MCP Server for Workday

Build 25.0.9440

Establishing a Connection

The CData MCP Server for Workday defines each connection to Workday 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/Workday Data Provider/".
  • On macOS, configuration files are stored in "~/Library/Application Support/CData/Workday 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.

Connecting to Workday

This section describes how to set the connection parameters for the four Workday APIs, and how to obtain the Tenant and BaseURL. Each service (WQL, Reports, REST, and SOAP) has its own ConnectionType, and only one connection type can be used per connection.

After you set the parameters for the desired API and have created a custom OAuth and/or Azure AD API client, you are ready to connect.

Connection Prerequisites

API Prerequisites Connection Parameters
WQL Enable WQL service
(See below) 		ConnectionType: WQL
Reports as a Service Set up catalog report
(see Fine-Tuning Data Access) 		ConnectionType: Reports
REST Automatically enabled ConnectionType: REST
SOAP Automatically enabled See Workday SOAP API, below

Obtaining the BaseURL and Tenant

To obtain the BaseURL and Tenant properties, log into Workday and search for View API Clients. On this screen, Workday displays the Workday REST API Endpoint, a URL that includes both the BaseURL and Tenant.

The format of the REST API Endpoint is: https://domain.com/<subdirectories>/mycompany, where:

  • https://domain.com (the portion of the URL before subdirectories and company name) is the BaseURL.
  • mycompany (the portion of the URL after the very last slash) is the Tenant.

For example, in the REST API endpoint https://wd3-impl-services1.workday.com/ccx/api/v1/mycompany, the BaseURL is https://wd3-impl-services1.workday.com and the Tenant is mycompany.

Enabling WQL Service

To connect through the Workday WQL API, you must first enable the WQL Service:

  1. Open Workday.
  2. In the search bar, search for View Domain.
  3. At the prompt, enter Workday Query Language.
  4. Check the Allowed Security Group Types to see if one of them includes the user you are connecting with.

Authenticating to Workday

Most Workday connections require the creation of an OAuth-based custom API Client application to authenticate. This includes enterprise installations where users connect via their Azure AD credentials. If you want to connect via SOAP, you can use Basic authentication, which doesn't require a custom OAuth application.

This section describes both methods of authentication.

OAuth

This section describes how to authenticate in an environment without SSO, using the OAuth standard. Before you can authenticate in this environment, you must first create a custom OAuth application, as described in Creating a Custom API Client Application.

Note: Because they facilitate authentication to Workday APIs, this document frequently refers to custom OAuth applications as custom API Clients.

Desktop Applications

To authenticate with the credentials for a custom OAuth application, you must get and refresh the OAuth access token. After you do that, you are ready to connect.

Get and refresh the OAuth access token:

When you connect, the server opens Workday's OAuth endpoint in your default browser. Log in and grant permissions to the application.

After you grant permissions to the application, the server then completes the OAuth process:

  1. The server obtains an access token from Workday and uses it to request data.
  2. The OAuth values are saved in the path specified in OAuthSettingsLocation. These values persist across connections.

When the access token expires, the server refreshes it automatically.

Web Applications

Authenticating via the Web requires you to create and register a custom OAuth application with Workday, as described in Creating a Custom API Client Application. You can then use the server to get and manage the OAuth token values.

This section describes how to get the OAuth access token, how to have the driver refresh the OAuth access token automatically, and how to refresh the OAuth access token manually.

Get the OAuth access token:

  1. Set the following connection properties to obtain the OAuthAccessToken:

  2. Call stored procedures to complete the OAuth exchange:
    • Call the GetOAuthAuthorizationURL stored procedure. Set the AuthMode input to WEB and the CallbackURL to the Redirect URI you specified in your application settings. The stored procedure returns the URL to the OAuth endpoint.
    • Navigate to the URL that the stored procedure returned in Step 1. Log in and authorize the web application. You are redirected back to the callback URL.
    • Call the GetOAuthAccessToken stored procedure. Set the AuthMode input to WEB. Set the Verifier input to the code parameter in the query string of the redirect URI.

After you obtain the access and refresh tokens, you can connect to data and refresh the OAuth access token automatically.

Automatic refresh of the OAuth access token:

To have the server automatically refresh the OAuth access token, do the following:

  1. Before connecting to data for the first time, set the following connection parameters:
  2. On subsequent data connections, set the following:

Manual refresh of the OAuth access token:

The only value needed to manually refresh the OAuth access token is the OAuth refresh token.

  1. To manually refresh the OAuthAccessToken after the ExpiresIn period (returned by GetOAuthAccessToken) has elapsed, call the RefreshOAuthAccessToken stored procedure.
  2. Set the following connection properties:

  3. Call RefreshOAuthAccessToken with OAuthRefreshToken set to the OAuth refresh token returned by GetOAuthAccessToken.
  4. After the new tokens have been retrieved, set the OAuthAccessToken property to the value returned by RefreshOAuthAccessToken. This opens a new connection.

Store the OAuth refresh token so that you can use it to manually refresh the OAuth access token after it has expired.

Headless Machines

If you need to log in to a resource that resides on a headless machine, you must authenticate on another device that has an internet browser. You can do this in either of the following ways:

  • Option 1: Obtain the OAuthVerifier value.
  • Option 2: Install the server on a machine with an internet browser and transfer the OAuth authentication values after you authenticate through the usual browser-based flow.

After you execute either Option 1 or Option 2, configure the driver to automatically refresh the access token on the headless machine.

Option 1: Obtaining and Exchanging a Verifier Code

To obtain a verifier code, you must authenticate at the OAuth authorization URL. Do the following:

  1. Authenticate from the machine with an internet browser, and obtain the OAuthVerifier connection property.

    Set the following properties:

  2. Call the GetOAuthAuthorizationURL stored procedure. The stored procedure returns the CallbackURL established when the custom OAuth application was registered. (See Creating a Custom API Client Application.)

    Copy this URL and paste it into a new browser tab.

  3. Log in and grant permissions to the server. The OAuth application redirects you the redirect URI, with a parameter called code appended. Note the value of this parameter; you will need it later, to configure the OAuthVerifier connection property.

  4. Exchange the OAuth verifier code for OAuth refresh and access tokens. On the headless machine, set the following connection properties to obtain the OAuth authentication values:

  5. Test the connection to generate the OAuth settings file.

  6. After you re-set the following properties, you are ready to connect:

    • InitiateOAuth: REFRESH.
    • OAuthSettingsLocation: The file containing the encrypted OAuth authentication values. To enable the automatic refreshing of the access token, be sure that this file gives read and write permissions to the server.
    • OAuthClientId: The client Id assigned when you registered your application.
    • OAuthClientSecret: The client secret assigned when you registered your application.

Option 2: Transferring OAuth Settings

Prior to connecting on a headless machine, you must install and create a connection with the driver on a device that supports an internet browser. Set the connection properties as described above in "Desktop Applications".

After completing the instructions in "Desktop Applications", the resulting authentication values are encrypted and written to the path specified by OAuthSettingsLocation. The default filename is OAuthSettings.txt.

Test the connection to generate the OAuth settings file, then copy the OAuth settings file to your headless machine.

To connect to data via the headless machine, set the following connection properties:

  • InitiateOAuth: REFRESH
  • OAuthSettingsLocation: The path to the OAuth settings file you copied from the machine with the browser. To enable automatic refreshing of the access token, ensure that this file gives read and write permissions to the server.
  • OAuthClientId: The client Id assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.
  • OAuthClientSecret: The client secret assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.

Authenticating as a Normal User

To authenticate as a normal user in Workday, you must first create an API Client, as described in Creating a Custom API Client Application.

After you have an API client configured, set the following properties to connect using Workday credentials:

Standard OAuth User

  • ConnectionType and related properties.
  • AuthScheme: OAuth.
  • OAuthClientId: The Client ID obtained from the View API Client page.
  • OAuthClientSecret: The Client Secret obtained from the View API Client page. If you are using a public client, leave this blank.
  • Tenant: The tenant for the account.
  • BaseURL: The base URL for the REST API Endpoint in the View API Clients page.
  • OAuthAuthorizationURL: Optional but recommended. The Authorization URL in the View API Clients page.

AzureAD User

  • ConnectionType and related properties.
  • AuthScheme: AzureAD.
  • OAuthClientId: The Client ID obtained from the View API Client page.
  • Tenant: The tenant for the account.
  • BaseURL: The base URL for the REST API Endpoint in the View API Clients page.
  • SSOProperties: The Azure-specific properties used for SSO, including the AzureTenant, AzureClientId, AzureClientSecret and Resource.

Authenticating as an ISU

To authenticate as an ISU, you must first create either an API Client or an API Client for Integrations, as described in Creating a Custom API Client Application. You can create either of these clients using the JWT bearer grant type.

After you set the appropriate properties, you are ready to connect.

API Client for Integrations

API Client (JWT)

Reports and SOAP API

Connections using the Reports API and the SOAP API support all the same authentication schemes that the WQL and REST do. They also support Basic authentication, which does not require configuring a custom API client.

To use Basic authentication, set these connection parameters:

Other authentication methods are configured the same way as for the WQL and reporting services.

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Build 25.0.9440