Tool Filtering

Tool Filtering

With 192 tools, you need to filter tools to stay within AI IDE limits (Cursor warns at ~80 tools).

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Quick Start: Recommended Configuration

The easiest way to filter is using whitelist mode — simply specify the group you want, and everything else is automatically disabled.

Recommended Default (~39 tools):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mysql-mcp": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "C:/path/to/mysql-mcp/dist/cli.js",
        "--transport", "stdio",
        "--mysql", "mysql://user:password@localhost:3306/database",
        "--tool-filter", "starter"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Note: If you provide no --tool-filter argument, it defaults to starter automatically.

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Shortcuts (Meta-Groups)

Shortcuts are predefined groups designed to fit specific roles while staying under the 50-tool limit. Code Mode is included in all presets by default for 70-90% token savings. You can also run with only Code Mode via --tool-filter codemode — see Code-Mode for details.

Shortcut	Tools	Use Case	What's Included
starter	39	🌟 Recommended	core, json, transactions, text, codemode
essential	16	Minimal footprint	core, transactions, codemode
dev-power	47	Power Developer	core, schema, perf, stats, fulltext, transactions, codemode
ai-data	46	AI Data Analyst	core, json, docstore, text, fulltext, codemode
ai-spatial	44	AI Spatial Analyst	core, spatial, stats, perf, transactions, codemode
dba-monitor	36	DBA Monitoring	core, monitor, perf, sysschema, opt, codemode
dba-manage	34	DBA Management	core, admin, backup, repl, parts, events, codemode
dba-secure	33	DBA Security	core, security, roles, transactions, codemode
base-core	49	Base Ops	core, json, trans, text, schema, codemode
base-advanced	41	Advanced Features	docstore, spatial, stats, fulltext, events, codemode
ecosystem	41	External Tools	cluster, proxysql, router, shell, codemode
codemode	1	Code Mode Only	codemode (single tool, full API access)

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Need More Tools?

Start with a shortcut and add individual groups as needed:

Starter + Fulltext (44 tools):

"--tool-filter", "starter,+fulltext"

Starter + Performance Analysis (47 tools):

"--tool-filter", "starter,+performance"

Starter + Spatial/GIS (51 tools):

"--tool-filter", "starter,+spatial"

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How Filtering Works

1. Whitelist Mode (Recommended): simpler and safer. Start with +group or just group.

   • starter → Enables ONLY starter tools (39).
   • starter,+spatial → Enables starter AND spatial tools.

2. Legacy/Exclusion Mode: Start with -group.

   • -ecosystem → Enables ALL 192 tools, then removes ecosystem.
   • Warning: This will exceed tool limits in most IDEs.

Syntax Reference:

Prefix	Target	Example	Effect
+ (or none)	Shortcut	starter	Whitelist Mode: Enable ONLY this shortcut
-	Group	-admin	Disable tools in that specific group
+	Group	+spatial	Add tools from this group
-	Tool	-mysql_drop_table	Disable one specific tool
+	Tool	+mysql_explain	Enable one specific tool

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All Tool Groups (25 groups)

If you need fine-grained control, use individual groups:

Group	Tools	Description
core	8	Read/write queries, tables, indexes
transactions	7	BEGIN, COMMIT, ROLLBACK, savepoints
json	17	JSON functions + merge, diff, stats
text	6	REGEXP, LIKE, SOUNDEX
fulltext	5	Natural language search
performance	8	EXPLAIN, query analysis
optimization	4	Index hints, recommendations
admin	6	OPTIMIZE, ANALYZE, CHECK
monitoring	7	PROCESSLIST, status variables
backup	4	Export, import, mysqldump
replication	5	Master/slave, binlog
partitioning	4	Partition management
router	9	MySQL Router REST API
proxysql	11	Proxy management
shell	10	MySQL Shell utilities
schema	10	Views, procedures, triggers, constraints
events	6	Event Scheduler management
sysschema	8	MySQL sys schema diagnostics
stats	8	Statistical analysis tools
spatial	12	Geometry operations, distance, GeoJSON
security	9	Audit, SSL, encryption, masking
cluster	10	Group Replication, InnoDB Cluster
roles	8	MySQL 8.0 role management
docstore	9	JSON document collections
codemode	1	Sandboxed code execution

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See Also

• Tool-Reference - Complete list of all 192 tools
• Code-Mode - Code Mode API documentation
• Configuration - MCP client configuration