data-api-builder

Data API builder (DAB) is an open-source, no-code tool from the Azure organization that creates REST and GraphQL endpoints for a database. The README calls it a CRUD data API engine that runs in a container on Azure, any other cloud or on-premises, and says it is open source and always free. Supported databases are Azure SQL, SQL Server, SQL Data Warehouse, Cosmos DB, PostgreSQL and MySQL. The endpoints table shows REST and GraphQL as supported and MCP as coming soon.

The getting-started flow needs the .NET 8 runtime or later, then `dotnet tool install microsoft.dataapibuilder -g` to get the `dab` command. You create a database table, store the connection string in a `.env` file (the README reminds you to add it to `.gitignore`), and run `dab init` with the database type, an `@env(...)` connection string and a host mode. `--host-mode development` enables Swagger for REST and Nitro for GraphQL. The generated `dab-config.json` sets REST at `/api`, GraphQL at `/graphql`, CORS and authentication options.

It is a data-access layer rather than an AI-agent tool; it is listed because exposing a database through a secured API is a common step in connecting agents to data, and MCP support is planned. The license is MIT and the repository was last pushed on 2026-10-12. This review is based on the README and repository data; we have not run it ourselves.