How it works

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is how AI tools call outside tools. Quorum ships an MCP server that the AI client starts on its side. The server talks to the running Quorum app over a local bridge on your computer.

Quorum must be open. The AI client reaches your databases only while Quorum runs.
No passwords leave Quorum. The client sends a request; Quorum runs it with its own saved login.
Same rules as the editor: read-only sessions for reads, masking, and approval for writes.
Nothing else to install. The server runs on the Node runtime inside Quorum.

Reads run in a read-only session and return up to 10,000 rows. On DuckDB and SQLite, AI clients cannot read or write files on your computer.

Supported clients

Quorum sets these up for you on macOS, Windows and Linux:

Claude DesktopClaude CodeCursorVS CodeWindsurfCodex

For any other MCP client, Quorum gives you the configuration to copy into the client's MCP settings.

Set it up

In Quorum, open Settings › AI clients.
Under 1. AI clients, find the client. Its status is Set up, Not set up, Not found, or Set up for another copy.
Click Set up. Quorum adds its entry to the client's own configuration file and keeps everything else in it.
Quit the client and open it again.
Under 2. Connections the AI may use, turn on the connections it should reach.

For another client, open Another AI client: copy the config, click Copy and paste it into that client's MCP settings.

The 16 tools

Tool	What it does
`quorum_list_connections`	Lists the shared connections and how their writes are handled.
`quorum_get_schema`	Reads a connection's schema: tables, views, columns, types and keys.
`quorum_describe_table`	Describes one table, with the team's descriptions.
`quorum_search_schema`	Finds tables and columns by name.
`quorum_sample_rows`	Reads up to 100 rows of a table. Masked columns come back masked.
`quorum_explain_query`	Shows the plan of a single read. EXPLAIN only, so nothing runs.
`quorum_execute_query`	Runs a read in a read-only session, or a write if the write setting allows it.
`quorum_list_saved_queries`	Lists the team's saved queries.
`quorum_run_saved_query`	Runs a saved query as a read.
`quorum_get_query_history`	Reads query history for shared connections.
`quorum_get_audit_log`	Reads the write audit: who, what, risk and rows affected.
`quorum_get_data_dictionary`	Reads the team's descriptions of tables and columns.
`quorum_get_service_health`	Reads service health from Last9 or Datadog, when set up in Quorum.
`quorum_propose_write`	Proposes a write, with a reason, for a person to approve in Quorum.
`quorum_get_proposal`	Checks a proposal's outcome.
`quorum_list_proposals`	Lists recent proposals and their status.

How writes are handled

Settings › AI clients › 3. Writes from AI clients has two choices:

Choice	What happens
Ask me in Quorum (default, recommended)	A write waits in Quorum until you approve it. On PROD it also needs PROD typed.
Run allowed writes directly	Allowed data changes run at once on LOCAL, DEV, QA, UAT and STAGE. Writes on PROD are refused.

Even when writes run directly, Quorum still refuses:

Any write on PROD, and any critical write.
DDL and TRUNCATE on any connection except LOCAL.
Writes on a connection that is read-only, always reviewed, needs a ticket or has a cool-down.
Anything the safety checks block, such as an UPDATE without WHERE.

Every write and every refusal is recorded in the write audit, as made by an AI agent.

Quorum Gate: approve a write request

With Ask me in Quorum, the AI client proposes a write with a one-line reason, and Quorum waits for you.

External request — MCPawaiting decision

◆ IDE assistantwants to write toOrdersDBprod

UPDATE dbo.Cases SET sample_ready = 0
WHERE OrderRef IN ('ORD-48213', 'ORD-48214');

RejectReview and run…no response = no write

A write request from an IDE assistant, waiting in Quorum. Illustrative, with synthetic data.

Quorum shows the request: the kind, environment, connection, risk and the client's reason, then the SQL, formatted.
What it will change: how many rows, the columns it sets and whether any value actually changes, and a few of the matched rows with masked columns masked.
If asked, type the confirmation word (for example PROD) and a ticket.
Click Approve and run once, or type a reason and Reject. The client sees your reason.

An approved write runs exactly as proposed, once, through the same checks as the editor. A request expires after 30 minutes. In clients that support MCP Apps, such as Claude, Claude Desktop, VS Code, Cursor and Goose, the request also appears as a card in the chat; the card shows status but cannot approve.

The quorum command

The same bridge powers a command-line tool that runs queries through the running Quorum app and its rules. Install it from Settings › AI clients › Command-line tool.

Terminalquorum CLI

quorum connections
quorum query <connection> "<sql>" --format table|csv|json --limit N
quorum describe <connection> <table> --schema S
quorum saved
quorum run-saved "<name>" --connection C
quorum history --connection C --limit N
quorum propose <connection> "<sql>" --reason "<why>" --wait SECONDS
quorum request <id> --wait SECONDS

Only connections shared with AI clients are reachable. Writes go through propose and wait for approval in Quorum.

Use it with Quorum

The MCP server comes with Quorum on macOS, Windows and Linux. A free 14-day trial is coming soon; request access to hear first.

Request access Read the MCP safety guide