fix(mcp): batch fix for execute_sql crashes, null timestamps, and deck.gl errors (#38977)

superset/mcp_service/chart/schemas.py

@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ import difflib
 from datetime import datetime, timezone
 from typing import Annotated, Any, Dict, List, Literal, Protocol
 
+import humanize
 from pydantic import (
     AliasChoices,
     AliasPath,
@@ -272,6 +273,13 @@ class GetChartInfoRequest(BaseModel):
         return self
 
 
+def _humanize_timestamp(dt: datetime | None) -> str | None:
+    """Convert a datetime to a humanized string like '2 hours ago'."""
+    if dt is None:
+        return None
+    return humanize.naturaltime(datetime.now() - dt)
+
+
 def serialize_chart_object(chart: ChartLike | None) -> ChartInfo | None:
     if not chart:
         return None
@@ -297,11 +305,11 @@ def serialize_chart_object(chart: ChartLike | None) -> ChartInfo | None:
         or (str(chart.changed_by) if getattr(chart, "changed_by", None) else None),
         changed_by_name=getattr(chart, "changed_by_name", None),
         changed_on=getattr(chart, "changed_on", None),
-        changed_on_humanized=getattr(chart, "changed_on_humanized", None),
+        changed_on_humanized=_humanize_timestamp(getattr(chart, "changed_on", None)),
         created_by=getattr(chart, "created_by_name", None)
         or (str(chart.created_by) if getattr(chart, "created_by", None) else None),
         created_on=getattr(chart, "created_on", None),
-        created_on_humanized=getattr(chart, "created_on_humanized", None),
+        created_on_humanized=_humanize_timestamp(getattr(chart, "created_on", None)),
         uuid=str(getattr(chart, "uuid", "")) if getattr(chart, "uuid", None) else None,
         tags=[
             TagInfo.model_validate(tag, from_attributes=True)

superset/mcp_service/chart/tool/get_chart_data.py

@@ -369,6 +369,29 @@ async def get_chart_data(  # noqa: C901
                 # Bubble charts use x/y/size as separate metric fields.
                 viz_type = chart.viz_type or ""
 
+                # Deck.gl chart types store spatial data (lat/lon)
+                # rather than traditional metrics/groupby. They
+                # require a saved query_context to retrieve data.
+                # Match by prefix to cover all current and future
+                # deck.gl viz types (deck_arc, deck_scatter, etc.).
+                if viz_type.startswith("deck_"):
+                    await ctx.warning(
+                        "Chart %s is a deck.gl visualization (%s) with no "
+                        "saved query_context. Data retrieval requires "
+                        "re-saving the chart in Superset." % (chart.id, viz_type)
+                    )
+                    return ChartError(
+                        error=(
+                            f"Chart {chart.id} is a deck.gl visualization "
+                            f"(type: {viz_type}) with no saved query_context. "
+                            f"Deck.gl charts use spatial data (lat/lon) that "
+                            f"cannot be reconstructed from form_data alone. "
+                            f"Please open this chart in Superset and re-save "
+                            f"it to generate a query_context."
+                        ),
+                        error_type="MissingQueryContext",
+                    )
+
                 singular_metric_no_groupby = (
                     "big_number",
                     "big_number_total",

superset/mcp_service/chart/tool/list_charts.py

@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ DEFAULT_CHART_COLUMNS = [
     "slice_name",
     "viz_type",
     "url",
+    "changed_on",
     "changed_on_humanized",
 ]
 

superset/mcp_service/dashboard/schemas.py

@@ -68,6 +68,7 @@ from __future__ import annotations
 from datetime import datetime
 from typing import Annotated, Any, Dict, List, Literal, TYPE_CHECKING
 
+import humanize
 from pydantic import (
     BaseModel,
     ConfigDict,
@@ -515,6 +516,13 @@ def dashboard_serializer(dashboard: "Dashboard") -> DashboardInfo:
     )
 
 
+def _humanize_timestamp(dt: datetime | None) -> str | None:
+    """Convert a datetime to a humanized string like '2 hours ago'."""
+    if dt is None:
+        return None
+    return humanize.naturaltime(datetime.now() - dt)
+
+
 def serialize_dashboard_object(dashboard: Any) -> DashboardInfo:
     """Simple dashboard serializer that safely handles object attributes."""
     from superset.mcp_service.utils.url_utils import get_superset_base_url
@@ -537,10 +545,14 @@ def serialize_dashboard_object(dashboard: Any) -> DashboardInfo:
         published=getattr(dashboard, "published", None),
         changed_by=getattr(dashboard, "changed_by_name", None),
         changed_on=getattr(dashboard, "changed_on", None),
-        changed_on_humanized=getattr(dashboard, "changed_on_humanized", None),
+        changed_on_humanized=_humanize_timestamp(
+            getattr(dashboard, "changed_on", None)
+        ),
         created_by=getattr(dashboard, "created_by_name", None),
         created_on=getattr(dashboard, "created_on", None),
-        created_on_humanized=getattr(dashboard, "created_on_humanized", None),
+        created_on_humanized=_humanize_timestamp(
+            getattr(dashboard, "created_on", None)
+        ),
         description=getattr(dashboard, "description", None),
         css=getattr(dashboard, "css", None),
         certified_by=getattr(dashboard, "certified_by", None),

superset/mcp_service/dashboard/tool/list_dashboards.py

@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@ DEFAULT_DASHBOARD_COLUMNS = [
     "dashboard_title",
     "slug",
     "url",
+    "changed_on",
     "changed_on_humanized",
 ]
 

superset/mcp_service/dataset/schemas.py

@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ from __future__ import annotations
 from datetime import datetime
 from typing import Annotated, Any, Dict, List, Literal
 
+import humanize
 from pydantic import (
     BaseModel,
     ConfigDict,
@@ -307,6 +308,13 @@ def _parse_json_field(obj: Any, field_name: str) -> Dict[str, Any] | None:
     return value
 
 
+def _humanize_timestamp(dt: datetime | None) -> str | None:
+    """Convert a datetime to a humanized string like '2 hours ago'."""
+    if dt is None:
+        return None
+    return humanize.naturaltime(datetime.now() - dt)
+
+
 def serialize_dataset_object(dataset: Any) -> DatasetInfo | None:
     if not dataset:
         return None
@@ -349,11 +357,11 @@ def serialize_dataset_object(dataset: Any) -> DatasetInfo | None:
         changed_by=getattr(dataset, "changed_by_name", None)
         or (str(dataset.changed_by) if getattr(dataset, "changed_by", None) else None),
         changed_on=getattr(dataset, "changed_on", None),
-        changed_on_humanized=getattr(dataset, "changed_on_humanized", None),
+        changed_on_humanized=_humanize_timestamp(getattr(dataset, "changed_on", None)),
         created_by=getattr(dataset, "created_by_name", None)
         or (str(dataset.created_by) if getattr(dataset, "created_by", None) else None),
         created_on=getattr(dataset, "created_on", None),
-        created_on_humanized=getattr(dataset, "created_on_humanized", None),
+        created_on_humanized=_humanize_timestamp(getattr(dataset, "created_on", None)),
         tags=[
             TagInfo.model_validate(tag, from_attributes=True)
             for tag in getattr(dataset, "tags", [])

superset/mcp_service/dataset/tool/list_datasets.py

@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ DEFAULT_DATASET_COLUMNS = [
     "id",
     "table_name",
     "schema",
+    "changed_on",
     "changed_on_humanized",
 ]
 

superset/mcp_service/sql_lab/tool/execute_sql.py

@@ -36,8 +36,7 @@ from superset_core.queries.types import (
     QueryStatus,
 )
 
-from superset.errors import ErrorLevel, SupersetError, SupersetErrorType
+from superset.errors import SupersetErrorType
-from superset.exceptions import SupersetErrorException, SupersetSecurityException
 from superset.extensions import event_logger
 from superset.mcp_service.sql_lab.schemas import (
     ColumnInfo,
@@ -91,21 +90,23 @@ async def execute_sql(request: ExecuteSqlRequest, ctx: Context) -> ExecuteSqlRes
                 db.session.query(Database).filter_by(id=request.database_id).first()
             )
             if not database:
-                raise SupersetErrorException(
+                await ctx.error(
-                    SupersetError(
+                    "Database not found: database_id=%s" % request.database_id
-                        message=f"Database with ID {request.database_id} not found",
+                )
-                        error_type=SupersetErrorType.DATABASE_NOT_FOUND_ERROR,
+                return ExecuteSqlResponse(
-                        level=ErrorLevel.ERROR,
+                    success=False,
-                    )
+                    error=f"Database with ID {request.database_id} not found",
+                    error_type=SupersetErrorType.DATABASE_NOT_FOUND_ERROR.value,
                 )
 
             if not security_manager.can_access_database(database):
-                raise SupersetSecurityException(
+                await ctx.error(
-                    SupersetError(
+                    "Access denied to database: %s" % database.database_name
-                        message=(f"Access denied to database {database.database_name}"),
+                )
-                        error_type=SupersetErrorType.DATABASE_SECURITY_ACCESS_ERROR,
+                return ExecuteSqlResponse(
-                        level=ErrorLevel.ERROR,
+                    success=False,
-                    )
+                    error=f"Access denied to database {database.database_name}",
+                    error_type=SupersetErrorType.DATABASE_SECURITY_ACCESS_ERROR.value,
                 )
 
         # 2. Build QueryOptions and execute query

tests/unit_tests/mcp_service/dataset/tool/test_dataset_tools.py

@@ -1236,6 +1236,7 @@ class TestDatasetDefaultColumnFiltering:
                 "id",
                 "table_name",
                 "schema",
+                "changed_on",
                 "changed_on_humanized",
             }
 
@@ -1319,7 +1320,13 @@ class TestDatasetDefaultColumnFiltering:
             dataset_item = data["datasets"][0]
 
             # Verify ONLY default columns are present in the response item
-            expected_keys = {"id", "table_name", "schema", "changed_on_humanized"}
+            expected_keys = {
+                "id",
+                "table_name",
+                "schema",
+                "changed_on",
+                "changed_on_humanized",
+            }
             actual_keys = set(dataset_item.keys())
 
             # The response should only contain the default columns, NOT all columns
@@ -1335,7 +1342,6 @@ class TestDatasetDefaultColumnFiltering:
                 "description",
                 "database_name",
                 "changed_by",
-                "changed_on",
                 "columns",
                 "metrics",
             ]

tests/unit_tests/mcp_service/sql_lab/tool/test_execute_sql.py

@@ -237,7 +237,7 @@ class TestExecuteSql:
         mock_security_manager,  # noqa: PT019
         mcp_server,
     ):
-        """Test error when database is not found."""
+        """Test graceful error when database is not found."""
         # mock_security_manager is patched but not used (error happens first)
         del mock_security_manager  # Silence unused variable warning
         mock_db.session.query.return_value.filter_by.return_value.first.return_value = (
@@ -251,8 +251,10 @@ class TestExecuteSql:
         }
 
         async with Client(mcp_server) as client:
-            with pytest.raises(ToolError, match="Database with ID 999 not found"):
+            result = await client.call_tool("execute_sql", {"request": request})
-                await client.call_tool("execute_sql", {"request": request})
+            data = result.structured_content
+            assert data["success"] is False
+            assert "Database with ID 999 not found" in data["error"]
 
     @patch("superset.security_manager", new_callable=MagicMock)
     @patch("superset.db")
@@ -274,8 +276,10 @@ class TestExecuteSql:
         }
 
         async with Client(mcp_server) as client:
-            with pytest.raises(ToolError, match="Access denied to database"):
+            result = await client.call_tool("execute_sql", {"request": request})
-                await client.call_tool("execute_sql", {"request": request})
+            data = result.structured_content
+            assert data["success"] is False
+            assert "Access denied to database" in data["error"]
 
     @patch("superset.security_manager")
     @patch("superset.db")