pgvector-azure-openai-mcp-server 1.0.4
An MCP server with RAG capabilities using Azure OpenAI embeddings and pgvector for PostgreSQL.
License: MIT
Requires Python: >=3.11

# pgvector Azure OpenAI MCP server

An MCP server with RAG capabilities using Azure OpenAI embeddings and pgvector for PostgreSQL.

Focuses on Azure OpenAI embeddings.

## Features

- **MCP Compatible**: Fully based on the Model Context Protocol, seamlessly integrating with AI assistants.
- **Collection Management**: Create, list, rename, and delete vector collections.
- **Vector Operations**: Add vectors, search for similar content, and process documents in batches.
- **Embedding Service**: Integrates Azure OpenAI embeddings.
- **Modern Package Management**: Based on the uv package manager for fast installation and dependency management.
- **Atomic Operations**: Database transactions ensure atomicity for operations like collection renaming.
- **Cross-Platform Support**: Compatible with Windows, macOS, and Linux.

## Quick Start

### 1. Installation Methods

**Method 1: Run directly with uvx (Most Recommended)**

```bash
# No installation required, run directly with uvx in MCP configuration
# uvx will automatically download and manage packages
```

**Method 2: Install with uv**

```bash
# Global tool installation
uv tool install pgvector-azure-openai-mcp-server

# Or project dependency installation
uv add pgvector-azure-openai-mcp-server
```

**Method 3: Install with pip**

```bash
pip install pgvector-azure-openai-mcp-server
```

### 2. Set up the Database using Docker

Use `docker-compose.yaml` to set up a database with `pgvector` support.

To install `pgvector` into the database, an `init-db.sql` script must be ran when the PostgreSQL container is first ran. Download this `init-db.sql` script first:

```bash
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/darktohka/pgvector-azure-openai-mcp-server/refs/heads/master/init-db.sql
```

Then, create the `docker-compose.yaml`:

```yaml
services:
  db:
    image: pgvector/pgvector:pg18
    restart: always
    environment:
      POSTGRES_DB: mcp_vectors
      POSTGRES_USER: username
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: password
    ports:
      - '5432:5432'
    volumes:
      - db_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
      - ./init-db.sql:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/init-db.sql:ro

volumes:
  db_data:
```

To create the database, finally:

```bash
docker compose up -d
```

By default, the `mcp_vectors` Postgres database will be used.

If databases need to be set up manually (not necessary when using `init-db.sql`), use:

```bash
# Connect to PostgreSQL and enable the pgvector extension
psql postgres -c "CREATE EXTENSION IF NOT EXISTS vector;"
```

### 3. Configure the MCP Client

Add the following configuration to your MCP client configuration file (e.g., VS Code):

**Recommended Configuration (using uvx, no pre-installation required)**:

```json
{
  "servers": {
    "pgvector-azure-openai-mcp-server": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["pgvector-azure-openai-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "DATABASE_URL": "postgresql://username:password@localhost:5432/mcp_vectors",
        "AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY": "your_azure_openai_api_key_here",
        "AZURE_OPENAI_ENDPOINT": "your_azure_openai_endpoint_here",
        "AZURE_OPENAI_MODEL": "text-embedding-3-small",
        "DEBUG": "false"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

**Alternative Configuration (if already installed)**:

```json
{
  "servers": {
    "pgvector-azure-openai-mcp-server": {
      "command": "pgvector-azure-openai-mcp-server",
      "env": {
        "DATABASE_URL": "postgresql://username:password@localhost:5432/mcp_vectors",
        "AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY": "your_azure_openai_api_key_here",
        "AZURE_OPENAI_ENDPOINT": "your_azure_openai_endpoint_here",
        "AZURE_OPENAI_MODEL": "text-embedding-3-small",
        "DEBUG": "false"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

**Traditional Configuration (using Python module)**:

```json
{
  "servers": {
    "pgvector-azure-openai-mcp-server": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["-m", "pgvector_azure_openai_mcp_server"],
      "env": {
        "DATABASE_URL": "postgresql://username:password@localhost:5432/mcp_vectors",
        "AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY": "your_azure_openai_api_key_here",
        "AZURE_OPENAI_ENDPOINT": "your_azure_openai_endpoint_here",
        "AZURE_OPENAI_EMBEDDING_DEPLOYMENT_NAME": "your_embedding_deployment_name_here",
        "DEBUG": "false"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

Caution: When using Claude Code, the top-level key is called `mcpServers` not `servers`.

### 4. Verify Installation

Use the MCP client to call the `status` tool to verify the connection:

```json
{
  "tool": "status",
  "parameters": {}
}
```

Expected Response:

```json
{
  "success": true,
  "database": {
    "connected": true,
    "pgvector_installed": true
  },
  "embedding_service": {
    "available": true,
    "provider": "Azure OpenAI"
  }
}
```

## MCP Tool Reference

The pgvector MCP Server provides the following 10 tools for MCP clients to call:

### 1. System Status Check

```json
{
  "tool": "status",
  "parameters": {}
}
```

### 2. Collection Management

#### Create Collection

```json
{
  "tool": "create_collection",
  "parameters": {
    "name": "my_documents",
    "description": "My document collection",
    "dimension": 1536
  }
}
```

#### List All Collections

```json
{
  "tool": "list_collections",
  "parameters": {
    "include_documents": true
  }
}
```

#### View Collection Details

```json
{
  "tool": "show_collection",
  "parameters": {
    "name": "my_documents",
    "include_stats": true
  }
}
```

#### Rename Collection (New Feature)

```json
{
  "tool": "rename_collection",
  "parameters": {
    "old_name": "my_documents",
    "new_name": "document_library"
  }
}
```

#### Delete Collection

```json
{
  "tool": "delete_collection",
  "parameters": {
    "name": "my_documents",
    "confirm": true
  }
}
```

### 3. Vector Operations

#### Add Text Vector

```json
{
  "tool": "add_text",
  "parameters": {
    "collection_name": "my_documents",
    "text": "This is a sample document content",
    "metadata": {
      "source": "manual",
      "type": "document",
      "category": "Technical Documentation"
    }
  }
}
```

#### Search Similar Content

```json
{
  "tool": "search_collection",
  "parameters": {
    "collection_name": "my_documents",
    "query": "Machine learning related content",
    "limit": 5,
    "search_strategy": "smart",
    "min_similarity": 0.7
  }
}
```

#### Add Document File

```json
{
  "tool": "add_document",
  "parameters": {
    "collection_name": "my_documents",
    "file_path": "/path/to/document.pdf",
    "metadata": {
      "category": "manual",
      "language": "en"
    }
  }
}
```

#### Delete Vectors

```json
{
  "tool": "delete_vectors",
  "parameters": {
    "collection_name": "my_documents",
    "file_path": "/path/to/old_document.pdf",
    "confirm": true
  }
}
```

## Usage Examples

### Basic Workflow

Call the following tools sequentially via the MCP client:

```json
// 1. Check system status
{
  "tool": "status",
  "parameters": {}
}

// 2. Create document collection
{
  "tool": "create_collection",
  "parameters": {
    "name": "documents",
    "description": "Document knowledge base"
  }
}

// 3. Add document content
{
  "tool": "add_text",
  "parameters": {
    "collection_name": "documents",
    "text": "Machine learning is an important branch of artificial intelligence",
    "metadata": {"type": "knowledge"}
  }
}

// 4. Search for relevant content
{
  "tool": "search_collection",
  "parameters": {
    "collection_name": "documents",
    "query": "Deep learning",
    "limit": 3
  }
}

// 5. View collection statistics
{
  "tool": "show_collection",
  "parameters": {
    "name": "documents",
    "include_stats": true
  }
}
```

### Document Processing Example

```json
// Process PDF document
{
  "tool": "add_document",
  "parameters": {
    "collection_name": "tech_docs",
    "file_path": "/Users/username/documents/manual.pdf",
    "metadata": {
      "category": "technical",
      "language": "en",
      "source": "official_docs"
    }
  }
}

// Search document content
{
  "tool": "search_collection",
  "parameters": {
    "collection_name": "tech_docs",
    "query": "API configuration method",
    "search_strategy": "smart",
    "metadata_filters": {
      "category": "technical"
    }
  }
}
```

### Collection Renaming and Management Example

```json
// Rename collection (new feature)
{
  "tool": "rename_collection",
  "parameters": {
    "old_name": "temp_docs",
    "new_name": "permanent_docs"
  }
}

// List all collections
{
  "tool": "list_collections",
  "parameters": {
    "include_documents": true
  }
}

// Delete unnecessary vectors
{
  "tool": "delete_vectors",
  "parameters": {
    "collection_name": "permanent_docs",
    "file_path": "/old/path/outdated.pdf",
    "confirm": true
  }
}
```

## Feature Description

### Windows Encoding Compatibility

- **Automatic Encoding Detection**: Supports GBK, GB2312, UTF-8, and other encoding formats.
- **Encoding Conversion**: Automatically converts to UTF-8 for unified processing.

### Search Strategies

- **smart**: Intelligent combination of SQL + semantic search (recommended).
- **sql_only**: Uses traditional SQL text search only.
- **semantic_only**: Uses vector similarity search only.

### Atomic Operation Guarantee

- **Collection Renaming**: Database transactions ensure atomicity of operations.
- **Batch Insertion**: Guarantees consistency during batch processing of vector data.
- **Error Recovery**: Automatic rollback on operation failure to ensure data integrity.

### Performance Optimization

- **Vector Indexing**: Uses pgvector's ivfflat index to optimize search performance.
- **Batch Processing**: Supports document chunking and batch vector generation.
- **Connection Pool**: SQLAlchemy connection pool improves database access efficiency.
- **Response Time**: Target response time for document processing < 2 seconds.

## System Requirements

- **Python**: 3.11+ (uses modern Python features)
- **PostgreSQL**: 16+ with pgvector extension enabled
- **pgvector**: Version 0.8.0+
- **MCP Client**: AI assistant supporting the MCP protocol (e.g., Claude Desktop)
- **Package Management**: uv (recommended) or pip
- **Azure OpenAI API**: Azure OpenAI API key for text embeddings

## Development and Deployment

### uv Project Development

```bash
# Clone the project
git clone https://github.com/darktohka/pgvector-azure-openai-mcp-server
cd pgvector-azure-openai-mcp-server

# Install dependencies with uv
uv sync

# Run tests
uv run pytest

# Build package
uv build

# Publish to PyPI
uv publish
```

### Environment Variable Configuration

```bash
# Required configuration
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://username:password@localhost:5432/database
AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY=your_api_key_here
AZURE_OPENAI_ENDPOINT=your_azure_openai_endpoint_here
AZURE_OPENAI_EMBEDDING_DEPLOYMENT_NAME=your_embedding_deployment_name_here

# Optional configuration
DEBUG=false  # Debug mode
```

## Installation and Configuration Notes

### Advantages of uvx Method

- **No Pre-installation Required**: uvx automatically downloads and manages packages and their dependencies.
- **Isolated Environment**: Each tool runs in an independent environment, avoiding dependency conflicts.
- **Automatic Updates**: Always uses the latest version.
- **Simplified Configuration**: Configuration files are simpler, no need to specify paths.

### Configuration Selection Suggestions

- **New Users**: Recommended to use uvx configuration, it's the simplest and fastest.
- **Developers**: Install with `uv tool install` and then call commands directly.
- **Production Environment**: Traditional Python module method can be chosen for easier version control.

## Troubleshooting

**Common Issues**:

- Database connection failed: Check DATABASE_URL format and PostgreSQL service status.
- pgvector extension not found: Execute `CREATE EXTENSION vector;` in PostgreSQL. Make sure `init-db.sql` is being run.
- API key error: Verify if `AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY`, `AZURE_OPENAI_ENDPOINT`, and `AZURE_OPENAI_MODEL` are correctly configured.
- Collection renaming failed: Check if the new name already exists.
- uvx network issues: Ensure network connection is normal, uvx needs to download packages from PyPI.