In the previous lesson, you learned how to configure an MCP server in Claude Desktop.
In this challenge, you will install the Neo4j Cypher MCP server to VS Code and configure it to connect to your Neo4j database.
You can either attempt the challenge locally or in a GitHub Codespace. If you open the challenge in Github Codespaces, the instructions are contained within the README, which should open automatically for you.
Your environment variables required for step 2 can be found further down this page.
GitHub Codespaces
Keep the Codespace open for the remainder of the course.
Interacting with Neo4j
To interact with a Neo4j database, we can use the Neo4j Cypher MCP Server. This server is one of a number of MCP servers offered by Neo4j. When configured with environment variables that point to a Neo4j database, the server will enable the host to:
-
Obtain the schema of the database
-
Execute Cypher statements that read and write data to the database
Unresolved directive in lesson.adoc - include::{repository-raw}/main/README.adoc[tag=setup]
Verify your installation
To verify that the server is installed correctly, you can use the Command Palette to execute the MCP: List servers command.
You should see a server named neo4j-cypher in the list.
Select the server and then Start Server. VS Code will connect to the server and pull the description of the tools available.
If you ask Copilot which MCP tools are available, you should get a list containing three tools. Open the Copilot chat window by executing the Chat: Open Chat (Agent mode) command in the Command Palette or accessing the three line menu, selecting View and then Chat.
Which MCP tools are available? List their ID and description.
Agent mode
Tools are only available when you use Chat in Agent mode.
Available tools
Which of the following tools are now available in Copilot through the Neo4j Cypher MCP server?
Select all that apply:
-
❏
create-neo4j-database -
✓
get-neo4j-schema -
✓
read-neo4j-cypher -
❏
execute-neo4j-transaction -
✓
write-neo4j-cypher -
❏
backup-neo4j-database -
❏
monitor-neo4j-performance -
❏
validate-cypher-syntax
Hint
You can ask Copilot to list the tools available in the Neo4j Cypher MCP server. Try the following prompt:
What tools are available in the Neo4j Cypher MCP server? List the tool name as it appears on the server and a short description.Solution
The tools available in the Neo4j Cypher MCP server are:
-
get-neo4j-schema - Lists all node labels, their attributes, and relationships in the Neo4j database
-
read-neo4j-cypher - Executes read-only Cypher queries to retrieve data from the database
-
write-neo4j-cypher - Executes write Cypher queries to create, update, or delete data in the database
Summary
In this challenge, you demonstrated how to install an MCP server and configure it with environment variables.
Installing Multiple Neo4j Connections
You can install the Neo4j Cypher MCP server multiple times within the same host using the --namespace option.
{
"mcpServers": {
"movies-neo4j": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [ "mcp-neo4j-cypher@0.2.3", "--namespace", "movies" ],
"env": {
"NEO4J_URI": "neo4j+s://demo.neo4jlabs.com",
"NEO4J_USERNAME": "recommendations",
"NEO4J_PASSWORD": "recommendations",
"NEO4J_DATABASE": "recommendations"
}
},
"local-neo4j": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [ "mcp-neo4j-cypher@0.2.3" ],
"env": {
"NEO4J_URI": "bolt://localhost:7687",
"NEO4J_USERNAME": "neo4j",
"NEO4J_PASSWORD": "password",
"NEO4J_DATABASE": "neo4j",
"NEO4J_NAMESPACE": "local"
}
}
}
}This configuration will install two Neo4j Cypher MCP servers, one with tools prefixed with movies- for the movies database and one prefixed with local- for the local database.
In the next module, you will explore and understand the full capabilities of the Neo4j Cypher MCP server and its available tools.