MCP Toolbox for Databases (BigQuery) vs Serena

A side-by-side comparison of two Databases servers — tools, transport, auth, maintenance, and copy-paste config for each.

	MCP Toolbox for Databases (BigQuery) Google's official MCP server with prebuilt BigQuery tools, querying datasets via Application Default Credentials. Verified stdio (local) OAuth Go	Serena LSP-powered coding agent toolkit: semantic symbol search, references and structural edits. Verified stdio (local) No auth Python
Category	Databases	Developer Tools
Language	Go	Python
Transport	stdio (local)	stdio (local)
Auth	OAuth	None
GitHub stars	16k	12k
Last commit	17 days ago	17 days ago
Verified
Actively maintained
Install	`brew install mcp-toolbox && toolbox --prebuilt bigquery --stdio`	`uvx --from git+https://github.com/oraios/serena serena start-mcp-server`
Repo	Open	Open

Verdict

Pick MCP Toolbox for Databases (BigQuery) if you want the official, vendor-maintained server.

Pick Serena if you want zero-setup with no API key.

Add MCP Toolbox for Databases (BigQuery)

Install / run

brew install mcp-toolbox && toolbox --prebuilt bigquery --stdio

Paste into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-toolbox-for-databases-bigquery": {
      "command": "/absolute/path/to/toolbox",
      "args": [
        "--prebuilt",
        "bigquery",
        "--stdio"
      ],
      "env": {
        "BIGQUERY_PROJECT": "<your-gcp-project-id>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Add Serena

Install / run

uvx --from git+https://github.com/oraios/serena serena start-mcp-server

Paste into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "serena": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "--from",
        "git+https://github.com/oraios/serena",
        "serena",
        "start-mcp-server"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Requires `uv` (the Python package runner). Install it from https://docs.astral.sh/uv/ if `uvx` is not found.

FAQ

MCP Toolbox for Databases (BigQuery) or Serena — which is better?

Pick MCP Toolbox for Databases (BigQuery) if you want the official, vendor-maintained server. Pick Serena if you want zero-setup with no API key.

Can I use both MCP Toolbox for Databases (BigQuery) and Serena?

Yes — MCP clients let you enable multiple servers at once. Add both configs to your client's mcpServers and use whichever tool fits the task.

Do MCP Toolbox for Databases (BigQuery) and Serena work with Claude, Cursor and Windsurf?

Both do. Copy the per-client config below into Claude Desktop, Cursor, or Windsurf.

View MCP Toolbox for Databases (BigQuery) →View Serena →More comparisons →