lightdash-mcp-server

A MCP(Model Context Protocol) server that accesses to Lightdash.

This server provides MCP-compatible access to Lightdash's API, allowing AI assistants to interact with your Lightdash data through a standardized interface.

Features

Available tools:

• `list_projects` - List all projects in the Lightdash organization
• `get_project` - Get details of a specific project
• `list_spaces` - List all spaces in a project
• `list_charts` - List all charts in a project
• `list_dashboards` - List all dashboards in a project
• `get_custom_metrics` - Get custom metrics for a project
• `get_catalog` - Get catalog for a project
• `get_metrics_catalog` - Get metrics catalog for a project
• `get_charts_as_code` - Get charts as code for a project
• `get_dashboards_as_code` - Get dashboards as code for a project

Quick Start

Installation

Installing via Smithery

To install Lightdash MCP Server for Claude Desktop automatically via Smithery:

npx -y @smithery/cli install lightdash-mcp-server --client claude

Manual Installation

npm install lightdash-mcp-server

Configuration

• `LIGHTDASH_API_KEY`: Your Lightdash PAT
• `LIGHTDASH_API_URL`: The API base URL

Usage

The lightdash-mcp-server supports two transport modes: Stdio (default) and HTTP.

Stdio Transport (Default)

1. Start the MCP server:

npx lightdash-mcp-server

2. Edit your MCP configuration json:

...
    "lightdash": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "lightdash-mcp-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "LIGHTDASH_API_KEY": "",
        "LIGHTDASH_API_URL": "https://"
      }
    },
...

HTTP Transport (Streamable HTTP)

1. Start the MCP server in HTTP mode:

npx lightdash-mcp-server -port 8080

This starts the server using StreamableHTTPServerTransport, making it accessible via HTTP at `http://localhost:8080/mcp`.

2. Configure your MCP client to connect via HTTP:

For Claude Desktop and other MCP clients:

Edit your MCP configuration json to use the `url` field instead of `command` and `args`:

...
    "lightdash": {
      "url": "http://localhost:8080/mcp"
    },
...

For programmatic access:

Use the streamable HTTP client transport:

import { Client } from '@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/client/index.js';
import { StreamableHTTPClientTransport } from '@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/client/streamableHttp.js';

const client = new Client({
  name: 'my-client',
  version: '1.0.0'
}, {
  capabilities: {}
});

const transport = new StreamableHTTPClientTransport(
  new URL('http://localhost:8080/mcp')
);

await client.connect(transport);

Note: When using HTTP mode, ensure the environment variables `LIGHTDASH_API_KEY` and `LIGHTDASH_API_URL` are set in the environment where the server is running, as they cannot be passed through MCP client configuration.

See `examples/list_spaces_http.ts` for a complete example of connecting to the HTTP server programmatically.

Development

Available Scripts

• `npm run dev` - Start the server in development mode with hot reloading (stdio transport)
• `npm run dev:http` - Start the server in development mode with HTTP transport on port 8080
• `npm run build` - Build the project for production
• `npm run start` - Start the production server
• `npm run lint` - Run linting checks (ESLint and Prettier)
• `npm run fix` - Automatically fix linting issues
• `npm run examples` - Run the example scripts

Contributing

1. Fork the repository

2. Create your feature branch

3. Run tests and linting: `npm run lint`

4. Commit your changes

5. Push to the branch

6. Create a Pull Request