Azure SQL MCP Server with Connector Namespace

Deploy a hosted Azure SQL Model Context Protocol (MCP) server to Azure Connector Namespace. The sample provisions Azure SQL Database, exposes a BlogPost table through Data API Builder MCP, and configures managed identity access so MCP clients such as GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio Code can query the database.

About this sample
Before you begin
Run this sample
Sample details
Clean up
Related links

About this sample

Applies to: Azure SQL Database
Key features: Azure Connector Namespace, hosted MCP server, Data API Builder, managed identity, Application Insights
Workload: AI agent data access
Programming Language: Bicep, PowerShell, Bash, JSON

This sample deploys a hosted mcp-sql server in Azure Connector Namespace. The hosted MCP server uses Data API Builder configuration to expose a SQL table through MCP tools. The SQL database is seeded with a dbo.BlogPost table containing links to Microsoft Learn and .NET Blog posts. For more background, see Hosted MCP servers in Azure Connector Namespace.

Before you begin

To run this sample, you need the following prerequisites.

Software prerequisites:

Azure CLI (az)
Azure Developer CLI (azd)
PowerShell 7+ on Windows, or Bash on Linux/macOS

Azure prerequisites:

An Azure subscription with permissions to create resource groups and resources.
Permission to create Azure SQL Database, Application Insights, Log Analytics workspace, and Connector Namespace resources.
Permission to create an Azure SQL Microsoft Entra administrator for the signed-in user.

Run this sample

From this folder:

azd auth login
azd init
azd up

`azd init` prompts

When you run azd init for the first time, it detects the existing azure.yaml and Bicep templates:

"How do you want to initialize your app?" — Select Use code in the current directory.
"Confirm and continue initializing this app" — Press Enter to confirm the detected services.
"Enter a new environment name" — Pick any name, for example mcp-dev. This name is used as a prefix for Azure resource names.

You only need to run azd init once. Subsequent deployments only require azd up.

`azd up` prompts

When you run azd up, you are prompted for:

Azure Subscription: Select the Azure subscription to deploy to.
Azure location: Choose a supported region (e.g. eastasia, westcentralus).
deployerLoginName infrastructure parameter: Enter your Azure sign-in email or user principal name, for example user@contoso.com. If you don't know the value, run the following command in a different terminal instance and use the result:
```
az account show --query user.name -o tsv
```
connectorNamespaceIdentityType infrastructure parameter: Enter SystemAssigned for the default Connector Namespace managed identity, or UserAssigned to create and attach a user-assigned managed identity.

The deployerLoginName value is used to create the Azure SQL server with Microsoft Entra-only authentication and set you as the SQL Entra admin.

Optional: use a user-assigned managed identity

When azd up prompts for connectorNamespaceIdentityType, enter UserAssigned to test with a user-assigned managed identity.

When set to UserAssigned, the template creates a user-assigned managed identity, attaches it to the Connector Namespace, passes its client ID to the hosted MCP server, and grants that identity access to Azure SQL.

Choose the identity type before the first deployment. Connector Namespace doesn't allow changing attached user-assigned identities after the namespace is created. To switch between SystemAssigned and UserAssigned, create a new azd environment or run azd down --purge and deploy again.

Connect from Visual Studio Code

After azd up completes, the MCP endpoint URL is printed. Add it to VS Code using the UI:

In VS Code, open the Command Palette:
- Windows/Linux: Ctrl+Shift+P
- macOS: Cmd+Shift+P
Run MCP: Add Server.
Choose HTTP as the server type.
Paste the MCP endpoint URL printed by azd up.
Enter a server name, for example sql-mcp.
Choose whether to save the server in user settings or workspace settings.
Start the sql-mcp server when VS Code prompts you.

VS Code prompts you to sign in with Microsoft. Then use Copilot Chat to query your database, for example: "List the blog posts in the database."

Sample details

Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│         Connector Namespace         │
│  (Microsoft.Web/connectorGateways)  │
│                                     │
│  ┌───────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │   Hosted SQL MCP Server       │  │
│  │   (Data API Builder)          │  │
│  │                               │  │
│  │    MI ───► Azure SQL DB       │  │
│  └───────────────────────────────┘  │
└─────────────────────────────────────┘
         ▲
         │  MCP (HTTP + SSE)
         │
    VS Code / Copilot / MCP Client

Resources deployed

Resource	Purpose
Resource Group	Container for all deployed resources
Azure SQL Server	Entra-only auth, with you as SQL admin
Azure SQL Database	Basic SKU database with a `BlogPost` sample table used by the MCP server
SQL Firewall Rules	Allows Azure services/resources, Azure Portal Query Editor, and your public IP for setup
Log Analytics Workspace	Stores Application Insights telemetry
Application Insights	Collects telemetry from the hosted MCP server
Connector Namespace	Hosts MCP servers with system-assigned managed identity by default, or user-assigned managed identity when configured
Hosted SQL MCP Server	`mcp-sql` server config on the namespace
MCP Access Policy	Grants you access to invoke MCP tools

Resource names use the pattern <type>-<environment-name>-<short-suffix> where possible, for example sql-mcp-dev-a1b2c3d4. The suffix is deterministic for the subscription, environment name, and location so names are readable and stable across redeployments.

What `azd up` does

Step	Action
Provision	Deploys Azure SQL, SQL firewall rules, Log Analytics, Application Insights, Connector Namespace, hosted `mcp-sql`, and MCP access policy.
Post-provision	Allows your public IP through the SQL firewall, creates and seeds `dbo.BlogPost`, creates the Connector Namespace managed identity SQL user, grants SQL permissions, generates `dab-config.generated.json`, and prints the MCP endpoint plus Azure Portal resource group link.

The hosted MCP server receives:

the included dab-config.json as properties.hostedMcpServer.configuration.configFile
the generated SQL connection string as SQL_CONNECTION_STRING
the Application Insights connection string as APPLICATIONINSIGHTS_CONNECTION_STRING
AZURE_CLIENT_ID when the sample is configured to use a user-assigned managed identity

No SQL or Application Insights connection string is checked in.

This sample includes a ready-to-use dab-config.json. If you want to create or customize a Data API Builder configuration from scratch, install the DAB CLI and use it to generate a config file. For more information, see Install the Data API Builder CLI.

For details about the hosted MCP server resource model and supported server types, see Hosted MCP servers in Azure Connector Namespace. For a walkthrough focused on the SQL hosted MCP server, see Hosted MCP server quickstart for SQL.

Inspect resources in Azure Portal

After deployment, the post-provision output includes a link to the Azure resource group in the Azure Portal. Use that page to inspect the SQL server, Application Insights resource, Log Analytics workspace, Connector Namespace, and hosted MCP server.

To allow additional users to connect to the MCP server:

Open the deployed Connector Namespace resource in the Azure Portal.
Open the hosted MCP server configuration, for example sql-mcp.
Add an access policy for each additional user or group that should be allowed to invoke the MCP server.

Sample data

The post-provision hook creates and seeds dbo.BlogPost with these entries:

Title	Source
Hosted MCP servers in Azure Connector Namespace	Microsoft Learn
Durable Workflows in Microsoft Agent Framework	.NET Blog

SQL firewall access

The deployment configures two SQL firewall paths:

Rule	When	Purpose
`AllowAzureServices`	During Bicep provisioning	Allows Azure services/resources, including Azure Portal Query Editor, to reach the SQL server.
`AllowDeployerIp`	During post-provision	Detects your current public IP and allows your local machine to seed and query the database.

If SQL reports a different blocked client IP during post-provision, the script adds that IP and retries.

Clean up

Using azd:

azd down --purge

Or with Azure CLI:

# Replace <environment-name> with your azd environment name.
az group delete --name rg-<environment-name> --yes --no-wait

# Optional: remove the subscription-scope deployment record.
az deployment sub delete --name <environment-name>

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Azure SQL MCP Server with Connector Namespace

Contents

About this sample

Before you begin

Run this sample

`azd init` prompts

`azd up` prompts

Optional: use a user-assigned managed identity

Connect from Visual Studio Code

Sample details

Architecture

Resources deployed

What `azd up` does

Inspect resources in Azure Portal

Sample data

SQL firewall access

Clean up

Related links

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Azure SQL MCP Server with Connector Namespace

Contents

About this sample

Before you begin

Run this sample

azd init prompts

azd up prompts

Optional: use a user-assigned managed identity

Connect from Visual Studio Code

Sample details

Architecture

Resources deployed

What azd up does

Inspect resources in Azure Portal

Sample data

SQL firewall access

Clean up

Related links

`azd init` prompts

`azd up` prompts

What `azd up` does