data-api-builder vs restheart
Side-by-side comparison to help you pick between these two MCP servers.
data-api-builder by Azure | restheart by SoftInstigate | |
|---|---|---|
| Stars | ★ 1,410 | ★ 875 |
| 30d uses | — | — |
| Score | 53 | 54 |
| Official | — | — |
| Categories | DatabaseDeveloper ToolsCloud Storage | DatabaseAI / LLM ToolsDeveloper Tools |
| Language | C# | Java |
| Last commit | this month | this month |
data-api-builder · Summary
Azure's Data API Builder provides REST and GraphQL endpoints for Azure databases with upcoming MCP tools support.
restheart · Summary
RESTHeart is a MongoDB backend that provides a native MCP server for AI agents to access data via REST and GraphQL APIs.
data-api-builder · Use cases
- Create REST and GraphQL APIs for Azure databases
- Build secure data access layers for applications
- Generate API endpoints for on-premises databases in any cloud
restheart · Use cases
- AI agent backends for accessing MongoDB data via MCP
- API development without boilerplate code
- Real-time applications with WebSocket and SSE
- Legacy modernization by adding modern APIs to existing MongoDB databases
data-api-builder · Install
- Install .NET 8 or later runtime: https://get.dot.net
- Install the DAB command line tool:
``sh dotnet tool install microsoft.dataapibuilder -g ``
- Initialize and configure DAB with:
``sh dab init --database-type mssql --connection-string "@env('my-connection-string')" --host-mode development ``
- Add your database entities and start the server:
``sh dab add Todo --source "dbo.Todo" --permissions "anonymous:*" dab start ``
restheart · Install
Quick Start Options
**Option 1 — RESTHeart Cloud (no install)** Sign up for the fully managed service at [cloud.restheart.com](https://cloud.restheart.com/signup)
**Option 2 — Docker Compose (local)**
curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/SoftInstigate/restheart/master/docker-compose.yml --output docker-compose.yml && docker compose up --attach restheartDefault credentials: admin / secret
**Option 3 — Native Executables** Download prebuilt binaries for macOS, Linux, and Windows from [docs/native-executables.md](https://github.com/SoftInstigate/restheart/blob/master/docs/native-executables.md)
**Claude Desktop Setup** In Claude Desktop settings, add a custom connector with context URL: https://sophia-api.restheart.com/mcp/restheart/
**Claude Code Setup**
claude mcp add --transport http sophia-restheart https://sophia-api.restheart.com/mcp/restheart