AWS Data Processing MCP Server

Amazon Data Processing MCP Server

The AWS DataProcessing MCP server provides AI code assistants with comprehensive data processing tools and real-time pipeline visibility across AWS Glue and Amazon EMR-EC2. This integration equips large language models (LLMs) with essential data engineering capabilities and contextual awareness, enabling AI code assistants to streamline data processing workflows through intelligent guidance — from initial data discovery and cataloging through complex ETL pipeline orchestration and big data analytics optimization.

Integrating the DataProcessing MCP server into AI code assistants transforms data engineering workflows across all phases, from simplifying data catalog management with automated schema discovery and data quality validation. Additionally, it streamlines ETL job creation with intelligent code generation and best practice recommendations. It accelerates big data processing through automated EMR cluster provisioning and workload optimization. Finally, it enhances troubleshooting through intelligent debugging tools and operational insights. All of this simplifies complex data operations through natural language interactions in AI code assistants.

Key features

AWS Glue Integration

Data Catalog Management: Enables users to explore, create, and manage databases, tables, and partitions through natural language requests, automatically translating them into appropriate AWS Glue Data Catalog operations.
Interactive Sessions: Provides interactive development environment for Spark and Ray workloads, enabling data exploration, debugging, and iterative development through managed Jupyter-like sessions.
Workflows and Triggers: Orchestrates complex ETL activities through visual workflows and automated triggers, supporting scheduled, conditional, and event-based execution patterns.
Commons: Enables users to create and manage usage profiles, security configurations, catalog encryption settings and resource policies, which provide users with the ability to manage the configuration and encryption of several Glue resources like ETL jobs, catalogs, etc.
ETL Job Orchestration: Provides the ability to create, monitor, and manage Glue ETL jobs with automatic script generation, job scheduling, and workflow coordination based on user-defined data transformation requirements.
Crawler Management: Enables intelligent data discovery through automated crawler configuration, scheduling, and metadata extraction from various data sources.

Amazon EMR Integration

Cluster Management: Enables users to create, configure, monitor, and terminate EMR clusters with comprehensive control over instance types, applications, and configurations through natural language requests.
Instance Management: Provides the ability to add, modify, and monitor instance fleets and instance groups within EMR clusters, supporting both on-demand and spot instances with auto-scaling capabilities.
Step Execution: Orchestrates data processing workflows through EMR steps, allowing users to submit, monitor, and manage Hadoop, Spark, and other application jobs on running clusters.
Security Configuration: Manages EMR security settings including encryption, authentication, and authorization policies to ensure secure data processing environments.

Amazon Athena Integration

Query Execution: Enables users to execute, monitor, and manage SQL queries with comprehensive control over query lifecycle, including starting queries, retrieving results, monitoring performance statistics, and canceling running queries through natural language requests.
Named Query Management: Provides the ability to create, update, retrieve, and delete saved SQL queries, enabling users to build reusable query libraries with proper organization and team collaboration capabilities.
Data Catalog Operations: Manages Athena data catalogs with support for multiple catalog types (LAMBDA, GLUE, HIVE, FEDERATED), enabling users to create, configure, and maintain data source connections for cross-platform querying.
Database and Table Discovery: Facilitates data exploration through comprehensive database and table metadata retrieval, allowing users to discover available data sources, understand schema structures, and navigate data catalogs efficiently.
Workgroup Administration: Orchestrates query execution environments through workgroup management, providing cost control, access management, and query result configuration with support for different user groups and organizational policies.

Prerequisites

Setup

Add these IAM policies to the IAM role or user that you use to manage your Glue, EMR-EC2 or Athena resources.

Read-Only Operations Policy

For read operations, the following permissions are required:

{
  "Version": "2012-10-17",
  "Statement": [
    {
      "Effect": "Allow",
      "Action": [
        "glue:GetDatabase*",
        "glue:GetTable*",
        "glue:GetPartition*",
        "glue:GetCrawler*",
        "glue:GetConnection*",
        "glue:GetDatabases",
        "glue:GetTables",
        "glue:ListCrawlers",
        "glue:SearchTables",
        "glue:GetJobRun",
        "glue:GetJobRuns",
        "glue:GetJob",
        "glue:GetJobs",
        "glue:GetJobBookmark",
        "glue:GetUsageProfile",
        "glue:GetSecurityConfiguration",
        "glue:GetDataCatalogEncryptionSettings",
        "glue:GetResourcePolicy",
        "glue:GetSession",
        "glue:ListSessions",
        "glue:GetStatement",
        "glue:ListStatements",
        "glue:GetSession",
        "glue:ListSessions",
        "glue:GetStatement",
        "glue:ListStatements",
        "glue:GetWorkflow",
        "glue:ListWorkflows",
        "glue:GetTrigger",
        "glue:GetTriggers",
        "cloudwatch:GetMetricData",
        "logs:DescribeLogGroups",
        "logs:DescribeLogStreams",
        "emr:DescribeCluster",
        "emr:ListClusters",
        "emr:DescribeStep",
        "emr:ListSteps",
        "emr:ListInstances",
        "emr:GetManagedScalingPolicy",
        "emr:DescribeStudio",
        "emr:ListStudios",
        "emr:DescribeNotebookExecution",
        "emr:ListNotebookExecutions",
        "athena:BatchGetQueryExecution",
        "athena:GetQueryExecution",
        "athena:GetQueryResults",
        "athena:GetQueryRuntimeStatistics",
        "athena:ListQueryExecutions",
        "athena:BatchGetNamedQuery",
        "athena:GetNamedQuery",
        "athena:ListNamedQueries",
        "athena:GetDataCatalog",
        "athena:ListDataCatalogs",
        "athena:GetDatabase",
        "athena:GetTableMetadata",
        "athena:ListDatabases",
        "athena:ListTableMetadata",
        "athena:GetWorkGroup",
        "athena:ListWorkGroups"
        "sts:GetCallerIdentity"
      ],
      "Resource": "*"
    }
  ]
}

Write Operations Policy

For write operations, we recommend the following IAM policies:

AWSGlueServiceRole: Enables Glue service operations including job execution, crawler runs, and data catalog modifications

Important Security Note: Users should exercise caution when --allow-write and --allow-sensitive-data-access modes are enabled with these broad permissions, as this combination grants significant privileges to the MCP server. Only enable these flags when necessary and in trusted environments.

Resource Management Limitation: The DataProcessing MCP Server can only update or delete resources that were originally created through it. Resources created by other means cannot be modified or deleted using the DataProcessing MCP Server.

Quickstart

This quickstart guide walks you through the steps to configure the Amazon Data Processing MCP Server for use with both the Cursor IDE and the Amazon Q Developer CLI. By following these steps, you'll setup your development environment to leverage the Data Processing MCP Server's tools for managing your Glue, EMR and Athena resources.

Set up Cursor

Open Cursor.
Click the gear icon (⚙️) in the top right to open the settings panel, click MCP, Add new global MCP server.
Paste your MCP server definition. For example, this example shows how to configure the Data Processing MCP Server, including enabling mutating actions by adding the --allow-write flag to the server arguments:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "aws.aws-dataprocessing-mcp-server": {
      "autoApprove": [],
      "disabled": false,
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "aws.aws-dataprocessing-mcp-server@latest",
        "--allow-write"
      ],
      "env": {
        "FASTMCP_LOG_LEVEL": "ERROR",
        "AWS_REGION": "us-east-1"
      },
      "transportType": "stdio"
    }
  }
}

After a few minutes, you should see a green indicator if your MCP server definition is valid.

Open a chat panel in Cursor (e.g., Ctrl/⌘ + L). In your Cursor chat window, enter your prompt. For example, "Look at all the tables from my account federated across GDC"

Set up the Amazon Q Developer CLI

Install the Amazon Q Developer CLI .
The Q Developer CLI supports MCP servers for tools and prompts out-of-the-box. Edit your Q developer CLI's MCP configuration file named mcp.json following these instructions. For example:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "aws.aws-dataprocessing-mcp-server": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["aws.aws-dataprocessing-mcp-server@latest"],
      "env": {
        "FASTMCP_LOG_LEVEL": "ERROR"
      },
      "autoApprove": [],
      "disabled": false
    }
  }
}

Verify your setup by running the /tools command in the Q Developer CLI to see the available Data Processing MCP tools.

Note that this is a basic quickstart. You can enable additional capabilities, such as running MCP servers in containers or combining more MCP servers like the AWS Documentation MCP Server into a single MCP server definition. To view an example, see the Installation and Setup guide in AWS MCP Servers on GitHub. To view a real-world implementation with application code in context with an MCP server, see the Server Developer guide in Anthropic documentation.

Configurations

Arguments

The args field in the MCP server definition specifies the command-line arguments passed to the server when it starts. These arguments control how the server is executed and configured. For example:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "awslabs.aws-dataprocessing-mcp-server": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "aws.aws-dataprocessing-mcp-server@latest",
        "--allow-write",
        "--allow-sensitive-data-access"
      ],
      "env": {
        "AWS_PROFILE": "your-profile",
        "AWS_REGION": "us-east-1"
      }
    }
  }
}

`awslabs.aws-dataprocessing-mcp-server@latest` (required)

Specifies the latest package/version specifier for the MCP client config.

Enables MCP server startup and tool registration.

`--allow-write` (optional)

Enables write access mode, which allows mutating operations (e.g., create, update, delete resources)

Default: false (The server runs in read-only mode by default)
Example: Add --allow-write to the args list in your MCP server definition.

`--allow-sensitive-data-access` (optional)

Enables access to sensitive data such as logs, events, and Kubernetes Secrets.

Default: false (Access to sensitive data is restricted by default)
Example: Add --allow-sensitive-data-access to the args list in your MCP server definition.

Environment variables

The env field in the MCP server definition allows you to configure environment variables that control the behavior of the DataProcessing MCP server. For example:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "awslabs.aws-dataprocessing-mcp-server": {
      "env": {
        "FASTMCP_LOG_LEVEL": "ERROR",
        "AWS_PROFILE": "my-profile",
        "AWS_REGION": "us-west-2"
      }
    }
  }
}

`FASTMCP_LOG_LEVEL` (optional)

Sets the logging level verbosity for the server.

Valid values: "DEBUG", "INFO", "WARNING", "ERROR", "CRITICAL"
Default: "WARNING"
Example: "FASTMCP_LOG_LEVEL": "ERROR"

`AWS_PROFILE` (optional)

Specifies the AWS profile to use for authentication.

Default: None (If not set, uses default AWS credentials).
Example: "AWS_PROFILE": "my-profile"

`AWS_REGION` (optional)

Specifies the AWS region where Glue,EMR clusters or Athena are managed, which will be used for all AWS service operations.

Default: None (If not set, uses default AWS region).
Example: "AWS_REGION": "us-west-2"

Tools

Glue Data Catalog Handler Tools

Tool Name	Description	Key Operations	Requirements
manage_aws_glue_databases	Manage AWS Glue Data Catalog databases	create-database, delete-database, get-database, list-databases, update-database	--allow-write flag for create/delete/update operations, appropriate AWS permissions
manage_aws_glue_tables	Manage AWS Glue Data Catalog tables	create-table, delete-table, get-table, list-tables, update-table, search-tables	--allow-write flag for create/delete/update operations, database must exist, appropriate AWS permissions
manage_aws_glue_connections	Manage AWS Glue Data Catalog connections	create-connection, delete-connection, get-connection, list-connections, update-connection	--allow-write flag for create/delete/update operations, appropriate AWS permissions
manage_aws_glue_partitions	Manage AWS Glue Data Catalog partitions	create-partition, delete-partition, get-partition, list-partitions, update-partition	--allow-write flag for create/delete/update operations, database and table must exist, appropriate AWS permissions
manage_aws_glue_catalog	Manage AWS Glue Data Catalog	create-catalog, delete-catalog, get-catalog, list-catalogs, import-catalog-to-glue	--allow-write flag for create/delete/import operations, appropriate AWS permissions

Glue Interactive Sessions Handler Tools

Tool Name	Description	Key Operations	Requirements
manage_aws_glue_sessions	Manage AWS Glue Interactive Sessions for Spark and Ray workloads	create-session, delete-session, get-session, list-sessions, stop-session	--allow-write flag for create/delete/stop operations, appropriate AWS permissions
manage_aws_glue_statements	Execute and manage code statements within Glue Interactive Sessions	run-statement, cancel-statement, get-statement, list-statements	--allow-write flag for run/cancel operations, active session required

Glue Workflows and Triggers Handler Tools

Tool Name	Description	Key Operations	Requirements
manage_aws_glue_workflows	Orchestrate complex ETL activities through visual workflows	create-workflow, delete-workflow, get-workflow, list-workflows, start-workflow-run	--allow-write flag for create/delete/start operations, appropriate AWS permissions
manage_aws_glue_triggers	Automate workflow and job execution with scheduled or event-based triggers	create-trigger, delete-trigger, get-trigger, get-triggers, start-trigger, stop-trigger	--allow-write flag for create/delete/start/stop operations, appropriate AWS permissions

EMR Cluster Handler Tools

Tool Name	Description	Key Operations	Requirements
manage_aws_emr_clusters	Manage Amazon EMR clusters with comprehensive control over cluster lifecycle	create-cluster, describe-cluster, modify-cluster, modify-cluster-attributes, terminate-clusters, list-clusters, create-security-configuration, delete-security-configuration, describe-security-configuration, list-security-configurations	--allow-write flag for create/modify/terminate operations, appropriate AWS permissions

EMR Instance Handler Tools

Tool Name	Description	Key Operations	Requirements
manage_aws_emr_ec2_instances	Manage Amazon EMR EC2 instances with both read and write operations	add-instance-fleet, add-instance-groups, modify-instance-fleet, modify-instance-groups, list-instance-fleets, list-instances, list-supported-instance-types	--allow-write flag for add/modify operations, appropriate AWS permissions

EMR Steps Handler Tools

Tool Name	Description	Key Operations	Requirements
manage_aws_emr_ec2_steps	Manage Amazon EMR steps for processing data on EMR clusters	add-steps, cancel-steps, describe-step, list-steps	--allow-write flag for add/cancel operations, appropriate AWS permissions

Athena Query Handler Tools

Tool Name	Description	Key Operations	Requirements
manage_aws_athena_query_executions	Execute and manage AWS Athena SQL queries	batch-get-query-execution, get-query-execution, get-query-results, get-query-runtime-statistics, list-query-executions, start-query-execution, stop-query-execution	--allow-write flag for start/stop operations, appropriate AWS permissions
manage_aws_athena_named_queries	Manage saved SQL queries in AWS Athena	batch-get-named-query, create-named-query, delete-named-query, get-named-query, list-named-queries, update-named-query	--allow-write flag for create/delete/update operations, appropriate AWS permissions

Athena Data Catalog Handler Tools

Tool Name	Description	Key Operations	Requirements
manage_aws_athena_data_catalogs	Manage AWS Athena data catalogs	create-data-catalog, delete-data-catalog, get-data-catalog, list-data-catalogs, update-data-catalog	--allow-write flag for create/delete/update operations, appropriate AWS permissions
manage_aws_athena_databases_and_tables	Manage AWS Athena databases and tables	get-database, get-table-metadata, list-databases, list-table-metadata	Appropriate AWS permissions for Athena database operations

Athena WorkGroup Handler Tools

Tool Name	Description	Key Operations	Requirements
manage_aws_athena_workgroups	Manage AWS Athena workgroups	create-work-group, delete-work-group, get-work-group, list-work-groups, update-work-group	--allow-write flag for create/delete/update operations, appropriate AWS permissions

Glue Commons Handler Tools

Tool Name	Description	Key Operations	Requirements
manage_aws_glue_usage_profiles	Manage AWS Glue Usage Profiles for resource allocation and cost management	create-profile, delete-profile, get-profile, update-profile	--allow-write flag for create/delete/update operations, appropriate AWS permissions
manage_aws_glue_security_configurations	Manage AWS Glue Security Configurations for data encryption	create-security-configuration, delete-security-configuration, get-security-configuration	--allow-write flag for create/delete operations, appropriate AWS permissions
manage_aws_glue_encryption	Manage AWS Glue catalog encryption settings	get-catalog-encryption-settings, put-catalog-encryption-settings	--allow-write flag for put operations, appropriate AWS permissions
manage_aws_glue_resource_policies	Manage resource policies for AWS Glue catalogs, databases and tables	get-resource-policy, put-resource-policy, delete-resource-policy	--allow-write flag for put/delete operations, appropriate AWS permissions

Glue ETL Handler Tools

Tool Name	Description	Key Operations	Requirements
manage_aws_glue_jobs	Manage AWS Glue ETL jobs and job runs	create-job, delete-job, get-job, get-jobs, update-job, start-job-run, stop-job-run, get-job-run, get-job-runs, batch-stop-job-run, get-job-bookmark, reset-job-bookmark	--allow-write flag for create/delete/update/start/stop operations, appropriate AWS permissions

Glue Crawler Handler Tools

Tool Name	Description	Key Operations	Requirements
manage_aws_glue_crawlers	Manage AWS Glue crawlers to discover and catalog data sources	create-crawler, delete-crawler, get-crawler, get-crawlers, start-crawler, stop-crawler, batch-get-crawlers, list-crawlers, update-crawler	--allow-write flag for create/delete/start/stop/update operations, appropriate AWS permissions
manage_aws_glue_classifiers	Manage AWS Glue classifiers to determine data formats and schemas	create-classifier, delete-classifier, get-classifier, get-classifiers, update-classifier	--allow-write flag for create/delete/update operations, appropriate AWS permissions
manage_aws_glue_crawler_management	Manage AWS Glue crawler schedules and monitor performance metrics	get-crawler-metrics, start-crawler-schedule, stop-crawler-schedule, update-crawler-schedule	--allow-write flag for schedule operations, appropriate AWS permissions

Version

Current MCP server version: 0.1.0

Key features​

AWS Glue Integration​

Amazon EMR Integration​

Amazon Athena Integration​

Prerequisites​

Setup​

Read-Only Operations Policy​

Write Operations Policy​

Quickstart​

Configurations​

Arguments​

awslabs.aws-dataprocessing-mcp-server@latest (required)​

--allow-write (optional)​

--allow-sensitive-data-access (optional)​

Environment variables​

FASTMCP_LOG_LEVEL (optional)​

AWS_PROFILE (optional)​

AWS_REGION (optional)​

Tools​

Glue Data Catalog Handler Tools​

Glue Interactive Sessions Handler Tools​

Glue Workflows and Triggers Handler Tools​

EMR Cluster Handler Tools​

EMR Instance Handler Tools​

EMR Steps Handler Tools​

Athena Query Handler Tools​

Athena Data Catalog Handler Tools​

Athena WorkGroup Handler Tools​

Glue Commons Handler Tools​

Glue ETL Handler Tools​

Glue Crawler Handler Tools​

Version​