Integrating Cursor CLI with Dynamics 365 Data via CData CLI
Cursor is an AI editor and coding agent built by Anysphere that plans, writes, and reviews code using agents that understand your entire codebase. Cursor CLI brings these agentic capabilities natively to the terminal, allowing developers to run agents in any terminal, script, or editor without switching context. Its support for integrations and custom agent rules makes Cursor CLI well-suited for structured, multi-step workflows, making it a natural fit for connecting to external data sources through tools like CData CLI. By describing your data goals in plain language, Cursor's agent handles the full setup process from driver configuration to query execution without manual intervention at each step.
This article details step-by-step directions for how to connect Dynamics 365 to Cursor CLI through CData CLI.
Prerequisites
- Cursor CLI installed
- CData CLI installed
- Access to Dynamics 365
About Dynamics 365 Data Integration
CData simplifies access and integration of live Microsoft Dynamics 365 data. Our customers leverage CData connectivity to:
- Read and write data in the full Dynamics 365 ecosystem: Sales, Customer Service, Finance & Operations, Marketing, and more.
- Extend the native features of Dynamics CRM with customizable caching and intelligent query aggregation and separation.
- Authenticate securely with Dynamics 365 in a variety of ways, including Microsoft Entra ID, Azure Managed Service Identity credentials, and Azure Service Principal using either a client secret or a certificate.
- Use SQL stored procedures to manage their Dynamics 365 entities - listing, creating, and removing associations between entities.
CData customers use our Dynamics 365 connectivity solutions for a variety of reasons, whether they're looking to replicate their data into a data warehouse (alongside other data sources) or analyze live Dynamics 365 data from their preferred data tools inside the Microsoft ecosystem (Power BI, Excel, etc.) or with external tools (Tableau, Looker, etc.).
Getting Started
Step 1: Download the skill (one-time setup)
Always use CData CLI with the official skill.
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The official CData CLI Skill on GitHub can be downloaded using npx skills through the terminal:
npx skills add CDataSoftware/cli-skills
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Follow the prompts in the terminal to install for Cursor CLI.
Step 2: Set up the project directory
Create a project directory to contain all project files.
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Navigate to your desired directory in the terminal and start a session with the agent command.
Step 3: Establish the driver and connection
Describe what you want to accomplish in this session with the CLI and Dynamics 365 data.
I would like to build a command line app that connects to Dynamics 365 and checks for updates from GoalHeadings. Make sure to include data from important columns like GoalHeadingId and Name.
This prompt automatically loads the skill and kicks off the following process. You can always manually prompt the agent for each of the following steps.
- Driver setup: Cursor CLI checks for an existing CData Dynamics 365 driver, or searches and downloads a new one:
cdatacli drivers list
cdatacli drivers search Dynamics 365
cdatacli drivers download --artifact-id <artifact-id>
- Activation: Activate the Dynamics 365 driver with a single command for a trial or full license:
cdatacli drivers activate Dynamics 365 --name "<name>" --email "<email>" --trial
cdatacli drivers activate Dynamics 365 --name "<name>" --email "<email>" --key "<product-key>"
- Establish the connection: Check for existing Dynamics 365 connections or create a new one:
cdatacli connection list
cdatacli drivers activate Dynamics 365 --name "<name>" --email "<email>" --trial
- Create a Dynamics 365 skill (if applicable): CData provides driver instructions for popular sources that can be used to create a source-specific skill to guide the agent through best practices for the driver.
- Run the following command to generate a skill file and save the output to your skills directory. You can choose to save the skill either at the project level or globally. (Note: If "No instructions available for Dynamics 365 data" error is returned, no driver instructions exist and you can continue to use main driver skill)
cdatacli drivers skill Dynamics 365 > ~/skills/cdata-Dynamics 365/SKILL.md
Step 4: Query Dynamics 365 data
With the CData driver fully configured, your agent can now execute queries and write code against live Dynamics 365 data:
cdatacli query sql --connection <my_Dynamics 365_connection> --sql <SELECT * FROM table>
Query Dynamics 365 data directly from your terminal with CData CLI
Cursor CLI and CData CLI together give your AI coding agent a direct path to live Dynamics 365 data without custom middleware, scheduled syncs, or manual setup at each step. Describe your goal, and the agent handles driver configuration, connection setup, and query execution from start to finish in the terminal.
Download the free CData CLI and start a free, 30-day trial of the CData JDBC Driver for Dynamics 365 today.