MCP Iceberg Catalog

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A MCP (Model Context Protocol) server implementation for interacting with Apache Iceberg. This server provides a SQL interface for querying and managing Iceberg tables through Claude desktop.

Claude Desktop as your Iceberg Data Lake Catalog

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How to Install in Claude Desktop

Installing via Smithery

To install MCP Iceberg Catalog for Claude Desktop automatically via Smithery:

npx -y @smithery/cli install @ahodroj/mcp-iceberg-service --client claude

1. Prerequisites

   • Python 3.10 or higher
   • UV package installer (recommended) or pip
   • Access to an Iceberg REST catalog and S3-compatible storage

2. How to install in Claude Desktop Add the following configuration to claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "iceberg": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": [
        "--directory",
        "PATH_TO_/mcp-iceberg-service",
        "run",
        "mcp-server-iceberg"
      ],
      "env": {
        "ICEBERG_CATALOG_URI" : "http://localhost:8181",
        "ICEBERG_WAREHOUSE" : "YOUR ICEBERG WAREHOUSE NAME",
        "S3_ENDPOINT" : "OPTIONAL IF USING S3",
        "AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID" : "YOUR S3 ACCESS KEY",
        "AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY" : "YOUR S3 SECRET KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Design

Architecture

The MCP server is built on three main components:

1. MCP Protocol Handler

   • Implements the Model Context Protocol for communication with Claude
   • Handles request/response cycles through stdio
   • Manages server lifecycle and initialization

2. Query Processor

   • Parses SQL queries using sqlparse
   • Supports operations:
     • LIST TABLES
     • DESCRIBE TABLE
     • SELECT
     • INSERT

3. Iceberg Integration

   • Uses pyiceberg for table operations
   • Integrates with PyArrow for efficient data handling
   • Manages catalog connections and table operations

PyIceberg Integration

The server utilizes PyIceberg in several ways:

1. Catalog Management

   • Connects to REST catalogs
   • Manages table metadata
   • Handles namespace operations

2. Data Operations

   • Converts between PyIceberg and PyArrow types
   • Handles data insertion through PyArrow tables
   • Manages table schemas and field types

3. Query Execution

   • Translates SQL to PyIceberg operations
   • Handles data scanning and filtering
   • Manages result set conversion

Further Implementation Needed

1. Query Operations

   • Implement UPDATE operations
   • Add DELETE support
   • Support for CREATE TABLE with schema definition
   • Add ALTER TABLE operations
   • Implement table partitioning support

2. Data Types

   • Support for complex types (arrays, maps, structs)
   • Add timestamp with timezone handling
   • Support for decimal types
   • Add nested field support

3. Performance Improvements

   • Implement batch inserts
   • Add query optimization
   • Support for parallel scans
   • Add caching layer for frequently accessed data

4. Security Features

   • Add authentication mechanisms
   • Implement role-based access control
   • Add row-level security
   • Support for encrypted connections

5. Monitoring and Management

   • Add metrics collection
   • Implement query logging
   • Add performance monitoring
   • Support for table maintenance operations

6. Error Handling

   • Improve error messages
   • Add retry mechanisms for transient failures
   • Implement transaction support
   • Add data validation