Connect drawDB to AI tools with MCP

The drawDB Model Context Protocol (MCP) server gives compatible AI coding tools read-only access to the database schemas stored in your drawDB Pro cloud workspaces.

It runs locally as a Node.js child process, authenticates to the drawDB API with your API key, and exposes focused tools for diagrams, tables, fields, relationships, enums, and PostgreSQL composite types.

Before you begin

You need:

• A drawDB plan with cloud storage and at least one cloud-backed diagram.
• Node.js 20 or newer installed on the computer running your MCP client.
• An MCP client that can launch a local stdio server.
• A drawDB API key. Follow Create and manage API keys first.

The published npm package is @drawdb/mcp. It connects to https://api.drawdb.app by default.

Configure your MCP client

Add a local stdio server using this configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "drawdb": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@drawdb/mcp"],
      "env": {
        "DRAWDB_API_KEY": "ddb_your_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Replace ddb_your_key_here with the token shown when you created the key. Keep the key inside the env object for the drawDB server entry.

Claude Desktop, Cursor, Cline, Goose, Windsurf, and other clients that launch local MCP processes can use the same command, arguments, and environment variable. The screen or configuration-file location is client-specific; look for an option to add a local or stdio MCP server.

Restart or reload the client using its normal MCP-server workflow, then confirm that a server named drawdb and its tools are available.

Test the connection

Try this prompt in your MCP client:

List my drawDB diagrams, then summarize the schema of the diagram named “Orders”.

The agent should call list_diagrams first, select the returned diagram ID, and reuse that ID for schema tools.

To test the API independently of an MCP client, place your key in an environment variable and run:

curl --fail-with-body \
  -H "X-API-Key: $DRAWDB_API_KEY" \
  https://api.drawdb.app/api/v1/diagrams

Available tools

Table names passed to describe_table are case-insensitive but must otherwise match the complete table name. Relationship lookup is directional: from_table and to_table must follow the direction reported by list_relationships.

search_tables can return the same table more than once when several columns or comments match the query.

What an API key can see

The MCP process runs as the user who created its key. It is not limited to the workspace currently selected in the drawDB editor.

• list_diagrams searches cloud-diagram metadata across all of that user's team memberships. In the current release, it can include a diagram whose schema request is later denied by Invite-only or No-access rules.
• Each schema request performs a fresh access check.
• Explicitly revoked access, leaving a team, key expiration, or key deletion stops future access.
• Local browser diagrams are not uploaded automatically and cannot be discovered by MCP.

Use a separate key for each device or client so that you can revoke one connection without interrupting the others.

Connect to a self-hosted backend

DRAWDB_BASE_URL is optional. Set it only when you are developing against another drawDB API deployment:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "drawdb-local": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@drawdb/mcp"],
      "env": {
        "DRAWDB_API_KEY": "ddb_your_key_here",
        "DRAWDB_BASE_URL": "http://localhost:4000"
      }
    }
  }
}

Troubleshooting MCP

If a key may have been exposed, rotate it immediately.