dreamfactorysoftware/dreamfactory

What is it?

Key features

• 01Generates REST APIs with CRUD, filtering, pagination, and bulk operations from database schemas
• 02Role-based access control per table, endpoint, and HTTP verb
• 03Built-in MCP server for AI models to query data through governed endpoints
• 04SSO support via SAML, OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect, and LDAP
• 05Server-side scripting in PHP, Python, or Node.js
• 06Automatic OpenAPI/Swagger documentation for every endpoint

Use cases

• Exposing an existing SQL Server or Oracle database as REST APIs without writing backend code
• Letting a local LLM or ChatGPT/Claude query enterprise data under role-based controls
• Wrapping stored procedures in modern REST endpoints for legacy system modernization
• Providing a single governed API gateway over multiple databases and file stores

Quick start

1. 1

   Run the NPX installer to set up DreamFactory with MCP support and a PostgreSQL test database

   npx @dreamfactory/create-df-mcp
2. 2

   Or clone the Docker repo to start DreamFactory, MySQL, Redis and a sample PostgreSQL database

   git clone https://github.com/dreamfactorysoftware/df-docker.git
3. 3

   Change into the df-docker directory and start the containers in the background

   cd df-docker && docker compose up -d

Things to know

• !Self-hosting is required, so you must run and maintain the server yourself.
• !Windows installs need IIS or Apache configured by hand following a separate guide.

In collections

Topics

FAQ

What is dreamfactory?

Self-hosted platform that generates governed REST and MCP API access to databases and services for enterprise apps and local LLMs. DreamFactory connects to a database, reads its schema, and generates REST endpoints with CRUD operations, relationship handling, stored procedure access, and OpenAPI/Swagger documentation. It supports SQL databases such as MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server, Oracle, and Snowflake, NoSQL stores such as MongoDB and Cassandra, and services like S3, Azure Blob Storage, SFTP, and SMTP email.

Is dreamfactory free to use? What license does it have?

dreamfactory is open source under the Apache-2.0 license. Check the license terms before using it in commercial products.

Is dreamfactory still maintained?

Actively maintained. The last commit to dreamfactory was on Nov 5, 2026.

What can I use dreamfactory for?

Exposing an existing SQL Server or Oracle database as REST APIs without writing backend code Letting a local LLM or ChatGPT/Claude query enterprise data under role-based controls Wrapping stored procedures in modern REST endpoints for legacy system modernization Providing a single governed API gateway over multiple databases and file stores

How do I install dreamfactory?

Run the NPX installer to set up DreamFactory with MCP support and a PostgreSQL test database: npx @dreamfactory/create-df-mcp Or clone the Docker repo to start DreamFactory, MySQL, Redis and a sample PostgreSQL database: git clone https://github.com/dreamfactorysoftware/df-docker.git Change into the df-docker directory and start the containers in the background: cd df-docker && docker compose up -d

Where can I get dreamfactory?

The source code and installation instructions are on GitHub: https://github.com/dreamfactorysoftware/dreamfactory