MCP Server for HCL Informix®¶

Connect the MCP-compatible client to an HCL Informix® database using the Actian MCP Server. Once configured, you can use the server to explore schema metadata and execute read-only SQL queries through a standardized interface. The MCP Server for HCL Informix® enables communication between any MCP client and the HCL Informix® database. The server automatically manages connection pooling, response formatting, and schema discovery, allowing you to focus on writing queries.

Capabilities¶

The MCP Server for HCL Informix® supports the following operations:

Action	Description
Run SQL queries	Run read-only SQL directly against the database.
List tables and views	Discover available objects within the schema.
Inspect table structure	Retrieve column definitions, data types, and key information.
Read schema metadata	Explore comprehensive database-level metadata.
List functions and procedures	View available user-defined routines.

Prerequisites¶

Before starting the server, ensure the following requirements are met:

Container Engine: Docker or Podman installed and running on the host machine.
Database credentials: Access details for the HCL Informix database.
Secure deployment files (Optional): TLS certificate and key files.
OIDC provider (Optional): Required if you are using OAuth authentication.

Configuration¶

The server runs as a Docker container. To configure the server, mount the (conf.json) file to the container at /app/conf.json.

Create Configuration File¶

Create a file named conf.json in the working directory and include the specific database details:

{
  "servername": "<server_name>",
  "service": "<service_port>",
  "dsn": "<dsn_name>",
  "server": "<database_host>",
  "database": "<database_name>",
  "database_user": "<database_user>",
  "database_password": "<database_password>",
  "max_connections": "<max_concurrent_connections>",
  "max_rows": "<max_rows_per_query_response>",
  "host": "<mcp_server_host>",
  "port": "<mcp_server_port>",
  "log_level": "INFO",
  "ssl_certfile": "/app/server.crt",
  "ssl_keyfile": "/app/server.key",
  "oauth": {
    "FASTMCP_SERVER_AUTH_CONFIG_URL": "<oidc_discovery_url>",
    "FASTMCP_SERVER_AUTH_CLIENT_ID": "<client_id>",
    "FASTMCP_SERVER_AUTH_CLIENT_SECRET": "<client_secret>",
    "FASTMCP_SERVER_AUTH_BASE_URL": "<server_base_url>",
    "FASTMCP_SERVER_AUTH_AUDIENCE": "<audience>",
    "user_impersonation": true
  }  
}

Configuration Reference¶

Required Fields

Field	Type	Description
`servername`	`string`	HCL Informix® database server name
`service`	`integer`	HCL Informix® server port number
`dsn`	`string`	Data source name
`server`	`string`	Host address for the HCL Informix® database
`database`	`string`	Name of the database to connect to target database
`max_connections`	`integer`	Maximum concurrent database connections in the pool
`host`	`string`	Host address that the MCP Server listens on inside the container
`port`	`string`	Port that the MCP Server listens on inside the container
`database_user`	`string`	Database username. You can also provide in the command line
`database_password`	`string`	Database password. You can also provide in the command line

Optional fields

Field	Type	Default	Description
`max_rows`	`integer`	`1000`	Maximum number of rows returned per query response.
`log_level`	`string`	`INFO`	Server log verbosity. Valid values: `DEBUG`, `INFO`, `WARNING`, `ERROR`, `CRITICAL`.
`ssl_certfile`	`string`	—	Path to the TLS certificate file. Add `/app/server.crt` inside the container.
`ssl_keyfile`	`string`	—	Path to the TLS private key file. Add `/app/server.key` inside the container.
`oauth`	`object`	—	OAuth configuration block for protected deployments, see OAuth configuration for more information.

Start the Server¶

In the conf.json set host address to 0.0.0.0. Once the conf.json file is ready, start the container and mount the configuration file as /app/conf.json:

Load the image:
```
docker load -i ifx_mcp_image.tar
```

Run the container:

docker run -p 8000:8000 -d --name ifx-mcp \
  -v $(pwd)/conf_temp.json:/app/conf.json:ro,Z \
  actian/informix-mcp-server-linux:1.0.0

Note

The container must read its configuration from /app/conf.json. Do not change the mount target path.

Once the container is running, connect the MCP client to the exposed server endpoint using the host and port from the configuration "https://<host machine ip address>:8000/mcp"

Next Steps¶

Tools
Explore the available MCP tools for HCL Informix® database operations.
Resources
Learn more about schema metadata resources.
Prompts
Use pre-built prompt templates for common workflows.