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Connect AI uses OAuth authentication by default, but you can also use Basic authentication with a Personal Access Token (PAT).

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Prerequisites

Before you can configure and use GitHub Copilot with Connect AI, you must do the following:
  • Connect a data source to your Connect AI account. See Sources for more information.
  • Install and enable GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio Code (or any IDE supporting GitHub Copilot).
  • (Basic authentication only) Generate a Personal Access Token (PAT) on the Settings page. Copy this down, as it acts as your password during authentication.
  • (Basic authentication only) Base64-encode your Connect AI credentials in the following format: Base64("email:PAT").

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Connect to Connect AI

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OAuth Authentication

1
Create a folder named .vscode in your project repository. Within this folder, create a file named mcp.json and add the following configuration.
{
  "servers": {
      "cdata-mcp": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.cloud.cdata.com/mcp"
   }
  },
 "inputs": []
}
2
Click Start within your IDE to start the MCP server. Visual Studio Code opens your browser to the Connect AI sign-in page. Complete the sign-in to authorize the connection.
3
After authorization, the MCP server displays Running.

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Basic Authentication

1
Create a folder named .vscode in your project repository. Within this folder, create a file named mcp.json and add the following configuration. Replace YOUR_BASE64_ENCODED_EMAIL:PAT with the Base64-encoded value of email:PAT that you created in the prerequisites.
{
  "servers": {
      "cdata-mcp": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.cloud.cdata.com/mcp",
      "headers": {
         "Authorization": "Basic YOUR_BASE64_ENCODED_EMAIL:PAT"
     }
   }
  },
 "inputs": []
}
2
Click Start within your IDE to start the MCP server. If the MCP server starts without error, it displays Running.

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Add the Connect AI Tools

1
Toggle Chat in the title bar to display the Chat pane on the right.
2
Click Add Context in the bottom of the Chat pane. In the search bar, select Tools. Then search for CData. Add cdata-mcp All Tools.

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Chat with GitHub Copilot

You can now chat with GitHub Copilot and issue contextual prompts. As a test, you can provide the MCP server with a simple prompt, such as a list of tables for a particular connection. GitHub Copilot uses the Connect AI tools such as getCatalogs, getSchemas, and getTables to retrieve data from the connected data source.