FastTransfer MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that exposes FastTransfer functionality for efficient data transfer between various database systems.

Overview

FastTransfer is a high-performance CLI tool for transferring data between databases. This MCP server wraps FastTransfer functionality and provides:

• Safety-first approach: Preview commands before execution with user confirmation required
• Password masking: Credentials and connection strings are never displayed in logs or output
• Intelligent validation: Parameter validation with database-specific compatibility checks
• Smart suggestions: Automatic parallelism method recommendations
• Version detection: Automatic binary version detection with capability registry
• Comprehensive logging: Full execution logs with timestamps and results

MCP Tools

1. preview_transfer_command

Build and preview a FastTransfer command WITHOUT executing it. Shows the exact command with passwords masked. Always use this first.

2. execute_transfer

Execute a previously previewed command. Requires confirmation: true as a safety mechanism.

3. validate_connection

Validate database connection parameters (parameter check only, does not test actual connectivity).

4. list_supported_combinations

List all supported source-to-target database combinations.

5. suggest_parallelism_method

Recommend the optimal parallelism method based on source database type and table characteristics.

6. get_version

Report the detected FastTransfer binary version, supported types, and feature flags.

Installation

Prerequisites

• Python 3.10 or higher
• FastTransfer binary v0.16+ (obtain from Arpe.io)
• Claude Code or another MCP client

Setup

1. Clone or download this repository:

   cd /path/to/fasttransfer-mcp

2. Install Python dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

3. Configure environment:

   cp .env.example .env
   # Edit .env with your FastTransfer path

4. Add to Claude Code configuration (~/.claude.json):

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "fasttransfer": {
         "type": "stdio",
         "command": "python",
         "args": ["/absolute/path/to/fasttransfer-mcp/src/server.py"],
         "env": {
           "FASTTRANSFER_PATH": "/absolute/path/to/fasttransfer/FastTransfer"
         }
       }
     }
   }

5. Restart Claude Code to load the MCP server.

6. Verify installation:

   # In Claude Code, run:
   /mcp
   # You should see "fasttransfer: connected"
   

Configuration

Environment Variables

Edit .env to configure:

# Path to FastTransfer binary (required)
FASTTRANSFER_PATH=./fasttransfer/FastTransfer

# Execution timeout in seconds (default: 1800 = 30 minutes)
FASTTRANSFER_TIMEOUT=1800

# Log directory (default: ./logs)
FASTTRANSFER_LOG_DIR=./logs

# Log level (default: INFO)
LOG_LEVEL=INFO

Connection Options

The server supports multiple ways to authenticate and connect:

Parameter	Description
server	Host:port or host\instance (optional with connect_string or dsn)
user / password	Standard credentials
trusted_auth	Windows trusted authentication
connect_string	Full connection string (excludes server/user/password/dsn)
dsn	ODBC DSN name (excludes server/provider)
provider	OleDB provider name
file_input	File path for data input (source only, excludes query)

Transfer Options

Option	CLI Flag	Description
method	--method	Parallelism method
distribute_key_column	--distributeKeyColumn	Column for data distribution
degree	--degree	Parallelism degree (0=auto, >0=fixed, <0=CPU adaptive)
load_mode	--loadmode	Append or Truncate
batch_size	--batchsize	Batch size for bulk operations
map_method	--mapmethod	Column mapping: Position or Name
run_id	--runid	Run ID for logging
data_driven_query	--datadrivenquery	Custom SQL for DataDriven method
use_work_tables	--useworktables	Intermediate work tables for CCI
settings_file	--settingsfile	Custom settings JSON file
log_level	--loglevel	Override log level (error/warning/information/debug/fatal)
no_banner	--nobanner	Suppress banner output
license_path	--license	License file path or URL

Usage Examples

PostgreSQL to SQL Server Transfer

User: "Copy the 'orders' table from PostgreSQL (localhost:5432, database: sales_db,
       schema: public) to SQL Server (localhost:1433, database: warehouse, schema: dbo).
       Use parallel transfer and truncate the target first."

Claude Code will:
1. Call suggest_parallelism_method to recommend Ctid for PostgreSQL
2. Call preview_transfer_command with your parameters
3. Show the command with masked passwords
4. Explain what will happen
5. Ask for confirmation
6. Execute with execute_transfer when you approve

File Import via DuckDB Stream

User: "Import /data/export.parquet into the SQL Server 'staging' table
       using DuckDB stream."

Claude Code will use duckdbstream source type with file_input parameter.

Check Version and Capabilities

User: "What version of FastTransfer is installed?"

Claude Code will call get_version and display the detected version,
supported source/target types, and available features.

Two-Step Safety Process

This server implements a mandatory two-step process:

1. Preview - Always use preview_transfer_command first
2. Execute - Use execute_transfer with confirmation: true

You cannot execute without previewing first and confirming.

Security

• Passwords and connection strings are masked in all output and logs
• Sensitive flags masked: --sourcepassword, --targetpassword, --sourceconnectstring, --targetconnectstring, -x, -X, -g, -G
• Use environment variables for sensitive configuration
• Review commands carefully before executing
• Use minimum required database permissions

Testing

Run the test suite:

# Run all tests
python -m pytest tests/ -v

# Run with coverage
python -m pytest tests/ --cov=src --cov-report=html

Project Structure

fasttransfer-mcp/
  src/
    __init__.py
    server.py          # MCP server (tool definitions, handlers)
    fasttransfer.py    # Command builder, executor, suggestions
    validators.py      # Pydantic models, enums, validation
    version.py         # Version detection and capabilities registry
  tests/
    __init__.py
    test_command_builder.py
    test_validators.py
    test_version.py
  .env.example
  requirements.txt
  CHANGELOG.md
  README.md

License

This MCP server wrapper is provided as-is. FastTransfer itself is a separate product from Arpe.io.

Related Links

• FastTransfer Documentation
• Model Context Protocol