Integrate LibreChat with Live HCL Domino Data via CData Connect AI

LibreChat is an open-source, self-hosted AI chat platform that brings together multiple LLM providers, agents, and assistants behind a single interface. It also supports the Model Context Protocol (MCP), so you can connect external tools and data sources directly to the chat and pull in live data from the systems you already work with.

By integrating LibreChat with CData Connect AI through the built-in MCP Server, LibreChat gains governed, real-time access to live HCL Domino data. This enables you to list catalogs, explore schemas, and query records from HCL Domino data using natural language prompts, with all data access running securely against authorized sources.

This article explains how to configure HCL Domino connectivity in Connect AI, generate the required personal access token, install LibreChat, register the Connect AI MCP Server, configure an LLM provider, and verify the integration by querying live HCL Domino data from the LibreChat interface.

Step 1: Configure HCL Domino connectivity for LibreChat

Connectivity to HCL Domino from LibreChat is made possible through Connect AI's Remote MCP Server. To interact with HCL Domino data from LibreChat, start by creating and configuring a HCL Domino connection in Connect AI.

1. Log into Connect AI, click Sources, and then click Add Connection

2. Select HCL Domino from the Add Connection panel

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to HCL Domino.

   Connecting to Domino

   To connect to Domino data, set the following properties:

   • URL: The host name or IP of the server hosting the Domino database. Include the port of the server hosting the Domino database. For example: http://sampleserver:1234/
   • DatabaseScope: The name of a scope in the Domino Web UI. The driver exposes forms and views for the schema governed by the specified scope. In the Domino Admin UI, select the Scopes menu in the sidebar. Set this property to the name of an existing scope.

   Authenticating with Domino

   Domino supports authenticating via login credentials or an Entra ID (formerly Azure AD) OAuth application:

   Login Credentials

   To authenticate with login credentials, set the following properties:

   • AuthScheme: Set this to "OAuthPassword"
   • User: The username of the authenticating Domino user
   • Password: The password associated with the authenticating Domino user

   The driver uses the login credentials to automatically perform an OAuth token exchange.

   EntraID (formerly AzureAD)

   This authentication method uses Entra ID (formerly Azure AD) as an IdP to obtain a JWT token. You need to create a custom OAuth application in Entra ID (formerly Azure AD) and configure it as an IdP. To do so, follow the instructions in the Help documentation. Then set the following properties:

   • AuthScheme: Set this to "EntraID (formerly AzureAD)"
   • InitiateOAuth: Set this to GETANDREFRESH. You can use InitiateOAuth to avoid repeating the OAuth exchange and manually setting the OAuthAccessToken.
   • OAuthClientId: The Client ID obtained when setting up the custom OAuth application.
   • OAuthClientSecret: The Client secret obtained when setting up the custom OAuth application.
   • CallbackURL: The redirect URI defined when you registered your app. For example: https://localhost:33333
   • AzureTenant: The Microsoft Online tenant being used to access data. Supply either a value in the form companyname.microsoft.com or the tenant ID.

     The tenant ID is the same as the directory ID shown in the Azure Portal's Entra ID (formerly Azure AD) > Properties page.

   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab and update user-based permissions

Add a Personal Access Token

A Personal Access Token (PAT) is used to authenticate the connection to Connect AI from LibreChat. It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each integration to maintain granular access control.

1. Click the gear icon () at the top right of the Connect AI app to open Settings
2. On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT
3. Give the PAT a descriptive name and click Create

4. Copy the token when displayed and store it securely. It will not be shown again

With the HCL Domino connection configured and a PAT generated, LibreChat can now connect to HCL Domino data through Connect AI.

Step 2: Install LibreChat and configure Connect AI MCP

Next, install LibreChat locally and configure the Connect AI Remote MCP Server so that the chat interface can discover and call live data tools through Connect AI.

1. Install LibreChat by following the official installation guide. If you are using the npm setup, make sure MongoDB and MeiliSearch are installed and running locally
2. Once the installation is complete, start LibreChat and open http://localhost:3080/ in your browser to access the chat interface
3. In the left navigation bar, click the MCP Settings icon, then click Add MCP
4. In the Add MCP panel, configure the server with the following values:
   • Name: CData MCP, or any name of your choice
   • Description: Optional description for the server
   • MCP Server URL: https://mcp.cloud.cdata.com/mcp
   • Transport: Streamable HTTPS
   • Authentication: API Key
   • Header Format: Basic
   • API Key: base64-encoded value of email:PAT

   Note: LibreChat will use Basic authentication with Connect AI. Combine your Connect AI user email and the PAT you created earlier in the format email:PAT, then base64 encode the combined string and paste it in the API Key field. For example, [email protected]:ABC123...XYZ789 base64-encoded becomes something like: dXNlckBkb21haW4uY29tOkFCQzEyMy4uLlhZWjc4OQ==

   
5. Check I trust this application and click Add to save the server
6. The CData MCP server now appears in the left navigation bar. Click the connect icon next to it to establish the connection to Connect AI

Enable the MCP server and configure an LLM provider

LibreChat requires at least one LLM provider to power the chat. Enable the MCP server in the chat input and add an API key for your preferred provider so the model can interpret prompts and call MCP tools through Connect AI.

1. In the chat interface, click the MCP selector at the bottom of the input box and confirm that CData MCP is checked so the tools are exposed to the chat
2. At the top of the chat, click the model selector and choose your preferred LLM provider (e.g., OpenAI, Anthropic, Google) and model
3. Click Set API Key next to the chosen provider, paste your provider API key, and click Submit

With the MCP server and an LLM provider configured, LibreChat is ready to query live HCL Domino data through Connect AI.

Step 3: Query live HCL Domino data from LibreChat

With the integration complete, use the LibreChat chat input to interact with live HCL Domino data through natural language prompts handled by the configured LLM.

1. With the CData MCP server enabled and a model selected, type a prompt in the chat input, for example:
   • List all catalogs in my cdata mcp
   • Show the available schemas and tables for HCL Domino
   • Query the top 5 records from a table in HCL Domino data
2. LibreChat calls the Connect AI MCP Server and returns live results from HCL Domino data

At this point, your LibreChat instance communicates with the Connect AI MCP Server and retrieves live HCL Domino data through remote MCP tools directly from the chat interface.

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