MCP Server for Microsoft Planner

Build 24.0.9300

Establishing a Connection

The CData MCP Server for Microsoft Planner defines each connection to Microsoft Planner 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/Microsoft Planner 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/Microsoft Planner 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 Microsoft Planner

Authentication with Azure AD

Note: Microsoft Entra ID was formerly known as Azure Active Directory (Azure AD). To authenticate using Entra ID, you must set AuthScheme to AzureAD.

Microsoft Entra ID is a multi-tenant, cloud-based identity and access management platform. It supports OAuth-based authentication flows that enable the driver to access Microsoft Planner endpoints securely.

Authentication to Entra ID via a web application always requires a custom OAuth application registration. This allows your application to define its own redirect URI, manage credential scope, and comply with organization-specific security policies.

For full instructions on how to register a custom OAuth application, see Creating an Entra ID Application (Formerly Azure AD).

After setting AuthScheme to AzureAD, the steps to authenticate vary by environment. See the sections below for details on how to connect from desktop applications, web-based workflows, or headless systems.

Desktop Applications

You can authenticate from a desktop application using either the driver's embedded OAuth application or a custom OAuth application registered in Microsoft Entra ID.

Option 1: Use the Embedded OAuth Application

This is a pre-registered app included with the driver. It simplifies setup and eliminates the need to register your own credentials and is ideal for development environments, single-user tools, or any setup where quick and easy authentication is preferred.

Set the following connection properties:

  • AuthScheme: AzureAD
  • InitiateOAuth:
    • GETANDREFRESH – Use for the initial login. Launches the login page and saves tokens.
    • REFRESH – Use this setting when you have already obtained valid access and refresh tokens. Reuses stored tokens without prompting the user again.

When you connect, the driver opens the Microsoft Entra sign-in page in your default browser. After signing in and granting access, the driver retrieves the access and refresh tokens and saves them to the path specified by OAuthSettingsLocation.

Option 2: Use a Custom OAuth Application

If your organization requires more control, such as managing security policies, redirect URIs, or application branding, you can instead register a custom OAuth application in Microsoft Entra ID and provide its values during connection.

Before you begin: Register a custom OAuth application in the Azure portal. During registration, record the following values:

  • OAuthClientId: The client Id generated when registering your custom OAuth application.
  • OAuthClientSecret: The client secret generated when registering your custom OAuth application.
  • CallbackURL: A redirect URI you defined during app registration.

For full instructions on how to register a custom OAuth app and configure redirect URIs, see Creating an Entra ID Application (Formerly Azure AD).

Set the following connection properties:

After authentication, tokens are saved to OAuthSettingsLocation. These values persist across sessions and are used to automatically refresh the access token when it expires, so you don't need to log in again on future connections.

Web Applications

To authenticate from a web application, you must register a custom OAuth application in Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory). Embedded OAuth apps are not supported in this context because web-based flows require a registered redirect URI and centralized credential management.

This approach is designed for hosted, multi-user environments where access must be delegated through a secure, standards-compliant OAuth workflow. It gives your organization control over the OAuth client, redirect URI, branding, and permissions scope.

Before you begin: Register a custom OAuth app in the Azure portal. During registration, collect the following values:

  • OAuthClientId: The client Id generated when registering your custom OAuth application.
  • OAuthClientSecret: The client secret generated when registering your custom OAuth application.
  • CallbackURL: A redirect URI you defined during app registration.

For full instructions on how to register a custom OAuth app and configure redirect URIs, see Creating an Entra ID Application (Formerly Azure AD).

To authenticate using AzureAD in a web application, configure the following connection properties:

Because web applications typically manage OAuth flows manually on the server-side, InitiateOAuth must be set to OFF. This allows you to explicitly control when and how tokens are retrieved and exchanged using stored procedures.

After configuring these properties, follow the steps below to obtain and exchange OAuth tokens:

  1. Call the GetOAuthAuthorizationURL stored procedure:
    • CallbackURL: Set to your registered redirect URI
  2. Open the returned URL in a browser. Sign in with a Microsoft Entra ID account and grant access.
  3. After signing in, you are redirected to your CallbackURL with a code parameter in the query string.
  4. Extract the code and pass it to the GetOAuthAccessToken stored procedure:
    • AuthMode: WEB
    • Verifier: The authorization code from the CallbackURL
  5. The procedure returns:
    • OAuthAccessToken: Used for authentication.
    • OAuthRefreshToken: Used to refresh the access token.
    • ExpiresIn: The lifetime of the access token in seconds.

To enable automatic token refresh, configure the following connection properties:

When InitiateOAuth is set to REFRESH, the driver uses the provided refresh token to request a new access token automatically.

After a successful connection, the driver saves the updated access and refresh tokens to the file specified by OAuthSettingsLocation.

You only need to repeat the full OAuth authorization flow if the refresh token expires, is revoked, or becomes invalid.

For more background on OAuth flows in Microsoft Entra ID, see Microsoft Entra Authentication Overview.

Headless Machines

Headless environments like CI/CD pipelines, background services, or server-based integrations do not have an interactive browser. To authenticate using AzureAD, you must complete the OAuth flow on a separate device with a browser and transfer the authentication result to the headless system.

You have two setup options:

  • Option 1: Obtain and exchange a verifier code
    • Use another device to sign in and retrieve a verifier code, which the headless system uses to request tokens.
  • Option 2: Transfer an OAuth settings file
    • Authenticate on another device, then copy the stored token file to the headless environment.

Option 1: Using a Verifier Code

  1. On a device with a browser:
    • If using a custom OAuth app, set the following properties:
    • Call the GetOAuthAuthorizationURL stored procedure to generate a sign-in URL.
    • Open the returned URL in a browser. Sign in and grant grant permissions to the driver. You are redirected to the callback URL, which contains the verifier code.
    • After signing in, save the value of the code parameter from the redirect URL. You will use this later to set the OAuthVerifier connection property.
  2. On the headless machine:
    • Set the following properties:
    • After tokens are saved, reuse them by setting:
      • InitiateOAuth: REFRESH
      • OAuthSettingsLocation: Make sure this location grants read and write permissions to the driver to enable the automatic refreshing of the access token.
      • For custom apps:
        • OAuthClientId: The client Id generated when registering your custom OAuth application.
        • OAuthClientSecret: The client secret generated when registering your custom OAuth application.

Option 2: Transfer OAuth Settings

  1. On a device with a browser:
    • Connect using the instructions in the Desktop Applications section.
    • After connecting, tokens are saved to the file path in OAuthSettingsLocation. The default filename is OAuthSettings.txt.

  2. On the headless machine:
    • Copy the OAuth settings file to the machine.
    • Set the following properties:
      • AuthScheme: AzureAD
      • InitiateOAuth: REFRESH
      • OAuthSettingsLocation: Make sure this location grants read and write permissions to the driver to enable the automatic refreshing of the access token.
      • For custom apps:
        • OAuthClientId: The client Id generated when registering your custom OAuth application.
        • OAuthClientSecret: The client secret generated when registering your custom OAuth application.

After setup, the driver uses the stored tokens to refresh the access token automatically, no browser or manual login is required.

Azure Service Principal

The authentication as an Azure Service Principal is handled via the OAuth Client Credentials flow. It does not involve direct user authentication. Instead, credentials are created for just the application itself. All tasks taken by the app are done without a default user context, but based on the assigned roles. The application access to the resources is controlled through the assigned roles' permissions.

Create an AzureAD App and an Azure Service Principal

When authenticating using an Azure Service Principal, you must create and register an Azure AD application with an Azure AD tenant. See Creating an Entra ID Application (Formerly Azure AD) for more details.

In your App Registration in portal.azure.com, navigate to API Permissions and select the Microsoft Graph permissions. There are two distinct sets of permissions: Delegated permissions and Application permissions. The permissions used during client credential authentication are under Application Permissions.

Assign a role to the application

To access resources in your subscription, you must assign a role to the application.

  1. Open the Subscriptions page by searching and selecting the Subscriptions service from the search bar.
  2. Select the subscription to assign the application to.
  3. Open the Access control (IAM) and select Add > Add role assignment to open the Add role assignment page.
  4. Select Owner as the role to assign to your created Azure AD app.
Complete the Authentication Choose whether to use a client secret or a certificate and follow the relevant steps below.

Client Secret

Set these connection properties:

Certificate

Set these connection properties:

You are now ready to connect. Authentication with client credentials takes place automatically like any other connection, except there is no window opened prompting the user. Because there is no user context, there is no need for a browser popup. Connections take place and are handled internally.

Managed Service Identity (MSI)

If you are running Microsoft Planner on an Azure VM and want to automatically obtain Managed Service Identity (MSI) credentials to connect, set AuthScheme to AzureMSI.

User-Managed Identities

To obtain a token for a managed identity, use the OAuthClientId property to specify the managed identity's client_id.

If your VM has multiple user-assigned managed identities, you must also specify OAuthClientId.

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Build 24.0.9300