Establishing a Connection

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

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

Understanding Connection Configurations

Each connection configuration is stored in a .mcp file, located in ~/AppData/Roaming/CData/SAP HANA Data Provider/, and includes the details needed to initialize the connector when Claude starts a session. For example, a connection called "MyConnection" is stored at ~/AppData/Roaming/CData/SAP HANA Data Provider/MyConnection.mcp.

The .mcp file is a text file containing a line-delimited list of connection properties, plus a timestamp. For example, MyConnection.mcp contains the following text:

#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 — no manual file editing required.

Connecting to SAP HANA Cloud

Set the following to connect to data:

Server: Set this property to the name or network address of the SAP HANA database instance.
Port: Set this to 443.
UseSSL: Set this to True.

Connecting to SAP HANA On-Prem

Set the following to connect to data:

Server: Set this property to the name or network address of the SAP HANA database instance.
Port: The port of the server hosting the SAP HANA database.

Authenticating to SAP HANA

Once you have provided the connection details, set the following database credentials to authenticate to SAP HANA:

User: The username provided for authentication with the SAP HANA database.
Password: The password provided for authentication with the SAP HANA database.

Okta

Set the AuthScheme to Okta. The following connection properties are used to connect to Okta:

User: Set this to the Okta user.
Password: Set this to Okta password for the user.
SSOProperties (optional): Set this to the OTP code that was sent to your device. This property should be used only when MFA is required for OKTA sign on.

The following SSOProperties are needed to authenticate to Okta:

SSOLoginUrl: Set this to the OKTA's login URL.
MFAType (optional): Set this to the multi-factor type. This property should be used only when MFA is required for OKTA sign on. This property accepts one of the following values:
- OKTAVerify
- Email
- SMS
APIToken (optional): Set this to the API Token that the customer created from the Okta org. It should be used when authenticating a user via a trusted application or proxy that overrides OKTA client request context.

The following is an example connection string:

AuthScheme=OKTA;User=username;Password=password;Server=myserver;SSO Properties='SSOLoginUrl=https://cdata-okta.okta.com';