dreamfactory

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Table of Contents

• What is DreamFactory?
• How It Works
• Key Features
• Supported Data Sources
• MCP Server for AI and LLM Integration
• Installation
• Documentation
• Community and Support
• Commercial Licenses
• FAQ
• Feedback and Contributions

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What is DreamFactory?

DreamFactory is a secure, self-hosted enterprise data access platform that provides governed API access to any data source, connecting enterprise applications and on-prem LLMs with role-based access and identity passthrough.

DreamFactory is built on the Laravel framework and serves as a governed AI data access layer between your applications and data sources. Whether you're building internal tools, mobile apps, or connecting AI models to enterprise data, DreamFactory provides a single, secure AI data gateway.

Use Cases

• API-first development — Generate REST APIs for existing databases without writing backend code
• AI and LLM data access — Connect ChatGPT, Claude, or local LLMs to enterprise data via MCP or REST APIs with governed access controls
• Legacy database modernization — Wrap SQL Server stored procedures, Oracle databases, and mainframe data in modern REST APIs
• Microservices backend — Replace hand-coded CRUD APIs with auto-generated, documented endpoints
• Mobile and web app backend — Provide secure, role-based data access for frontend applications
• Data integration — Combine multiple databases and services behind a single API gateway

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How It Works

DreamFactory connects to your database, introspects the schema, and generates a complete REST API with full CRUD operations, relationship handling, stored procedure access, and OpenAPI/Swagger documentation — all in minutes.

Quick Start:

1. Install DreamFactory on Linux, Windows, Docker, or Kubernetes
2. Connect a database (MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server, MongoDB, etc.)
3. DreamFactory auto-generates a REST API with full OpenAPI documentation
4. Configure roles, API keys, and access controls
5. Call your APIs from any application, script, or AI model

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Key Features

API Generation

• Automatic REST API creation for SQL and NoSQL databases — no code required
• OpenAPI/Swagger documentation generated automatically for every endpoint
• Stored procedure and function support — expose database logic as API endpoints
• Related data retrieval — fetch parent/child records in a single API call
• Server-side filtering, sorting, and pagination built into every endpoint
• Bulk insert, update, and delete operations for high-throughput data access

Security and Access Control

• Role-based access control (RBAC) — granular permissions per table, endpoint, and HTTP verb
• API key management — issue, revoke, and rate-limit API keys per application
• SSO authentication — SAML 2.0, OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect, Azure AD, LDAP/Active Directory
• API rate limiting — throttle requests per user, role, or service
• Audit logging — track every API call with user, timestamp, and payload
• Data masking and field-level security — control which columns are visible per role

Extensibility

• Server-side scripting — customize API behavior with PHP, Python, or Node.js at any endpoint
• Pre- and post-process event scripts — transform requests and responses
• Custom service creation — build and register your own API services
• Webhook and event broadcasting — trigger external workflows on data changes

MCP Server (Model Context Protocol)

• Built-in MCP server for connecting AI models (ChatGPT, Claude, local LLMs) to your databases
• Governed AI data access — AI queries go through DreamFactory's RBAC and audit logging
• Deterministic database queries — AI uses structured API calls, not raw SQL generation
  • Tool definitions — expose database tables and stored procedures as MCP tools

Administration

• Web-based admin console — manage services, roles, users, and API keys from a browser
• Multi-tenant support — host multiple isolated API environments on a single instance
• Database schema management — create, modify, and manage tables via API or admin UI
• API usage dashboards — monitor request volume, errors, and performance

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Supported Data Sources

DreamFactory connects to a wide range of databases and services out of the box.

SQL Databases

Database	Connector Package	Features
MySQL / MariaDB	df-mysqldb	Full CRUD, stored procedures, views, relationships
PostgreSQL	df-sqldb	Full CRUD, stored procedures, views, relationships
SQL Server	df-sqlsrv	Full CRUD, stored procedures, views, relationships
Oracle	df-oracledb	Full CRUD, stored procedures, views, relationships
SQLite	df-sqldb	Full CRUD, views
IBM Db2	df-ibmdb2	Full CRUD, stored procedures
SAP SQL Anywhere	df-sqlanywhere	Full CRUD, stored procedures
Firebird	df-firebird	Full CRUD, stored procedures
Snowflake	df-snowflake	Full CRUD, views
Apache Spark / Databricks	df-spark	Full CRUD, Spark SQL

NoSQL Databases

Database	Connector Package
MongoDB	df-mongodb
Apache Cassandra	df-cassandra
Couchbase	df-couchbase
CouchDB	df-couchdb

File Storage and Other Services

Service	Description
Local File Storage	Manage files and folders via REST API
AWS S3	Amazon S3 bucket operations
Azure Blob Storage	Azure blob and container management
SFTP / FTP	Remote file system access
Email (SMTP)	Send emails via API
Push Notifications	Apple and Google push notifications
SOAP Services	Convert SOAP/WSDL services to REST

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MCP Server for AI and LLM Integration

DreamFactory includes a built-in MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that enables AI assistants and large language models to securely query your databases through governed API endpoints.

Why Use DreamFactory as an MCP Server?

• No raw SQL generation — AI models call structured API endpoints instead of generating unpredictable SQL queries
• Enterprise security — Every AI query passes through DreamFactory's role-based access control and audit logging
• Works with any MCP client — Compatible with Claude Desktop, ChatGPT, Cursor, Windsurf, and other MCP-enabled tools
• Stored procedure support — Expose complex business logic as simple tool calls for AI models

Getting Started with MCP

# Install DreamFactory with MCP support using NPX
npx @dreamfactory/create-df-mcp

Or configure your existing DreamFactory instance as an MCP server. See the MCP Server documentation for setup instructions.

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Installation

DreamFactory can be installed on Linux, Windows, Docker, or Kubernetes.

Linux (Ubuntu, Debian, CentOS, RHEL, Fedora)

Install DreamFactory and all dependencies in under 5 minutes using our automated installers:

git clone https://github.com/dreamfactorysoftware/dreamfactory.git
cd dreamfactory/installers
sudo bash dfsetup.run

See the Linux installers directory for supported distributions.

Windows

Follow our step-by-step guide for installing DreamFactory on Windows with IIS or Apache:

Windows Installation Guide

Docker

The fastest way to get started. Spins up DreamFactory, MySQL, Redis, and a sample PostgreSQL database:

git clone https://github.com/dreamfactorysoftware/df-docker.git
cd df-docker
docker compose up -d

See the df-docker repository for full instructions.

Kubernetes (Helm)

Deploy DreamFactory to your Kubernetes cluster using our official Helm chart:

helm repo add dreamfactory https://dreamfactorysoftware.github.io/df-helm
helm install dreamfactory dreamfactory/dreamfactory

See the [df-helm repository](https://git