm) package manager
• libSQL database (file-based or remote)
• Claude Desktop (for MCP integration)

Platform Requirements

• macOS: Native Node.js installation
• Linux: Native Node.js installation
• Windows: Native Node.js installation or WSL2 with Node.js installation

🔧 Installation

# Use your package manager of choice, e.g. npm, pnpm, bun etc

# Install globally
pnpm install -g @xexr/mcp-libsql
mcp-libsql -v # check version

# ...or build from the repository
git clone https://github.com/Xexr/mcp-libsql.git
cd mcp-libsql
pnpm install # Install dependencies
pnpm build # Build the project
node dist/index.js -v  # check version

🚀 Usage

Local Testing

Global installation assumed below, replace "mcp-libsql" with "node dist/index.js" if using local build

# Test with file database (default: file-only logging)
mcp-libsql --url file:///tmp/test.db

# Test with HTTP database
mcp-libsql --url http://127.0.0.1:8080

# Test with Turso database (environment variable, alternatively export the env var)
LIBSQL_AUTH_TOKEN="your-token" mcp-libsql --url "libsql://your-db.turso.io"

# Test with Turso database (CLI parameter)
mcp-libsql --url "libsql://your-db.turso.io" --auth-token "your-token"

# Development mode with console logging
mcp-libsql --dev --log-mode console --url file:///tmp/test.db

# Test with different logging modes
mcp-libsql --url --log-mode both file:///tmp/test.db

Claude Desktop Integration

Configure the MCP server in Claude Desktop based on your operating system:

macOS Configuration

1. Create configuration file at ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

Global install

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-libsql": {
      "command": "mcp-libsql",
      "args": [
        "--url",
        "file:///Users/username/database.db"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Alternative configuration for local build installation:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-libsql": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "/Users/username/projects/mcp-libsql/dist/index.js",
        "--url", 
        "file:///Users/username/database.db"
      ],
    }
  }
}

Alternative configuration for global install using nvm lts for node

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-libsql": {
      "command": "zsh",
      "args": [
        "-c",
        "source ~/.nvm/nvm.sh && nvm use --lts > /dev/null && mcp-libsql --url file:///Users/username/database.db",
      ],
    }
  }
}

Important: The global installation method is recommended as it handles PATH automatically.

Linux Configuration

1. Create configuration file at ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

Global install

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-libsql": {
      "command": "mcp-libsql",
      "args": [
        "--url",
        "file:///home/username/database.db"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Alternative configuration for local build installation:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-libsql": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "/home/username/projects/mcp-libsql/dist/index.js",
        "--url",
        "file:///home/username/database.db"
      ],
    }
  }
}

Windows (WSL2) Configuration

1. Create configuration file at %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json:

Global install

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-libsql": {
      "command": "wsl.exe",
      "args": [
        "-e",
        "bash",
        "-c",
        "mcp-libsql --url file:///home/username/database.db",
      ]
    }
  }
}

Alternative configuration for local build installation:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-libsql": {
      "command": "wsl.exe",
      "args": [
        "-e",
        "bash",
        "-c",
        "/home/username/projects/mcp-libsql/dist/index.js --url file:///home/username/database.db",
      ]
    }
  }
}

Alternative configuration for global install using nvm for node

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-libsql": {
      "command": "wsl.exe",
      "args": [
        "-e",
        "bash",
        "-c",
        "source ~/.nvm/nvm.sh && mcp-libsql --url file:///home/username/database.db",
      ]
    }
  }
}

Important: Use wsl.exe -e (not just wsl.exe) to ensure proper command handling and avoid issues with server command reception on Windows.

Database Authentication

For Turso (and other credentialed) databases, you'll need an authentication token. There are two secure ways to provide it:

Global installation shown below, adjust accordingly for your setup

Method 1: Environment Variable (Recommended)

Configure Claude Desktop with environment variable (macOS/Linux example):

export LIBSQL_AUTH_TOKEN="your-turso-auth-token-here"

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-libsql": {
      "command": "mcp-libsql",
      "args": [
        "--url",
        "libsql://your-database.turso.io"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Method 2: CLI Parameter

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-libsql": {
      "command": "mcp-libsql",
      "args": [
        "--url",
        "libsql://your-database.turso.io",
        "--auth-token",
        "your-turso-auth-token-here"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Getting Your Turso Auth Token

1. Install Turso CLI:

   curl -sSfL https://get.tur.so/install.sh | bash
   

2. Login to Turso:

   turso auth login
   

3. Create an auth token:

   turso auth token create --name "mcp-libsql"
   

4. Get your database URL:

   turso db show your-database-name --url
   

Security Best Practices

• Environment variables are safer than CLI parameters (tokens won't appear in process lists)
• MCP config files may contain tokens - ensure they're not committed to version control
• Consider using external secret management for production environments
• Use scoped tokens with minimal required permissions
• Rotate tokens regularly for enhanced security
• Monitor token usage through Turso dashboard

Example: Complete Turso Setup

1. Create and configure database:

   # Create database
   turso db create my-app-db
   
   # Get database URL
   turso db show my-app-db --url
   # Output: libsql://my-app-db-username.turso.io
   
   # Create auth token
   turso auth token create --name "mcp-libsql-token"
   # Output: your-long-auth-token-string
   

2. Configure Claude Desktop:

   export LIBSQL_AUTH_TOKEN="your-turso-auth-token-here"
   

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "mcp-libsql": {
         "command": "mcp-libsql",
         "args": [
           "--url",
           "libsql://my-app-db-username.turso.io"
         ]
       }
     }
   }
   

3. Test the connection:

   # Test locally first
   mcp-libsql --url "libsql://my-app-db-username.turso.io" --log-mode console
   

Configuration Notes

• File paths: Use absolute paths to avoid path resolution issues
• Database URLs:
  • File databases: file:///absolute/path/to/database.db
  • HTTP databases: http://hostname:port
  • libSQL/Turso: libsql://your-database.turso.io
• Node.js path: Use which node to find your Node.js installation path
• Working directory: Set cwd to ensure relative paths work correctly
• Authentication: For Turso databases, use environment variables for secure token handling
• Logging modes:
  • Default file mode prevents JSON parsing errors in MCP protocol
  • Use --log-mode console for development debugging
  • Use --log-mode both for comprehensive logging
  • Use --log-mode none to disable all logging

2. Restart Claude Desktop completely after updating the configuration

3. Test the integration by asking Claude to run SQL queries:

   Can you run this SQL query: SELECT 1 as test
   

📋 Available Tools

• read-query - Execute SELECT queries with security validation
• write-query - INSERT/UPDATE/DELETE with transaction support
• create-table - CREATE TABLE with DDL security
• alter-table - Modify table structure (ADD/RENAME/DROP)
• list-tables - Browse database metadata and objects
• describe-table - Inspect table schema and structure

📖 Detailed API documentation: See docs/API.md for complete input/output examples and parameters.

🧪 Testing

# Run all tests
pnpm test

# Run tests in watch mode
pnpm test:watch

# Run tests with coverage
pnpm test:coverage

# Run specific test file
pnpm test security-verification

# Lint code
pnpm lint

# Fix linting issues
pnpm lint:fix

# Type check
pnpm typecheck

Test Coverage: 403 tests covering all functionality including edge cases, error scenarios, CLI arguments, authentication, and comprehensive security validation.

⚠️ Common Issues

1. Build Failures

# Clean and rebuild
rm -rf dist node_modules
pnpm install && pnpm build

2. Node.js Version Issues (macOS)

SyntaxError: Unexpected token '??='

Problem: Claude Desktop may default to using an older Node.js version on your system which doesn't support the required feature set.

Solution: Use global installation and nvm node selection method shown above.

3. Server Won't Start

• For global installation: pnpm install -g @xexr/mcp-libsql
• For local installation: Ensure pnpm build was run and dist/index.js exists
• Test locally: mcp-libsql --url file:///tmp/test.db
• Restart Claude Desktop after config changes

4. Tools Not Available

• Verify database URL is accessible
• Check Claude Desktop logs for connection errors
• Test with simple file database: file:///tmp/test.db

5. JSON Parsing Errors (Resolved)

Expected ',' or ']' after array element in JSON

Resolved: This issue is caused by stdout console logging. The --log-mode option now defaults to file mode which prevents this issue. If you see these errors, ensure you're using the default --log-mode file or not specifying --log-mode at all. Note, the error is harmless, and the tool will still work with it if you wish to have console logging.

6. Database Connection Issues

# Test database connectivity
sqlite3 /tmp/test.db "SELECT 1"

# Fix permissions
chmod 644 /path/to/database.db

🔧 Full troubleshooting guide: See docs/TROUBLESHOOTING.md for detailed solutions to all issues.

🏗️ Architecture

Built with TypeScript and modern Node.js patterns:

• Connection pooling with health monitoring and retry logic
• Tool-based architecture with consistent validation and error handling
• Security-first design with multi-layer input validation
• Comprehensive testing with 244 tests covering all scenarios

🤝 Contributing

1. Follow TypeScript strict mode and existing code patterns
2. Write tests for new features
3. Maintain security measures
4. Update documentation

Development: pnpm dev • Build: pnpm build • Test: pnpm test

📄 License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

🔗 Links

• Model Context Protocol
• MCP TypeScript SDK
• libSQL Documentation
• Claude Desktop