Performance Monitor
Free, open-source SQL Server performance monitoring — 32 collectors, real-time alerts, graphical plan viewer, MCP server for AI analysis. Supports SQL 2016-2025, Azure SQL, AWS RDS.
What is Performance Monitor?
Performance Monitor is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that allows AI assistants like Claude, Cursor, and VS Code to free, open-source sql server performance monitoring — 32 collectors, real-time alerts, graphical plan viewer, mcp server for ai analysis. supports sql 2016-2025, azure sql, aws rds.
Free, open-source SQL Server performance monitoring — 32 collectors, real-time alerts, graphical plan viewer, MCP server for AI analysis. Supports SQL 2016-2025, Azure SQL, AWS RDS.
This server falls under the Monitoring & Observability category on MCPgee, the world's largest MCP server directory with 33,000+ servers.
Features
- Free, open-source SQL Server performance monitoring — 32 col
Use Cases
Maintainer
Works with
Installation
Manual Installation
npx performancemonitorConfiguration
Configuration Details
claude_desktop_config.json
Performance
Response Metrics
Resource Usage
How to Set Up and Use Performance Monitor
PerformanceMonitor is a free, open-source SQL Server monitoring platform by Erik Darling Data that embeds a Model Context Protocol server on port 5151, enabling AI clients like Claude to query 52–63 live performance tools covering wait stats, blocking, deadlocks, query performance, CPU/memory, I/O, TempDB, SQL Agent jobs, and execution plan analysis. It supports SQL Server 2016–2025, Azure SQL, and AWS RDS without installing anything on the monitored server — no SQL Agent jobs, no elevated permissions beyond VIEW SERVER STATE.
Prerequisites
- Windows PC to run the PerformanceMonitor client application (Lite or Full edition)
- .NET 10 Desktop Runtime for the Lite edition (downloaded automatically by the installer)
- SQL Server 2016 or later, Azure SQL Database, or AWS RDS for SQL Server
- SQL login with VIEW SERVER STATE permission on the monitored instance
- An MCP-compatible client such as Claude Desktop or Claude Code
Download and install PerformanceMonitor
Download PerformanceMonitorLite-win-Setup.exe from the GitHub releases page and run it. The installer creates Start Menu and Desktop shortcuts. The .NET 10 Desktop Runtime is required and can be installed from Microsoft's site if missing.
Add your SQL Server connection
Launch PerformanceMonitor, click '+ Add Server', enter connection details (server name, authentication type, credentials), click Test, then Save. Data will begin flowing within 1–5 minutes.
Grant minimum SQL permissions
On the monitored SQL Server instance, grant the connecting login VIEW SERVER STATE. This is the only permission needed for the Lite edition.
GRANT VIEW SERVER STATE TO [YourLogin];Confirm the MCP server is running
PerformanceMonitor starts its built-in MCP HTTP server on port 5151 automatically. Verify it is reachable by navigating to http://localhost:5151/ in a browser — you should see a response from the MCP endpoint.
Register the MCP server with Claude Code
In your terminal, register the local HTTP MCP endpoint with Claude Code so it can call the performance tools.
claude mcp add --transport http --scope user sql-monitor http://localhost:5151/Configure Claude Desktop (alternative)
For Claude Desktop, add a proxy entry to claude_desktop_config.json pointing at the local HTTP MCP server.
{
"mcpServers": {
"sql-monitor": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["mcp-remote", "http://localhost:5151/"]
}
}
}Performance Monitor Examples
Client configuration
Claude Desktop config that proxies requests to the local PerformanceMonitor MCP HTTP server using mcp-remote.
{
"mcpServers": {
"sql-monitor": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["mcp-remote", "http://localhost:5151/"]
}
}
}Prompts to try
Example questions to ask Claude once the server is connected.
- "What are the top 10 wait types on my SQL Server right now?"
- "Are there any active blocking chains on the instance?"
- "Show me the queries consuming the most CPU in the last hour"
- "Have there been any deadlocks in the past 24 hours? Show me the victim queries."
- "What is the current TempDB space usage and which sessions are using it?"Troubleshooting Performance Monitor
MCP server is not reachable at http://localhost:5151/
Ensure PerformanceMonitor is running and a server connection is active. The MCP endpoint only starts after at least one server has been added and is collecting data. Check Windows Firewall rules if another process is also using port 5151.
Claude reports 'no data' or tools return empty results
Wait 1–5 minutes after adding a new SQL Server connection for the collectors to populate data. Also confirm the login has VIEW SERVER STATE permission and that the SQL Server version is 2016 or later.
.NET 10 Desktop Runtime error on launch
Download and install the .NET 10 Desktop Runtime from https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download/dotnet/10.0 for your Windows architecture (x64 in most cases), then relaunch the installer.
Frequently Asked Questions about Performance Monitor
What is Performance Monitor?
Performance Monitor is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that free, open-source sql server performance monitoring — 32 collectors, real-time alerts, graphical plan viewer, mcp server for ai analysis. supports sql 2016-2025, azure sql, aws rds. It connects AI assistants to external tools and data sources through a standardized interface.
How do I install Performance Monitor?
Follow the installation instructions on the Performance Monitor GitHub repository. Clone the repo, install dependencies, and add the server config to your AI client.
Which AI clients work with Performance Monitor?
Performance Monitor works with all major MCP-compatible AI clients including Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code (GitHub Copilot), Windsurf, and Cline.
Is Performance Monitor free to use?
Yes, Performance Monitor is open source and available under the MIT license. You can use it freely in both personal and commercial projects.
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