The CData MCP Server for REST defines each connection to REST as a named configuration that Claude can use when sending natural language queries.

You create and manage these configurations using the MCP Configuration Tool. The tool automatically handles formatting, storage, and registration with Claude Desktop.

Understanding Connection Configurations

Each connection configuration is stored in a .mcp file. This file includes the details needed to initialize the connector when Claude starts a session.

• On Windows, configuration files are stored in "~/AppData/Roaming/CData/REST Data Provider/".
• On macOS, configuration files are stored in "~/Library/Application Support/CData/REST 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 Claude to launch a dedicated MCP Server instance with the correct connector and options. Manual file editing is not required.

Modeling XML/JSON/CSV Data

The DataModel property controls how your data is represented into tables.

• Document (default): Model a top-level, document view of your REST data. The server returns nested object arrays as aggregated XML/JSON/CSV objects.
• FlattenedDocuments: Implicitly join nested array objects and parent objects into a single table.
• Relational: View nested object arrays as individual, related tables containing a primary key and a foreign key that links to the parent document.

Set Format to XML, JSON, or CSV in accordance with the data structuring standard used by the REST source you want to connect to. and set DataModel to more closely match the data representation to the structure of your data.

Authenticating a Connection

See AuthScheme for information on the different methods of authentication.

Next Steps

• See Modeling REST Data for information on customizing schema discovery and executing SQL to REST.
• See Fine-Tuning Data Access for more advanced connection settings: fine-tune the default data modeling settings, connect through a firewall, or troubleshoot connections.