SQLcl MCP Server: Tips, Tricks, and Use Cases

SQLcl MCP is an MCP server designed for Oracle databases. It enables LLMs to interact with your Oracle database through prompts

SQLcl MCP Server: Tips, Tricks, and Use Cases

Model Context Protocol

Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard created by Anthropic, the company behind Claude. While it may sound technical, the idea is straightforward: provide AI agents with a consistent way to interact with tools, services, and data — regardless of their environment or implementation.

Just search for MCP on Google and you’ll find more details :)

SQLcl MCP

SQLcl MCP is an MCP server designed for Oracle databases. It enables LLMs to interact with your Oracle database through prompts using your preferred MCP client and model.

SQLcl MCP doesn’t just respond to SELECT or read-only prompts — it can also perform write operations on your database. This makes it a powerful tool for database developers, DBAs, consultants, and even non-technical users.

Granting an LLM write privileges to your database isn’t entirely risk-free. However, I will cover the necessary security precautions in a dedicated section of this article.

Install SQLcl: https://www.oracle.com/uk/database/sqldeveloper/technologies/sqlcl/download/

Use Cases

Here are some examples of prompts that SQLcl MCP handles efficiently

Example 1

Prompt: Who are the highest-paid employees in the HR schema?

Who are the highest-paid employees in the HR schema?

Example 2

One of the best cases that I see a lot of potential on it. Is let the LLM do your tasks for you.

Lets say that I have this Jira task: JIRA-123

Title:
Create New View and API Package for Department Table in HR Schema

Description:

Develop a new database view for the DEPARTMENTS table in the HR schema.

Create a PL/SQL package to serve as an API for the DEPARTMENTS table with the following procedures:

Select departments

Insert a new department

Delete a department

Ensure all new objects follow company naming conventions and security best practices.

Acceptance Criteria:

A new view on the DEPARTMENTS table is created and validated.

PL/SQL package exists with procedures for select, insert, and delete operations.

All changes are tested and reviewed.

Documentation is updated.

SQLcl MCP Tools

To achieve the results shown in the previous section, SQLcl exposes five main tools that LLMs use to access your database and orchestrates them to provide accurate answers to your prompts.

list-connections: Discovers and lists all saved Oracle Database connections on your machine.
connect: Establishes a connection to one of your specified named connections.
disconnect: Terminates the current, active Oracle Database connection.
run-sql: Executes standard SQL queries and PL/SQL code blocks against the connected database.
run-sqlcl: Executes SQLcl-specific commands and extensions.

Configure your Client with SQLcl MCP

SQLcl MCP can be easily configured with any MCP Client on the market, as the setup steps are almost the same.

For SQL Developer in VSCode, the integration is handled automatically behind the scenes with Copilot.

If you want to work with Cline or Claude, check out the official documentation for a step-by-step guide on how to configure it: https://docs.oracle.com/en/database/oracle/sql-developer-command-line/25.2/sqcug/starting-and-managing-sqlcl-mcp-server.html

Monitoring the SQLcl MCP Server

For database connections in write mode, SQLcl MCP creates a table named DBTOOLS$MCP_LOG that logs the actions performed by the LLMs during your connection, allowing you to audit their activity at any time.

SQL> desc DBTOOLS$MCP_LOG

Name Null? Type
_________________ ___________ ________________
ID NOT NULL NUMBER
MCP_CLIENT NOT NULL VARCHAR2(200)
MODEL VARCHAR2(200)
END_POINT_TYPE VARCHAR2(12)
END_POINT_NAME NOT NULL VARCHAR2(100)
LOG_MESSAGE CLOB
CREATED_ON NOT NULL TIMESTAMP(6)
CREATED_BY NOT NULL VARCHAR2(100)
UPDATED_ON TIMESTAMP(6)
UPDATED_BY VARCHAR2(100)
SQL>

SQL> SELECT ID, MCP_CLIENT, MODEL, END_POINT_TYPE, END_POINT_NAME, LOG_MESSAGE
2* FROM DBTOOLS$MCP_LOG;

ID MCP_CLIENT MODEL END_POINT_TYPE END_POINT_NAME LOG_MESSAGE
_____ _____________ __________________ _________________ _________________ __________________________
3 Claude claude-sonnet-4 tool connect Connect to HR
4 Claude claude-sonnet-4 tool run-sql select /* LLM in use is Claude Sonnet 4 */ * from employees
5 Claude claude-sonnet-4 tool run-sqlcl info employees
6 Claude claude-sonnet-4 tool disconnect Disconnect from HR

SQL>

If you have database administrator (DBA) privileges, you can monitor active MCP connections and operations in real-time. The server integrates with Oracle’s V$SESSION view, allowing you to use standard Oracle monitoring tools to track current sessions, resource usage, and performance. To see the MCP client information, you can observe the MODULE and ACTION values in V$SESSION.

To view active sessions, query the V$SESSION view:

select * from V$SESSION;

Note: The DBTOOLS$MCP_LOG table does not include any automatic cleanup mechanism. Be sure to regularly purge or delete old records to prevent database saturation.

Security Guidelines

When you allow LLMs access to your database through SQLcl’s MCP server, you introduce significant security risks — especially when using tools like run-sql or run-sqlcl

1. Use a Safe Non‑Production Environment

Never connect MCP to your production database.
Avoid accidental exposure of sensitive or business-critical data.

2. Apply Least Privilege Permissions

Grant the LLM’s database user only the minimal permissions required for its tasks.

3. Require Explicit Pre‑Execution Approval

Ensure your MCP client prompts the user before any tool invocation.
Confirm that the user reads and understands exactly what SQL will run, then explicitly accept or decline execution.
If unsure, always decline.

4. Enable Comprehensive Auditing & Monitoring

Monitor V$SESSION.MODULE for MCP client identity and V$SESSION.ACTION for the LLM name.
Review DBTOOLS$MCP_LOG, which records each interaction, including queries and inputs.
All executed SQL includes comments like /* LLM in use … */ for easier traceability
Regularly review these logs for anomalies or unauthorized access attempts.

5. Guard Against MCP‑Specific Threats

Be cautious of tool-poisoning, line-jumping, dynamic tool redefinition (rug‑pull), and tool shadowing attacks, where malicious servers inject hidden or overwritten functionality into tool descriptions before user approval. see more details
Only register MCP servers from trusted sources; avoid connecting to unknown or unvetted servers

Auto‑Correction Capability

If something goes wrong and an error occurs, SQLcl MCP handles it automatically. Each error is wrapped in a standard format:

ERROR:
Based on the error thrown, provide the user with a clear explanation
of what went wrong. If possible, correct the issue and retry the request

Based on the error message, the system then provides the user with a clear explanation of what went wrong. Whenever possible, it attempts to correct the issue and retries the request using updated arguments.

This allows the LLM to refine the previous request iteratively in order to fulfill the original prompt’s goal.

To avoid infinite loops — when the LLM repeatedly fails to correct arguments — there’s a final step: either accept or decline the request. That way, the process always terminates cleanly. 😊

Conclusion

I hope this gave you a clear overview of the new SQLcl MCP Server features introduced in version 25.2. With every release, more tools and enhancements are on the way.

I’d love to hear your prompt ideas and how you’re using SQLcl MCP to automate your DBA tasks — share them in the comments!

If you have any questions or want to connect, feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn.