Exploring the vsql-ai extension

The vsql-ai extension adds AI prompt capabilities and text embeddings directly in SQL queries, with support for Anthropic Claude , Google Gemini , OpenAI ChatGPT , or a local LLM such as Ollama . VillageSQL is a fully compatible drop-in replacement for MySQL 8.4 with extensions for the AI era. VillageSQL can be easily added to an existing MySQL 8.0 or MySQL 8.4 replication topology for testing an evaluation, something I will demonstrate in a following post.

VillageSQL Installation

You can test this quickly with the pre-built binaries. On a clean MacOS M* series machine, it’s as easy as.

$ brew install rancher      # I am demonstrating with Docker
$ curl https://villagesql.com/shell | bash
...
How would you like to install VillageSQL?

  1) Prebuilt Binary (Fast, no compilation needed)
  2) Build from Source (Slower, compiles everything locally)

Select [1-2]: 1
...

To connect to VillageSQL, run:
  /Users/demo/.villagesql/prebuilt/bin/mysql -u root -p --socket=/Users/demo/.villagesql/mysql.sock

Root password: <redacted>
...

Validation

Connecting via the mysql client that is installed, and with the provided syntax from the installation:

$  /Users/demo/.villagesql/prebuilt/bin/mysql -u root -p --socket=/Users/demo/.villagesql/mysql.sock

mysql> SELECT VERSION();
+------------------------+
| version()              |
+------------------------+
| 8.4.9-villagesql-0.0.4 |
+------------------------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)

~/.my.cnf Setup

I prefer to simplify my setup, using ~/.my.cnf, a custom prompt and an updated PATH which simplifies usage.

$ export PATH=~/.villagesql/prebuilt/bin:$PATH
$ cat ~/.my.cnf
[mysql]
user=root
password=<redacted>
socket=/Users/demo/.villagesql/mysql.sock
prompt="villagesql> "
$ mysql

Installing the Extension

villagesql> INSTALL EXTENSION vsql_ai;
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.38 sec)

This is one query, that’s it, you are ready to use AI prompts.

Using the Extension

As I mentioned this can run with online models, or local models. This is how to use it with Claude.

villagesql> SET @api_key='<redacted>';
villagesql> SELECT ai_prompt('anthropic','claude-opus-4-8', @api_key, 'What happened on June 15 in history')\G
*************************** 1. row ***************************
ai_prompt('anthropic','claude-opus-4-8', @ANTHROPIC_API_KEY, 'What happened on June 15 in history'): Quite a few notable events have occurred on June 15 throughout history. Here are some of the more significant ones:

- **1215** – King John of England put his seal on the **Magna Carta** at Runnymede, a foundational document in the development of constitutional law and individual rights.

- **1300s–1389** – The **Battle of Kosovo** (June 15, 1389, by some calendars) was fought between Serbian-led forces and the Ottoman Empire, a pivotal event in Balkan history.

- **1752** – **Benjamin Franklin** is traditionally said to have conducted his famous kite experiment, demonstrating the connection between lightning and electricity (the exact date is uncertain).

- **1836** – **Arkansas** was admitted as the 25th U.S. state.

- **1844** – **Charles Goodyear** received a patent for the process of vulcanizing rubber.

- **1864** – During the U.S. Civil War, **Arlington National Cemetery** was established on the grounds of Robert E. Lee's former estate.

- **1944** – During World War II, U.S. forces began the **Battle of Saipan** in the Pacific.

- **1985** – Marked the early days of the **TWA Flight 847 hijacking** crisis (which began June 14).

These are just a selection. If you're looking for something specific—like a particular country, field (science, sports, politics), or year—let me know and I can narrow it down!
1 row in set (6.70 sec)

Running with local models

With Ollama you can run free LLM models on your own infrastructure, and you do not require a API_KEY. For example:

$ brew install ollama
$ ollama start
$ ollama run llama3.2
$ ollama list

$ mysql
villagesql> SELECT ai_prompt('local','llama3.2','','Give me a Haiku for Fall') AS poetry\G
*************************** 1. row ***************************
poetry: Golden leaves descend
Crisp autumn air on my skin
Nature's final dance

Installing from Source

If your working with VillageSQL source, the extension is easy to install and adapt. I have for example proposed Fable Support PR22 , Ollama Speed Improvements and also support for LMStudio and custom local ports .

cd ~/.villagesql
git clone https://github.com/villagesql/vsql-ai.git
cd vsql-ai/build
rm -f CMakeCache.txt
cmake .. -DVillageSQL_BUILD_DIR=/Users/rbradfor/.villagesql
make
make install