cdata-jdbc-mcp-server (read-only)

Our generic Model Context Protocol (MCP) Server for CData JDBC Drivers (read-only)

❗Note: This project builds a read-only MCP server. For full read, write, update, delete, and action capabilities across hundreds of sources — plus remote MCP access, semantic context, and enterprise governance (SSO, RBAC, audit trails) — check out CData Connect AI.

Purpose

We created this read-only MCP Server to allow LLMs (like Claude Desktop) to query live data from hundreds of sources (listed below) supported by CData JDBC Drivers.

CData JDBC Drivers connect to SaaS apps, NoSQL stores, and APIs by exposing them as relational SQL models.

This server wraps those drivers and makes their data available through a simple MCP interface, so LLMs can retrieve live information by asking natural language questions — no SQL required.

Setup Guide

In the guide below, {data source} refers to the back-end data source (e.g. Salesforce). For code snippets and commands, Salesforce is used as an example, but the patterns apply to any of our JDBC Drivers.

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/cdatasoftware/cdata-jdbc-mcp-server.git
   cd cdata-jdbc-mcp-server

2. Build the server:

   mvn clean install

   This creates the JAR file: CDataMCP-jar-with-dependencies.jar
3. Download and install a CData JDBC Driver: https://www.cdata.com/jdbc
4. License the CData JDBC Driver (Salesforce as an example):
   • Navigate to the lib folder in the installation directory, typically:
     • (Windows) C:\Program Files\CData\CData JDBC Driver for {data source}\
     • (Mac/Linux) /Applications/CData JDBC Driver for {data source}/
   • Run the command java -jar cdata.jdbc.salesforce.jar --license
   • Enter your name, email, and "TRIAL" (or your license key).
5. Configure your connection to the data source (Salesforce as an example):

   • Run the command java -jar cdata.jdbc.salesforce.jar to open the Connection String utility.

     

   • Configure the connection string and click "Test Connection"

     Note: If the data source uses OAuth, you will need to authenticate in your browser.

   • Once successful, copy the connection string for use later.

6. Create a .prp file for your JDBC connection (e.g. Salesforce.prp) using the following properties and format:
   • Prefix - a prefix to be used for the tools exposed
   • DriverPath - the full path to the JAR file for your JDBC driver
   • DriverClass - the name of the JDBC Driver Class (e.g. cdata.jdbc.salesforce.SalesforceDriver)
   • JdbcUrl - the JDBC connection string to use with the CData JDBC Driver to connect to your data (copied from above)
   • Tables - leave blank to access all data, otherwise you can explicitly declare the tables you wish to create access for
   • ServerName (optional) - a name for your server; defaults to the Prefix value if omitted
   • ServerVersion (optional) - a version for your server; defaults to 1.0 if omitted

     Prefix=salesforce
     DriverPath=PATH\TO\cdata.jdbc.salesforce.jar
     DriverClass=cdata.jdbc.salesforce.SalesforceDriver
     JdbcUrl=jdbc:salesforce:InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;
     Tables=

Using the Server with an MCP Client

Because the server runs locally over stdio, it works with any desktop MCP client that launches local servers — Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, Cline, VS Code, and others. In every case you point the client at your java executable and pass the assembled JAR and your .prp file as arguments.

1. Add the server to your client's config

Most clients use the same mcpServers schema. Add the entry below to your client's MCP config file (see config file locations for where each client keeps it). If the file already exists, add this entry alongside any existing servers.

Windows

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "salesforce": {
      "command": "PATH\\TO\\java.exe",
      "args": [
        "-jar",
        "PATH\\TO\\CDataMCP-jar-with-dependencies.jar",
        "PATH\\TO\\Salesforce.prp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Linux/Mac

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "salesforce": {
      "command": "/PATH/TO/java",
      "args": [
        "-jar",
        "/PATH/TO/CDataMCP-jar-with-dependencies.jar",
        "/PATH/TO/Salesforce.prp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

VS Code uses a slightly different schema — a top-level servers object with an explicit "type": "stdio" — instead of mcpServers:

{
  "servers": {
    "salesforce": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "/PATH/TO/java",
      "args": [
        "-jar",
        "/PATH/TO/CDataMCP-jar-with-dependencies.jar",
        "/PATH/TO/Salesforce.prp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

2. Config file locations

Client	Config file	Schema
Claude Desktop	Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json	mcpServers
Cursor	Global: ~/.cursor/mcp.json Project: .cursor/mcp.json	mcpServers
Windsurf	~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json	mcpServers
Cline	Open the Cline panel → MCP Servers icon → Configure → Configure MCP Servers (edits cline_mcp_settings.json)	mcpServers
VS Code	Workspace: .vscode/mcp.json User: run the MCP: Open User Configuration command	servers (see note above)

3. Run or refresh your client

Start the client, or reload/refresh it if it was already running, so it picks up the new server.

Note: Some clients (e.g. Claude Desktop) must be fully quit and re-opened — not just closed to the tray — before the MCP server appears. On Windows use the Task Manager; on Mac use the Activity Monitor.

Running the Server

1. Run the following command to run the MCP Server on its own:

   java -jar /PATH/TO/CDataMCP-jar-with-dependencies.jar /PATH/TO/Salesforce.prp

Note: The server uses stdio so can only be used with clients that run on the same machine as the server.

Usage Details

Once the MCP Server is configured, the AI client will be able to use the built-in tools to read the underlying data (this server is read-only). In general, you do not need to call the tools explicitly. Simply ask the client to answer questions about the underlying data system. For example:

• "What is the correlation between my closed won opportunities and the account industry?"
• "How many open tickets do I have in the SUPPORT project?"
• "Can you tell me what calendar events I have today?"

The list of tools available and their descriptions follow:

Tools & Descriptions

In the definitions below, {servername} refers to the name of the MCP Server in the config file (e.g. salesforce above).

• {servername}_get_tables - Retrieves a list of tables available in the data source. Use the {servername}_get_columns tool to list available columns on a table. The output of the tool will be returned in CSV format, with the first line containing column headers.
• {servername}_get_columns - Retrieves a list of columns for a table. Use the {servername}_get_tables tool to get a list of available tables. The output of the tool will be returned in CSV format, with the first line containing column headers.
• {servername}_run_query - Execute a SQL SELECT query

JSON-RPC Request Examples

If you are scripting out the requests sent to the MCP Server instead of using an AI Client (e.g. Claude), then you can refer to the JSON payload examples below – following the JSON-RPC 2.0 specification - when calling the available tools.

{servername}_get_tables

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "id": 1,
    "method": "tools/call",
    "params": {
        "name": "salesforce_get_tables",
        "arguments": {}
    }
}

{servername}_get_columns

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "id": 2,
    "method": "tools/call",
    "params": {
        "name": "salesforce_get_columns",
        "arguments": {
            "table":  "Account"
        }
    }
}

{servername}_run_query

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "id": 3,
    "method": "tools/call",
    "params": {
        "name": "salesforce_run_query",
        "arguments": {
            "sql":  "SELECT * FROM [Account] WHERE [IsDeleted] = true"
        }
    }
}

Troubleshooting

1. If you cannot see your CData MCP Server in your client, be sure that you have fully quit and re-opened it. Some clients (e.g. Claude Desktop) keep running in the background — on Windows use the Task Manager, on Mac use the Activity Monitor to confirm the process has exited.
2. If your client is unable to retrieve data, be sure that you have configured your connection properly. Use the Connection String builder to create the connection string (see above) and copy the connection string into the property (.prp) file.
3. If you are having trouble connecting to your data source, contact the CData Support Team.
4. If you are having trouble using the MCP server, or have any other feedback, join the CData Community.

License

This MCP server is licensed under the MIT License. This means you are free to use, modify, and distribute the software, subject to the terms and conditions of the MIT License. For more details, please see the LICENSE file in the project repository.

Supported Sources

Accelo	Access	Act CRM	Act-On
Active Directory	ActiveCampaign	Acumatica	Adobe Analytics
Adobe Commerce	Adobe Experience Manager	Adobe Target	ADP
AdRoll	AfterShip	AgileCRM	Aha!
Aircall	Airtable	AlloyDB	Amazon Athena
Amazon DynamoDB	Amazon Marketplace	Amazon S3	Amplitude
Anaplan	Apache Doris	Apify	Apollo
Asana	Attio	Auth0	Authorize.Net
Autopilot	Avalara AvaTax	Avaza	Avro
Aweber	Azure Analysis Services	Azure Data Catalog	Azure Data Lake Storage
Azure DevOps	Azure Synapse	Azure Table	BambooHR
Bannerbear	Basecamp	Beeminder	BenchmarkEmail
BigCommerce	BigQuery	Billsby	Bitbucket
Bitly	Blackbaud FE NXT	Box	Brex
Bright Data	Browserless	Bugsnag	Bullhorn CRM
Calendly	Campaigner	CampaignMonitor	CapsuleCRM
Cassandra	Certinia	Chargebee	ChargeOver
ChartMogul	CircleCI	Clari	ClickTime
ClickUp	Clio	Clockify	Close
Cloudant	CloudConvert	Cloudflare	CockroachDB
Coda	Codat	Cohere	Coinbase
Confluence	ConstantContact	Contentful	ConvertAPI
ConvertKit	Copper	Cosmos DB	Couchbase
CouchDB	CSV	Customer.io	Cvent
Databricks	Datadog	DB2	Deel
Delighted	Demio	Discord	Discourse
DocuSign	Dotmailer	Drift	Drip
Dropbox	Dynamics 365	Dynamics 365 Business Central	Dynamics CRM
Dynamics NAV	eBay	eBay Analytics	Egnyte
Elasticsearch	ElevenLabs	Elorus	Email
EmailOctopus	EnterpriseDB	Epicor Kinetic	Eventbrite
Everhour	Exa	Exact Online	Excel
Excel Online	Facebook	Facebook Ads	Factorial
FHIR	Figshare	Float	Flowlu
FormSite	Foursquare	FreeAgent	FreshBooks
Freshdesk	Freshsales	Freshservice	Freshteam
Front	FTP	GetResponse	GitHub
GitLab	Gmail	Gong	Google Ad Manager
Google Ads	Google Analytics	Google Calendar	Google Campaign Manager 360
Google Cloud Storage	Google Contacts	Google Directory	Google Drive
Google Forms	Google Search	Google Sheets	Google Spanner
Google Tasks	Google Translate	Gorgias	Grafana
GraphQL	Greenhouse	Greenplum	Gumroad
Guru	Hacker News	Harvest	HBase
HCL Domino	HDFS	HelloSign	Helpscout
Highrise	Hive	HubDB	HubSpot
Hubstaff	Hugging Face	Humanity	IBM Cloud Object Storage
IBM Informix	iContact	Impala	Insightly
Instagram	Instantly	Intercom	Invoiced
JDBC-ODBC Bridge	Jira	Jira Assets	JobNimbus
Jodoo	JotForm	JSON	Jumpseller
Kafka	Keap	Kintone	Klaviyo
Klipfolio	Lakebase	Landbot	LaunchDarkly
LDAP	LeadDesk	LightSpeedRetail	LinkedIn
LinkedIn Ads	LionDesk	MailChimp	MailerLite
MailerSend	Mailgun	Mailjet	MariaDB
Marketo	MarkLogic	MessageBird	Microsoft Ads
Microsoft Dataverse	Microsoft Entra ID	Microsoft Exchange	Microsoft OneDrive
Microsoft Planner	Microsoft Teams	Miro	Missive
Mistral AI	Mixpanel	Mocean	Mode
Monday.com	MongoDB	Moosend	Mouseflow
MYOB AccountRight	MySQL	NASA	nCino
Neo4J	Nethunt	NetSuite	Notion
Nuclia	OData	Odoo	Office 365
Okta	Omnisend	OneNote	OnePageCrm
Onfleet	Ontraport	OpenWeatherMap	Opsgenie
Optimizely	Oracle	Oracle Eloqua	Oracle Eloqua Reporting
Oracle Financials Cloud	Oracle HCM Cloud	Oracle Sales	Oracle SCM
Oracle Service Cloud	Outlook	Outreach.io	PabblySubscriptions
Paddle	PagerDuty	Parallel	Parquet
Paylocity	Paymo	PayPal	PDFMonkey
Perigon	Perplexity	PhantomBuster	Phoenix
Pinecone	Pingdom	PingOne	Pinterest
Pipedrive	Pipeline CRM	Pipeliner CRM	PivotalTracker
Placid	Planio	PolarTeamPro	PostgreSQL
Postmark	Power BI XMLA	Presto	Printful
Printify	Procore	Productboard	Pushbullet
Quaderno	Qualaroo	Quickbase	QuickBooks
QuickBooks Online	QuickBooks Time	RabbitMQ	Raisers Edge NXT
Rebilly	Reckon	Reckon Accounts Hosted	Recurly
Redis	Redshift	Reply.io	REST
Retently	Rootly	RSS	Sage 200
Sage 300	Sage Cloud Accounting	Sage Intacct	SageHR
Salesforce	Salesforce CRM Analytics	Salesforce Data 360	Salesforce Financial Service Cloud
Salesforce Marketing	Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account Engagement	Salesforce Pardot	Salesloft
Samanage	SAP	SAP Ariba Procurement	SAP Ariba Source
SAP Business One	SAP Business Warehouse	SAP BusinessObjects BI	SAP ByDesign
SAP Concur	SAP Fieldglass	SAP HANA	SAP HANA XS Advanced
SAP Hybris C4C	SAP Netweaver Gateway	SAP SuccessFactors	SAP SuccessFactors LMS
SAS Data Sets	SAS xpt	Scrapfly	ScrapingBee
SendGrid	SendInBlue	SendPulse	Sendwithus
Sentry	ServiceDesk Plus	ServiceNow	SFTP
SharePoint	SharePoint Excel Services	ShipEngine	Shippo
ShipStation	Shopify	Short.io	Shortcut
Simplesat	SingleStore	Slack	Smartsheet
Snapchat Ads	Snowflake	SpaceX	Spark
SparkPost	Splunk	Spotify	SQL Analysis Services
SQL Server	Square	Stack Exchange	Strava
Stripe	Suadeo	Sugar CRM	SuiteCRM
Supabase	Superchat	SurveyMonkey	Sybase
Sybase IQ	Tally	Tanda	Tavily
TaxJar	Teamgate	Teamwork	Telegram
Templated	Teradata	Testmonitor	Tickspot
Tier1	TigerGraph	Timely	Todoist
Toggl	Trello	Trino	Twilio
Twitter Ads	Typeform	Unbounce	Vault CRM
Veeva CRM	Vercel	Vimeo	VWO
Wave Financial	Webex	Webflow	Wistia
WooCommerce	WordPress	Workable	Workday
Wrike	xBase	Xero	XML
Yelp	YouTube Analytics	ZarMoney	Zendesk
ZendeskSell	ZeroBounce	Zoho Books	Zoho Creator
Zoho CRM	Zoho Inventory	Zoho Projects	Zoho Recruit
ZohoDesk	ZohoExpense	ZohoInvoice	ZohoMarketingHub
ZohoPeople	ZohoSubscriptions	Zoom	Zuora
... Dozens More