How to Access Live Bitbucket Data in Visual Studio Code via Cline

Cline is an autonomous coding agent right in your IDE, capable of creating/editing files, running commands, using the browser, and more with your permission every step of the way. When paired with the CData MCP Server for Bitbucket, you get live access to CRM data within your IDE, enabling you to build, test, and validate data-driven features using real-time schema and records without ever leaving your development environment.

This article outlines how to run the CData MCP Server for Bitbucket on WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) and connect to it from the Cline extension in Visual Studio Code on Windows.

Background

CData MCP Servers are typically designed for clients like Claude Desktop. However, when attempting to use the server via the Cline extension in Windows VS Code, the following error occurred:

MCP error -32000: Connection closed

This issue is suspected to be caused by I/O handling problems in the stdio transport implementation on the Windows version of the Cline extension.

• Related GitHub Issue: https://github.com/cline/cline/issues/3464
• Additionally, environment variables such as PATH may not be inherited correctly when launching processes like Java or Node.

Prerequisites

• Visual Studio Code installed on Windows
• Cline extension installed and configured in VS Code
• Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) installed with a working Linux distribution (e.g., Ubuntu)
• Java 21+ JRE installed in WSL
• CData MCP Server for Bitbucket installed on Windows

Step 1: Authenticate with Bitbucket (on Windows)

Before running the MCP Server in WSL, you must complete authentication flow in a Windows environment. This ensures all necessary credentials are generated and stored properly. Find and run the "CData MCP Server for Bitbucket" or execute the MCP Server JAR file to open the configuration wizard.

java -jar "C:\Program Files\CData\CData MCP Server for Bitbucket 2024\lib\cdata.mcp.bitbucket.jar"

Connecting to Bitbucket

For most queries, you must set the Workspace. The only exception to this is the Workspaces table, which does not require this property to be set, as querying it provides a list of workspace slugs that can be used to set Workspace. To query this table, you must set Schema to 'Information' and execute the query SELECT * FROM Workspaces>.

Setting Schema to 'Information' displays general information. To connect to Bitbucket, set these parameters:

• Schema: To show general information about a workspace, such as its users, repositories, and projects, set this to Information. Otherwise, set this to the schema of the repository or project you are querying. To get a full set of available schemas, query the sys_schemas table.
• Workspace: Required if you are not querying the Workspaces table. This property is not required for querying the Workspaces table, as that query only returns a list of workspace slugs that can be used to set Workspace.

Authenticating to Bitbucket

Bitbucket supports OAuth authentication only. To enable this authentication from all OAuth flows, you must create a custom OAuth application, and set AuthScheme to OAuth.

Be sure to review the Help documentation for the required connection properties for you specific authentication needs (desktop applications, web applications, and headless machines).

Creating a custom OAuth application

From your Bitbucket account:

1. Go to Settings (the gear icon) and select Workspace Settings.
2. In the Apps and Features section, select OAuth Consumers.
3. Click Add Consumer.
4. Enter a name and description for your custom application.
5. Set the callback URL:
   • For desktop applications and headless machines, use http://localhost:33333 or another port number of your choice. The URI you set here becomes the CallbackURL property.
   • For web applications, set the callback URL to a trusted redirect URL. This URL is the web location the user returns to with the token that verifies that your application has been granted access.
6. If you plan to use client credentials to authenticate, you must select This is a private consumer. In the driver, you must set AuthScheme to client.
7. Select which permissions to give your OAuth application. These determine what data you can read and write with it.
8. To save the new custom application, click Save.
9. After the application has been saved, you can select it to view its settings. The application's Key and Secret are displayed. Record these for future use. You will use the Key to set the OAuthClientId and the Secret to set the OAuthClientSecret.

Configuring the CData MCP Server

Name your MCP Server (e.g. cdatabitbucket), enter the required connection properties, and click "Connect."

Upon successful connection, the following directory and files will be created:

C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\CData\bitbucket Provider\
 |-- cdatabitbucket.mcp
 |-- (other supporting config files)

Step 2: Copy the MCP Server Configuration into WSL

Next, copy the entire configuration folder from Windows into your WSL environment.

mkdir -p ~/.config/CData/
cp -r /mnt/c/Users/<username>/AppData/Roaming/CData/"bitbucket Provider" ~/.config/CData/

Ensure the destination path matches exactly: ~/.config/CData/bitbucket Provider/.

Step 3: Install the MCP Server on WSL

Install Java and place the MCP Server JAR in the desired location within WSL:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install openjdk-21-jre-headless
sudo mkdir -p /opt/cdata/mcp_bitbucket/lib
sudo cp /mnt/c/Program\ Files/CData/CData\ MCP\ Server\ for\ Bitbucket\ 2024/lib/cdata.mcp.bitbucket.jar /opt/cdata/mcp_bitbucket/lib/

Step 4: Configure Cline

Now, configure the Cline extension to launch the MCP Server inside WSL using the wsl command.

Create or update cline_mcp_settings.json with the following content:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cdatabitbucket": {
      "autoApprove": ["*"],
      "disabled": false,
      "timeout": 60,
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "wsl",
      "args": [
        "-d",
        "Ubuntu", // Replace with your installed WSL distro name
        "--",
        "/usr/bin/java",
        "-jar",
        "/opt/cdata/mcp_bitbucket/lib/cdata.mcp.bitbucket.jar",
        "cdatabitbucket"
      ],
      "env": {
        "JAVA_TOOL_OPTIONS": "-Xmx2g"
      }
    }
  }
}

Note: Replace Ubuntu with your actual WSL distribution name (e.g., Ubuntu-22.04). Run wsl -l in PowerShell or CMD to confirm.

Step 5: Interact with Live Data in Cline

From within Visual Studio Code, you can now run MCP commands through the Cline extension.

cdatabitbucket_get_tables
cdatabitbucket_get_columns Issues

If configured correctly, these commands will return a list of available Bitbucket objects and metadata, allowing you to interact with your CRM schema in real time.

Try natural language prompts like:

• "Generate a React form to create a new Bitbucket Lead."
• "Write a Python function to pull Opportunities closed this quarter."

Connect your AI to your data today!

CData MCP Servers make it easier than ever for LLMs to work with live enterprise data. To explore the technology hands-on, download a free, 30-day trial or visit the CData Community to share insights, ask questions, and help shape the future of enterprise-ready AI.