The Nexadata MCP server lets you manage your Nexadata resources through a conversational interface in an AI client such as Claude, ChatGPT, or Cursor. Instead of clicking through the Nexadata application, you can ask your AI client to find a workflow, run it, check its status, or review who changed a mapping group, and the MCP server carries out the request on your behalf.
This article covers how to connect the MCP server to your client and how authentication keeps that connection secure. Once you are set up, see the companion article on the available tools for what you can do next.
Connecting the Nexadata MCP Server
To use the MCP server, you add it as a connector in your AI client. The server URL is:
https://app.nexadata.com/mcp
Each client handles connectors slightly differently, but the general process is the same. In your client's settings or connectors area, choose to add a new MCP server or connector, then enter the URL above. Clients that support MCP connectors include Claude, ChatGPT, and Cursor.
Adding the Nexadata MCP server URL in the client's connector settings
Once you add the URL, your client will prompt you to authenticate before the connection becomes active. This is expected and is described in the next section.
Note: You only need to configure the MCP server once per client. After the initial setup and authorization, the connection remains available for future sessions.
How Authentication Works
The MCP server is secured so that only authorized users, working through an authorized client, can access Nexadata data.
When you first connect the server, your AI client automatically starts an authentication step. This step opens a Nexadata authorization screen where you sign in with your Nexadata credentials and grant the client permission to work with Nexadata on your behalf. This is a standard OAuth authorization flow, the same kind of approval screen you see when connecting any trusted application to an account.
The Nexadata authorization screen, where you sign in and grant the client access
Authorizing the client is as significant as sharing your credentials, because the client will act within your Nexadata permissions. A few points worth understanding:
The client can only see and act on organizations, workspaces, and resources that your own account has access to.
Every request is checked to confirm you belong to the organization tied to the resource you are working with.
You should only authorize AI clients that you trust and control, since they will be able to read and modify your Nexadata resources within your permission level.
After you complete this one-time authorization, your client can use the MCP tools without prompting you again.
The Nexadata MCP server is shown as connected and ready to use in the client
Session State and Preferred Organization
To save you from specifying an organization on every request, the MCP server keeps a preferred organization for your session. The preferred organization gets set in a few ways:
Automatic selection when you list your organizations, and you belong to exactly one, that organization is selected for you.
Explicit selection when you ask to switch to a specific organization.
After a workflow run, the organization is remembered following a successful execution, so later requests target the same one.
If no organization is set and you belong to more than one, the server will ask you to choose before continuing.
Note: Session information is cleaned up automatically, so inactive sessions do not leave stale data behind.