TiDB uses GateRook’s MySQL connector. TiDB and TiDB Cloud, on port 4000 by default.
The screenshots show GateRook 2.0.0: the TiDB form, the endpoint selector, and this connector’s actual tool preview. The form and preview have not been saved. Select a screenshot to open it at full size.
1. Create a connection and enter the settings
In GateRook, open Connections, select Add connection, search for TiDB, choose its card and select Continue to configure.
Have the TiDB SQL endpoint, database account and password ready. For TiDB Cloud, copy the connection values from the cluster’s connection instructions.
Use the SQL endpoint reachable from this computer, with the cluster’s network access rules and certificate requirements in place.
Enter a Name, for example tidb-demo. Your AI app uses this name to choose the connection.
Choose TiDB. Enter a Name, the SQL Host, and User and Password. GateRook presets Port to 4000; replace it if your cluster specifies a different value.
For a TLS-enabled endpoint, select verify-full in SSL mode and supply CA certificate (PEM) when required by the cluster.
Select Load databases and choose the databases your AI should access. Use Database allowlist if you need a narrower boundary within that selection.
Choose Development, Staging or Production to match the service. Review the connector’s limit and access settings before continuing.
2. Test the connection and add it to an endpoint
Select Continue to test. GateRook checks the settings from your computer. Review the result and resolve any connection, certificate or permission error before continuing.
If the test times out, check the SQL endpoint, port and network allowlist. If login succeeds but a query fails, verify its MySQL compatibility and the database permissions.
After the test passes, select Continue to add to an endpoint. Choose the endpoint your AI app uses, review its tool modes, then select Save connection. GateRook offers default as the starter endpoint.
3. Use the connection from your AI IDE
After saving TiDB on the endpoint and passing its connection test, ask your AI app to use tidb-demo, or the name you chose. If its tools are missing, confirm the endpoint assignment and refresh the MCP connection or start a new chat.
The preview below shows this connector’s default tools before saving. The table explains what each tool can do; connection settings, credentials and endpoint policies can restrict access further.
Start with a small read request. Replace example resource names with existing resources your connection may access. Open Activity after the call to inspect its connection, tool, arguments, policy decision and result metadata.
Ask your AI, for example
- “List the tables in my TiDB database.”
- “Describe the columns and keys of the TiDB table I select.”
- “Count the rows for each status in my selected TiDB table.”
| Tool | What it does | Starts as |
|---|---|---|
sql_list_schemas | List tables and views in the selected MySQL-compatible database, within the connection and policy restrictions. | Read only |
sql_describe_table | Describe a table’s columns, types, keys and indexes where available. | Read only |
sql_query | Run one validated MySQL-compatible read statement in a read-only transaction, then roll it back. Function allowlists, database permissions and output limits apply. | Read only |
sql_execute | Run one supported data or schema change with Approval by default. Database permissions and the environment policy apply; schema changes can commit implicitly. | Approval |
You can change each tool’s mode on the endpoint. Every call your AI makes appears in Activity.