Boyce: Semantic Protocol & Safety Layer for Agentic Database Workflows

The semantic safety layer for agentic database workflows. Boyce connects LLMs to live database context with built-in safety rails.

Named for Raymond F. Boyce, co-inventor of SQL (1974) and co-author of Boyce-Codd Normal Form (BCNF).

AI agents querying databases without proper context generate unreliable SQL — working from incomplete schemas, inferring column names, guessing join paths. Boyce gives agents the structured database intelligence they need to generate correct, safe SQL every time — through three interconnected systems:

Why does this matter? → The Null Trap: Your AI Agent's SQL Is Correct. The Answer Is Still Wrong.

Install

Requires Python 3.10+

pip install boyce

# With live Postgres/Redshift adapter (enables EXPLAIN pre-flight + column profiling)
pip install "boyce[postgres]"

# uv (recommended)
uv pip install boyce
uv pip install "boyce[postgres]"

From source:

git clone https://github.com/boyce-io/boyce
uv pip install -e "boyce/"

Quickstart

After installing, run boyce init to configure your MCP host automatically:

boyce init

The wizard detects Claude Desktop, Cursor, Claude Code, and JetBrains (DataGrip, IntelliJ, etc.), and writes the correct config block for each.

Developing from source? The repo includes a setup script:

./quickstart.sh   # detects uv or python, installs package, writes .env template

Configure Your MCP Host

The fastest path is boyce init — it detects your MCP host and writes the config automatically:

boyce init

Or configure manually. There are two setup paths depending on your host:

Path 1 — MCP Hosts (No LLM key required)

If you're using Claude Desktop, Cursor, Claude Code, Codex, Cline, Windsurf, JetBrains (DataGrip, IntelliJ), or any MCP-compatible host, you do not need to configure an LLM provider for Boyce. The host's own model handles reasoning — Boyce supplies the schema context and deterministic SQL compiler via get_schema and ask_boyce. Only BOYCE_DB_URL is needed (and even that is optional).

Claude Desktop (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "boyce": {
      "command": "boyce",
      "env": {
        "BOYCE_DB_URL": "postgresql://user:pass@host:5432/db"
      }
    }
  }
}

Cursor (.cursor/mcp.json in project root):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "boyce": {
      "command": "boyce",
      "env": {
        "BOYCE_DB_URL": "postgresql://user:pass@host:5432/db"
      }
    }
  }
}

Path 2 — With Boyce's Built-in NL→SQL

If you're using the CLI (boyce ask), HTTP API, or a non-MCP client (e.g., the VS Code extension), configure Boyce's internal query planner with your LLM provider:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "boyce": {
      "command": "boyce",
      "env": {
        "BOYCE_PROVIDER": "anthropic",
        "BOYCE_MODEL": "claude-sonnet-4-6",
        "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY": "sk-ant-...",
        "BOYCE_DB_URL": "postgresql://user:pass@host:5432/db"
      }
    }
  }
}

Boyce supports any LLM provider available through LiteLLM: Anthropic, OpenA

... View full README on GitHub