Establishing a Connection
The CData Code Assist MCP for SendGrid defines each connection to SendGrid as a named configuration that an MCP Client (such as Claude Desktop) can use when sending natural language queries.
You create and manage these configurations using the CData Code Assist MCP Configuration Tool. The tool automatically handles formatting, storage, and registration with MCP clients.
Understanding Connection Configurations
Each connection configuration is stored in a .mcp file. This file includes the details needed to initialize the connector when an MCP Client starts a session.
- On Windows, configuration files are stored in "~/AppData/Roaming/CData/SendGrid Data Provider/".
- On macOS, configuration files are stored in "~/Library/Application Support/CData/SendGrid Data Provider/".
The .mcp file is a text file that contains a list of connection properties and a timestamp. For example:
#Tue May 20 15:48:40 EDT 2025 AuthScheme=Basic User=myUser Password=myPassword Security Token=myToken
The configuration tool handles these settings automatically. Each saved configuration enables an MCP client to launch a dedicated MCP server instance with the correct connector and options. Manual file editing is not required.
You must use an API key to authenticate through the SendGrid server.
Obtaining an API Key
To obtain an API key, follow the steps below:
- Log into SendGrid.
- Click Settings.
- Click API keys.
- Click Create API Key.
- Choose the Permissions the API Key should have, either Full Access or Restricted Access. The API key is then displayed.
NOTE: If you want access to Email events, you must purchase the Email Activity History add-in of SendGrid. If using a Restricted Access key, you must give it the messages.read and email_activity.read scopes.