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genai-toolbox - AI Developer Tools Tool

Overview

genai-toolbox (MCP Toolbox for Databases) is an open-source, Google-built control plane that makes it easier to expose database operations as reusable tools for generative-AI agents and developer workflows. It provides a central server and a declarative tools.yaml format to define sources, tools, toolsets and prompts so agents can call database-aware functions (SQL, analytics, Looker, etc.) without embedding connection logic or credentials into each agent. The project emphasizes production concerns — connection pooling, integrated authentication, dynamic tool reloads, and end-to-end observability via OpenTelemetry — to make AI-driven database access safer and operationally robust. ([googleapis.github.io](https://googleapis.github.io/genai-toolbox/getting-started/introduction/)) It also includes client SDKs and framework adapters (Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, Go, LangChain/LlamaIndex adapters) plus Gemini CLI extensions so tools can be loaded into many agent frameworks and IDEs. The server is distributed as binaries, container images, Homebrew bottles and can be run locally for experimentation with npx; configuration is fully declarative through tools.yaml, letting teams share and update tools independently of agents. The docs list an extensive set of built-in connectors (BigQuery, MySQL, ClickHouse, Looker, Spanner, Redis, MongoDB and many more) and example tools for conversational analytics, SQL execution, and observability integrations. ([googleapis.github.io](https://googleapis.github.io/genai-toolbox/getting-started/introduction/))

GitHub Statistics

  • Stars: 12,321
  • Forks: 1,118
  • Contributors: 86
  • License: Apache-2.0
  • Primary Language: Go
  • Last Updated: 2026-01-08T22:56:45Z
  • Latest Release: v0.25.0

The project shows strong community interest: the repository lists ~12.3k stars and ~1.1k forks on GitHub, with active issue and pull-request activity (dozens of open issues/PRs). The repo includes an active docs site and changelog, and multiple SDKs and CLI integrations, indicating an actively maintained cross-language codebase. ([github.com](https://github.com/googleapis/genai-toolbox))

Installation

Install via docker:

docker run -p 5000:5000 -v $(pwd)/tools.yaml:/app/tools.yaml us-central1-docker.pkg.dev/database-toolbox/toolbox/toolbox:$VERSION --tools-file "/app/tools.yaml"
curl -L -o toolbox https://storage.googleapis.com/genai-toolbox/v$VERSION/linux/amd64/toolbox && chmod +x toolbox  # (example binary install)
npx @toolbox-sdk/server --tools-file tools.yaml  # run latest server for experimentation
go install github.com/googleapis/[email protected]  # install via Go
pip install toolbox-core toolbox-langchain toolbox-llamaindex  # Python client SDKs
npm install @toolbox-sdk/core @toolbox-sdk/adk  # JavaScript/TypeScript client SDKs

Key Features

  • Declarative tools.yaml to define sources, tools, toolsets and reusable prompts.
  • Prebuilt connectors: BigQuery, MySQL, PostgreSQL, ClickHouse, Looker, Spanner, Redis, MongoDB, and more.
  • Client SDKs for Python, JavaScript/TypeScript and Go for easy toolset loading.
  • Gemini CLI extensions and integrations for LangChain, LlamaIndex, Genkit and other agent frameworks.
  • Production-oriented features: connection pooling, auth integration, and dynamic tool reload.
  • Observability: built-in OpenTelemetry metrics and tracing for end-to-end monitoring.
  • Multiple distribution options: binaries, Docker images, Homebrew, and npx for quick experimentation.

Community

The repository is actively maintained and widely used (≈12.3k stars, ≈1.1k forks) with ongoing issues and PRs tracked on GitHub; documentation and a dedicated docs site improve onboarding. The project invites contributions (CONTRIBUTING and Code of Conduct present) and links to a Discord/community channel for developer discussion; SDK adapters and CLI extensions demonstrate ecosystem adoption across frameworks. For configuration examples, SDK usage, and connector reference see the project docs and README. ([github.com](https://github.com/googleapis/genai-toolbox))

Last Refreshed: 2026-01-09

Key Information

  • Category: Developer Tools
  • Type: AI Developer Tools Tool
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