🧱 Bricks and Context

Production-grade Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for Databricks

SQL Warehouses · Jobs API · Multi-Workspace · Built for AI Agents

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✨ What is this?

Bricks and Context lets AI assistants (Cursor, Claude Desktop, etc.) talk directly to your Databricks workspaces through the Model Context Protocol.

Think of it as a bridge: your AI asks questions, this server translates them into Databricks API calls, and returns structured, AI-friendly responses.

Why use this?

Pain Point	How we solve it
AI gets overwhelmed by huge query results	Bounded outputs — configurable row/byte/cell limits
Flaky connections cause random failures	Retries + circuit breakers — automatic fault tolerance
Managing multiple environments is tedious	Multi-workspace — switch between dev/prod with one parameter
Raw API responses confuse AI models	Markdown tables — structured, LLM-optimized output

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🔧 Available Tools

Tool	What it does
execute_sql_query	Run SQL with bounded, AI-safe output
discover_schemas	List all schemas in the workspace
discover_tables	List tables in a schema with metadata
describe_table	Get column types, nullability, structure
get_table_sample	Preview rows for data exploration
connection_health	Verify Databricks connectivity

Tool	What it does
list_jobs	List jobs with optional name filtering
get_job_details	Full job config: schedule, cluster, tasks
get_job_runs	Run history with state and duration
trigger_job	Start a job with optional parameters
cancel_job_run	Stop a running job
get_job_run_output	Retrieve logs, errors, notebook output

Tool	What it does
cache_stats	Hit rates, memory usage, category breakdown
performance_stats	Operation latencies, error rates, health

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🚀 Quick Start

1. Clone & Install

git clone https://github.com/laraib-sidd/bricks-and-context.git
cd bricks-and-context
uv sync  # or: pip install -e .

2. Configure Workspaces

Copy the template and add your credentials:

cp auth.template.yaml auth.yaml

Edit auth.yaml:

default_workspace: dev

workspaces:
  - name: dev
    host: your-dev.cloud.databricks.com
    token: dapi...
    http_path: /sql/1.0/warehouses/...

  - name: prod
    host: your-prod.cloud.databricks.com
    token: dapi...
    http_path: /sql/1.0/warehouses/...

💡 auth.yaml is gitignored. Your secrets stay local.

3. Run

python run_mcp_server.py

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🎯 Cursor Integration

Cursor uses stdio transport and doesn't inherit your shell environment. You need explicit paths.

Step 1: Ensure dependencies are installed

cd /path/to/bricks-and-context
uv sync

Step 2: Open MCP settings in Cursor

Cmd+Shift+P → "Open MCP Settings" → Opens ~/.cursor/mcp.json

Step 3: Add this configuration

Using uv run (recommended):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "databricks": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": [
        "--directory", "/path/to/bricks-and-context",
        "run", "python", "run_mcp_server.py"
      ],
      "env": {
        "MCP_AUTH_PATH": "/path/to/bricks-and-context/auth.yaml",
        "MCP_CONFIG_PATH": "/path/to/bricks-and-context/config.json"
      }
    }
  }
}

Or using venv directly:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "databricks": {
      "command": "/path/to/bricks-and-context/.venv/bin/python",
      "args": ["/path/to/bricks-and-context/run_mcp_server.py"],
      "env": {
        "MCP_AUTH_PATH": "/path/to/bricks-and-context/auth.yaml",
        "MCP_CONFIG_PATH": "/path/to/bricks-and-context/config.json"
      }
    }
  }
}

Step 4: Restart Cursor

Reload the window to activate the MCP server.

Test it

Ask your AI:

• "List my Databricks jobs"
• "Run SELECT 1 on Databricks"
• "Describe the table catalog.schema.my_table"

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🌐 Multi-Workspace

Define multiple workspaces in auth.yaml, then select per-call:

execute_sql_query(sql="SELECT 1", workspace="prod")
list_jobs(limit=10, workspace="dev")

When workspace is omitted, the server uses default_workspace.

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⚙️ Configuration

config.json — Tunable settings (committed)

Setting	Default	Description
max_connections	10	Connection pool size
max_result_rows	200	Max rows returned per query
max_result_bytes	262144	Max response size (256KB)
max_cell_chars	200	Truncate long cell values
allow_write_queries	false	Enable INSERT/UPDATE/DELETE
enable_sql_retries	true	Retry transient SQL failures
enable_query_cache	false	Cache repeated queries
query_cache_ttl_seconds	300	Cache TTL
databricks_api_timeout_seconds	30	Jobs API timeout

Any setting can be overridden via environment variable (uppercase, e.g., MAX_RESULT_ROWS=500).

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🏗️ Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                   MCP Client (Cursor / Claude)                  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                                │ stdio
                                ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                     FastMCP Server                              │
│  ┌─────────────┐  ┌─────────────┐  ┌─────────────────────────┐  │
│  │ SQL Tools   │  │ Job Tools   │  │ Observability           │  │
│  └──────┬──────┘  └──────┬──────┘  └───────────┬─────────────┘  │
└─────────┼────────────────┼─────────────────────┼────────────────┘
          │                │                     │
          ▼                ▼                     ▼
┌──────────────────┐ ┌──────────────────┐ ┌──────────────────────┐
│ Connection Pool  │ │  Job Manager     │ │ Cache / Perf Monitor │
│  (SQL Connector) │ │  (REST API 2.1)  │ │                      │
└────────┬─────────┘ └────────┬─────────┘ └──────────────────────┘
         │                    │
         └────────┬───────────┘
                  ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                   Databricks Workspace(s)                       │
│              SQL Warehouse        Jobs Service                  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

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🛡️ Reliability Features

Feature	Description
Bounded outputs	Rows, bytes, and cell-character limits prevent OOM
Connection pooling	Thread-safe with per-connection health validation
Retry with backoff	Exponential backoff + jitter for transient failures
Circuit breakers	Automatic fault isolation, prevents cascading failures
Query caching	Optional TTL-based caching for repeated queries

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🧑‍💻 Development

uv sync --dev        # Install dev dependencies
uv run pytest        # Run tests
uv run black .       # Format code
uv run mypy src/     # Type check

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📄 License

MIT — see LICENSE