IoTDB MCP Server

What is IoTDB MCP Server about?

Enables interaction with an IoTDB instance via a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server. Users can run metadata queries, data SELECT statements, and export query results while choosing between the Tree or Table SQL dialects.

How to use IoTDB MCP Server?

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/apache/iotdb-mcp-server.git
   cd iotdb-mcp-server
   

2. Create a virtual environment and install dependencies

   uv venv
   source venv/bin/activate   # Windows: venv\Scripts\activate
   uv sync
   

3. Configure connection settings via environment variables or CLI arguments (e.g., IOTDB_HOST, IOTDB_PORT, IOTDB_USER, IOTDB_PASSWORD, IOTDB_DATABASE, IOTDB_SQL_DIALECT, IOTDB_EXPORT_PATH).
4. Run the server

   uv run src/iotdb_mcp_server/server.py
   

   Adjust the command path if the server script resides elsewhere.

Key Features

• Dual SQL dialects – Tree model (metadata‑centric) and Table model (relational view).
• Metadata tools (metadata_query) for SHOW/COUNT operations on databases, timeseries, devices, etc.
• Data query tools (select_query, read_query) supporting standard aggregation functions.
• Export utilities (export_query, export_table_query) to CSV or Excel with preview of up to 10 rows.
• Schema exploration (list_tables, describe_table).
• Performance optimizations: session pool (up to 100 concurrent sessions), fetch size of 1024, connection retry, 5‑second session timeout.
• Comprehensive logging at INFO level and graceful error handling.

Use Cases

• Real‑time analytics on IoT sensor streams stored in IoTDB.
• Building dashboards that require quick metadata discovery (databases, timeseries, devices).
• Exporting subsets of time‑series data for offline analysis in Excel or CSV.
• Integrating IoTDB with Claude Desktop or other AI assistants for query‑driven insights.
• Automated schema documentation by listing tables and describing columns.

FAQ

Q: How do I switch between Tree and Table dialects? A: Set the environment variable IOTDB_SQL_DIALECT to tree or table (default is table).

Q: Which time format is required for SELECT queries? A: ISO 8601 format, e.g., 2017-11-01T00:08:00.000.

Q: Can I change the export directory? A: Yes, modify IOTDB_EXPORT_PATH to point to the desired folder.

Q: What Python version is needed? A: Any version supported by the uv package manager (typically Python 3.8+).

Q: How many concurrent sessions are supported? A: The server’s session pool is configured for up to 100 concurrent sessions.

Q: How do I run the server inside a Docker container? A: Build the image with docker build -t iotdb-mcp-server . and run it using docker run -e IOTDB_HOST=... -e IOTDB_PORT=... iotdb-mcp-server.

IoTDB MCP Server

English | 中文

Overview

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server implementation that provides database interaction and business intelligence capabilities through IoTDB. This server enables running SQL queries and interacting with IoTDB using different SQL dialects (Tree Model and Table Model).

Components

Resources

The server doesn't expose any resources.

Prompts

The server doesn't provide any prompts.

Tools

The server offers different tools for IoTDB Tree Model and Table Model. You can choose between them by setting the "IOTDB_SQL_DIALECT" configuration to either "tree" or "table".

Tree Model

• metadata_query
  • Execute SHOW/COUNT queries to read metadata from the database
  • Input:
    • query_sql (string): The SHOW/COUNT SQL query to execute
  • Supported query types:
    • SHOW DATABASES [path]
    • SHOW TIMESERIES [path]
    • SHOW CHILD PATHS [path]
    • SHOW CHILD NODES [path]
    • SHOW DEVICES [path]
    • COUNT TIMESERIES [path]
    • COUNT NODES [path]
    • COUNT DEVICES [path]
  • Returns: Query results as array of objects
• select_query
  • Execute SELECT queries to read data from the database
  • Input:
    • query_sql (string): The SELECT SQL query to execute (using TREE dialect, time using ISO 8601 format, e.g. 2017-11-01T00:08:00.000)
  • Supported functions:
    • SUM, COUNT, MAX_VALUE, MIN_VALUE, AVG, VARIANCE, MAX_TIME, MIN_TIME, etc.
  • Returns: Query results as array of objects
• export_query
  • Execute a query and export the results to a CSV or Excel file
  • Input:
    • query_sql (string): The SQL query to execute (using TREE dialect)
    • format (string): Export format, either "csv" or "excel" (default: "csv")
    • filename (string): Optional filename for the exported file. If not provided, a unique filename will be generated.
  • Returns: Information about the exported file and a preview of the data (max 10 rows)

Table Model

Query Tools

• read_query
  • Execute SELECT queries to read data from the database
  • Input:
    • query_sql (string): The SELECT SQL query to execute (using TABLE dialect, time using ISO 8601 format, e.g. 2017-11-01T00:08:00.000)
  • Returns: Query results as array of objects

Schema Tools

• list_tables

  • Get a list of all tables in the database
  • No input required
  • Returns: Array of table names

• describe_table

  • View schema information for a specific table
  • Input:
    • table_name (string): Name of table to describe
  • Returns: Array of column definitions with names and types

• export_table_query

  • Execute a query and export the results to a CSV or Excel file
  • Input:
    • query_sql (string): The SQL query to execute (using TABLE dialect)
    • format (string): Export format, either "csv" or "excel" (default: "csv")
    • filename (string): Optional filename for the exported file. If not provided, a unique filename will be generated.
  • Returns: Information about the exported file and a preview of the data (max 10 rows)

Configuration Options

IoTDB MCP Server supports the following configuration options, which can be set via environment variables or command-line arguments:

Option	Environment Variable	Default Value	Description
--host	IOTDB_HOST	127.0.0.1	IoTDB host address
--port	IOTDB_PORT	6667	IoTDB port
--user	IOTDB_USER	root	IoTDB username
--password	IOTDB_PASSWORD	root	IoTDB password
--database	IOTDB_DATABASE	test	IoTDB database name
--sql-dialect	IOTDB_SQL_DIALECT	table	SQL dialect: tree or table
--export-path	IOTDB_EXPORT_PATH	/tmp	Path for exporting query results

Performance Optimizations

IoTDB MCP Server includes the following performance optimization features:

1. Session Pool Management: Uses optimized session pool configurations, supporting up to 100 concurrent sessions
2. Optimized Fetch Size: For queries, a fetch size of 1024 is set
3. Connection Retry: Configured automatic retry mechanism for connection failures
4. Timeout Management: Session wait timeout set to 5000 milliseconds for improved reliability
5. Export Functionality: Support for exporting query results to CSV or Excel formats

Prerequisites

• Python environment
• uv package manager
• IoTDB installation
• MCP server dependencies

Development

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/apache/iotdb-mcp-server.git
cd iotdb-mcp-server

# Create virtual environment
uv venv
source venv/bin/activate  # or `venv\Scripts\activate` on Windows

# Install development dependencies
uv sync

Claude Desktop Integration

Configure the MCP server in Claude Desktop's configuration file:

macOS

Location: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Windows

Location: %APPDATA%/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

You may need to put the full path to the uv executable in the command field. You can get this by running which uv on MacOS/Linux or where uv on Windows.

Claude Desktop Configuration Example

Add the following configuration to Claude Desktop's configuration file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "iotdb": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": [
        "--directory",
        "/Users/your_username/iotdb-mcp-server/src/iotdb_mcp_server",
        "run",
        "server.py"
      ],
      "env": {
        "IOTDB_HOST": "127.0.0.1",
        "IOTDB_PORT": "6667",
        "IOTDB_USER": "root",
        "IOTDB_PASSWORD": "root",
        "IOTDB_DATABASE": "test",
        "IOTDB_SQL_DIALECT": "table",
        "IOTDB_EXPORT_PATH": "/path/to/export/folder"
      }
    }
  }
}

Note: Make sure to replace the --directory parameter's path with your actual repository clone path.

Error Handling and Logging

IoTDB MCP Server includes comprehensive error handling and logging capabilities:

1. Log Level: Logging level is set to INFO, allowing you to view server status in the console
2. Exception Handling: All database operations include exception handling to ensure graceful handling and meaningful error messages when errors occur
3. Session Management: Automatic closure of used sessions to prevent resource leaks
4. Parameter Validation: Basic validation of user-input SQL queries to ensure only allowed query types are executed

Docker Support

You can build a container image for the IoTDB MCP Server using the Dockerfile in the project root:

# Build Docker image
docker build -t iotdb-mcp-server .

# Run container
docker run -e IOTDB_HOST=<your-iotdb-host> -e IOTDB_PORT=<your-iotdb-port> -e IOTDB_USER=<your-iotdb-user> -e IOTDB_PASSWORD=<your-iotdb-password> iotdb-mcp-server