CouchDB-MCP-Server: Real-Time Mirroring, Zero-Downtime Sync

couchdb-mcp-server

A Model Context Protocol server for interacting with CouchDB

This is a TypeScript-based MCP server that provides tools for managing CouchDB databases and documents. It enables AI assistants to interact with CouchDB through a simple interface.

Features

Tools

Base Tools (All CouchDB Versions)

• createDatabase - Create a new CouchDB database

  • Takes dbName as a required parameter
  • Creates the database if it doesn't exist

• listDatabases - List all CouchDB databases

  • Returns an array of database names

• deleteDatabase - Delete a CouchDB database

  • Takes dbName as a required parameter
  • Removes the specified database and all its documents

• createDocument - Create a new document or update an existing document in a database

  • Required parameters:
    • dbName: Database name
    • docId: Document ID
    • data: Document data (JSON object)
      • For updates, include _rev field with the current document revision
  • Returns:
    • For new documents: document ID and new revision
    • For updates: document ID and updated revision
  • Automatically detects if operation is create or update based on presence of _rev field

• getDocument - Get a document from a database

  • Required parameters:
    • dbName: Database name
    • docId: Document ID
  • Returns the document content

Mango Query Tools (CouchDB 3.x+ Only)

• createMangoIndex - Create a new Mango index

  • Required parameters:
    • dbName: Database name
    • indexName: Name of the index
    • fields: Array of field names to index
  • Creates a new index for efficient querying

• deleteMangoIndex - Delete a Mango index

  • Required parameters:
    • dbName: Database name
    • designDoc: Design document name
    • indexName: Name of the index
  • Removes an existing Mango index

• listMangoIndexes - List all Mango indexes in a database

  • Required parameters:
    • dbName: Database name
  • Returns information about all indexes in the database

• findDocuments - Query documents using Mango query

  • Required parameters:
    • dbName: Database name
    • query: Mango query object
  • Performs a query using CouchDB's Mango query syntax

Version Support

The server automatically detects the CouchDB version and enables features accordingly:

• All versions: Basic database and document operations
• CouchDB 3.x+: Mango query support (indexes and queries)

Configuration

The server requires a CouchDB connection URL and version. These can be provided through environment variables:

COUCHDB_URL=http://username:password@localhost:5984
COUCHDB_VERSION=1.7.2

You can create a `.env` file in the project root with this configuration. If not provided, it defaults to `http://localhost:5984`.

## Development

Install dependencies:
```bash
npm install

Build the server:

npm run build

For development with auto-rebuild:

npm run watch

Installation

Installing via Smithery

To install couchdb-mcp-server for Claude Desktop automatically via Smithery:

npx -y @smithery/cli install @robertoamoreno/couchdb-mcp-server --client claude

To use with Claude Desktop, add the server config:

On MacOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
On Windows: %APPDATA%/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "couchdb-mcp-server": {
      "command": "/path/to/couchdb-mcp-server/build/index.js",
      "env": {
        "COUCHDB_URL": "http://username:password@localhost:5984"
      }
    }
  }
}

Prerequisites

• Node.js 14 or higher
• Running CouchDB instance
• Proper CouchDB credentials if authentication is enabled

Debugging

Since MCP servers communicate over stdio, debugging can be challenging. We recommend using the MCP Inspector, which is available as a package script:

npm run inspector

The Inspector will provide a URL to access debugging tools in your browser.

Error Handling

The server includes robust error handling for common scenarios:

• Invalid database names or document IDs
• Database already exists/doesn't exist
• Connection issues
• Authentication failures
• Invalid document data

All errors are properly formatted and returned through the MCP protocol with appropriate error codes and messages.