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Managing Clusters using ClusterControl MCP

In this section, we explore how to manage your database clusters using natural language through the ClusterControl MCP Server. Instead of navigating dashboards or running CLI commands, you simply describe what you want to your AI assistant and it handles the rest.

If you haven't set up the ClusterControl MCP Server yet, please go through the ClusterControl MCP documentation first before continuing.

If you have already installed and integrated it with your AI assistant, make sure the integration is working properly before proceeding. For example, if you are using Claude Desktop, go to Settings 🡒 Developer and confirm that the ClusterControl MCP is listed and running. See screenshot below

ClusterControl MCP Topology Claude Desktop

Once you can see the MCP Server is running, you are ready to start managing your clusters. The examples below cover the most common operations you can perform through your AI assistant.

Any action that changes something like creating a job, adding a user, scheduling maintenance, restoring a backup, setting node or controller config, etc. Works in two steps:

  • Dry run (default): AI Assistants describes exactly what it would do, without touching your CMON controller.

  • Execute: After you confirm, AI Assistants calls the tool again with dry_run=false to carry out the action.

High-risk operations (node restart, failover, drop cluster, drop user, delete backup schedule, restore backup, delete ClusterControl account) include an additional warning in the dry-run output so nothing destructive ever runs without your explicit approval.

User and Access Management

Manage database accounts, review privileges, create or revoke access across your clusters.

List Functions

Below are the functions that currently supported by clustercontrol-mcp for User and Access Management.

Function Purpose
list_db_users List all database accounts on a cluster (Required Cluster ID)
create_db_user Create a new database user account (Required Cluster ID)
drop_db_user Delete a database user account (Required Cluster ID)
grant_db_user Grant privileges to a database user (Required Cluster ID)
revoke_db_user Revoke specific privileges from a database user (Required Cluster ID)
revoke_all_db_user Revoke all privileges from a database user (Required Cluster ID)
list_cmon_users List all ClusterControl controller user accounts (Required Cluster ID)
list_cmon_groups List all ClusterControl controller user groups (Required Cluster ID)
create_cmon_user Create a new ClusterControl controller user account (Required Cluster ID)
set_cmon_user Modify a ClusterControl controller user profile (Required Cluster ID)
drop_cmon_user Delete a ClusterControl controller user account (Required Cluster ID)

Example Prompt

Here are some examples of using clustercontrol-mcp for User and Access Management:

  • List existing users and groups using prompt

    List all users and groups that exists in clustercontrol and mask the email


    ClusterControl MCP Response

  • Create ClusterControl user and attach to group using prompt

    Create a Clustercontrol user with username support and email [email protected] using password severalNINES999 in group admins


    ClusterControl MCP Response


Cluster Inventory and Health

Get a complete picture of your clusters, nodes, topology, and active alarms.

List Functions

Function Purpose
list_clusters Full fleet overview with cluster types, states, and versions
get_cluster Detailed view of a specific cluster including all hosts and their roles (Required Cluster ID)
get_cluster_topology Normalized topology view showing nodes and replication links (Required Cluster ID)
list_nodes Flattened node inventory across all clusters or one cluster (Optional Cluster ID)
list_alarms Active alarms for a specific cluster (Required Cluster ID)
list_all_alarms Active alarms across the entire fleet
get_controller_info CMON version, RPC version, and connectivity status
get_cluster_logs Contents of one collected log file, addressed by (cluster_id, hostname, filename). Tail of last 200 lines by default; optional output_path writes the full file locally (Required Cluster ID)
get_cmon_logs CMON daemon log entries for a cluster. New optional filters: severity, component, hostname, since
get_cmon_log_statistics Summary counts of CMON log entries by severity and component
list_cluster_logs Inventory of log files CMON has collected from cluster hosts (mysqld.log, postgresql-*.log, prometheus.log, agent_internal_logs.log, cmnd.log)

Example Prompt

Here are some examples of using clustercontrol-mcp for Cluster Inventory and Health:

  • Get information about Cluster databases

    List all database clusters

    Get details for cluster cluster_id or cluster_name

    Get the logs for cluster cluster_id or cluster_name

    List active alarms for cluster cluster_id or cluster_name


    ClusterControl MCP Response

    ClusterControl MCP Response


Performance Analysis

Identify slow queries, long-running transactions, deadlocks, and other performance bottlenecks across your database fleet.

List Functions

Function Purpose
get_cluster_stats Time-series CPU, memory, disk, network, SQL, and DB stats (Required Cluster ID)
get_top_queries Top resource-consuming query digests (Required Cluster ID)
get_sql_processes Live process list across all nodes (Required Cluster ID)
kill_db_process Terminate runaway queries (Required Cluster ID)
get_db_growth Historical database size trends for capacity planning (Required Cluster ID)
check_no_primary_keys Find tables missing a primary key (Required Cluster ID)
check_redundant_indexes Find redundant indexes (Required Cluster ID)
check_myisam_tables Find tables using the MyISAM storage engine (Required Cluster ID)
get_tx_deadlocks Transaction deadlock analysis with blocking SQL

Example Prompt

Here are some examples of using clustercontrol-mcp for Performance Analysis:

  • Show current processlist from the cluster.

    Show currently running SQL queries on cluster mariasn (mariadb)


    ClusterControl MCP Response

  • Kill the running job

    Kill the query with pid #14927


    ClusterControl MCP Response


Jobs and Operations

Monitor running and completed jobs, track task progress, and review operational history across your clusters.

List Functions

Function Purpose
list_jobs Recent jobs with optional status and command filters (Required Cluster ID)
get_job_log Full log output for a specific job (Required Cluster ID and Job id)
create_job Trigger backup, restart, failover, and other cluster operations (Required Cluster ID and command string)
kill_job Terminate stuck jobs (Required Cluster ID)

Example Prompt

Here are some examples of using clustercontrol-mcp for Jobs and Operations:

List recent jobs on cluster cluster_id or cluster_name

Show log for job job_id on cluster cluster_id or cluster_name


Backups and Scheduling

Manage backup jobs, review backup history, create schedules, and restore from existing backups.

List Functions

Function Purpose
list_backups Recent backups with status and method filters (Required Cluster ID)
get_latest_backup Most recent backup, optionally only successful ones (Required Cluster ID)
list_backup_schedules View all configured backup schedules (Required Cluster ID)
get_backup_schedule_summary Summary of backup schedules for a cluster (Required Cluster ID)
create_backup_schedule Create a new recurring backup schedule (Required Cluster ID)
update_backup_schedule Update an existing backup schedule (Required Cluster ID)
delete_backup_schedule Delete a backup schedule (Required Cluster ID)
delete_backup Delete a backup record (Required Cluster ID)
restore_backup Restore from an existing backup (Required Cluster ID)

Example Prompt

Here are some examples of using clustercontrol-mcp for Backups and Scheduling:

When was the last successful backup on cluster cluster_id or cluster_name?

Create a MariaDB backup schedule on cluster cluster_id or cluster_name every day at 4:25 AM using the mariabackup(full) backup method.

Tips

To successfully create a backup schedule, please mention the exact backup method name that you want to use, for example mariabackup(full) for a full backup. If you only mention use mariabackup method, the backup schedule job will be created but it will fail because the backup method is not recognized by ClusterControl.


ProxySQL

Inspect and manage ProxySQL instances including backend servers, query routing rules, and traffic statistics.

List Functions

Function Purpose
list_proxysql_top_queries Top queries by execution time through the proxy (Required Cluster ID)
list_proxysql_rules Query routing rules (Required Cluster ID)
list_proxysql_servers Backend server health and hostgroup configuration (Required Cluster ID)

Example Prompt

Here are some examples of using clustercontrol-mcp for ProxySQL :

List ProxySQL backend servers on cluster cluster_id or cluster_name

List ProxySQL query routing rules on cluster cluster_id or cluster_name

Show top queries through ProxySQL on cluster cluster_id or cluster_name


Configuration

View and modify configuration parameters at the cluster, node, and controller level.

List Functions

Function Purpose
get_cluster_config View cluster-level database settings (Required Cluster ID)
get_node_config View node-level database settings (Required Cluster ID and Node)
set_node_config Modify a node configuration parameter (with dry-run safety) (Required Cluster ID and Node)
unset_node_config Reset a node configuration parameter to default (with dry-run safety) (Required Cluster ID and Node)
get_controller_config View CMON controller runtime parameters (Required Cluster ID)
set_controller_config Modify CMON controller runtime parameters (with dry-run safety) (Required Cluster ID)

Example Prompt

Here are some examples of using clustercontrol-mcp for Configuration :

Get configuration for node [node] on cluster cluster_id or cluster_name

Set max_connections to 150 on node [node] in cluster cluster_id or cluster_name

Reset max_connections to default on node [node] in cluster cluster_id or cluster_name


Maintenance, Audit, and Other Tools

Schedule maintenance windows, review audit logs, generate error reports, and perform other administrative tasks.

List Functions

Function Purpose
list_maintenance List maintenance windows for a cluster (Required Cluster ID)
list_all_maintenance List maintenance windows across all clusters (Required Cluster ID)
add_maintenance_window Schedule a maintenance window for a host (Required Cluster ID)
remove_maintenance_window Remove a maintenance window by UUID (Required Cluster ID)
remove_maintenance_windows_by_filter Bulk remove maintenance windows by cluster or hostname (Required Cluster ID)
list_audit_log Who did what, when, and from where (Required Cluster ID)
acknowledge_alarm Acknowledge a single alarm (Required Cluster ID)
acknowledge_alarms_by_filter Bulk acknowledge alarms by cluster or filter (Required Cluster ID)
list_schemas List all database schemas on a cluster (Required Cluster ID)
create_schema Create a new database schema (Required Cluster ID)
list_publications PostgreSQL logical replication publications (Required Cluster ID)
list_subscriptions PostgreSQL logical replication subscriptions (Required Cluster ID)
list_error_reports List generated error reports for a cluster (Required Cluster ID)
generate_error_report Generate a new error report (Required Cluster ID)
download_error_report Download a generated error report archive (Required Cluster ID)
unpack_error_report Extract a downloaded error report archive (Required Cluster ID)

Example Prompt

Here are some examples of using clustercontrol-mcp for Maintenance, Audit, and Other Tools :

Show audit logs across all clusters

List error reports for cluster cluster_id or cluster_name

Generate an error report for cluster cluster_id or cluster_name

Tips

The download_error_report tool will download the error report to the host where clustercontrol-mcp is installed. When using the AI Assistant, you are not restricted to English, feel free to use your local language. You can also create your own custom prompts tailored to your specific needs, and integrate ClusterControl MCP with any automation tools you already have.

Attention

Please use ClusterControl MCP with AI Assistants wisely and be cautious about the information you share with them. Avoid sharing sensitive or confidential data such as API keys, or any personal information. ClusterControl MCP is designed to simplify the management of clusters maintained by ClusterControl, with a scope limited to ClusterControl-related operations only.