Integrating Codex CLI with Microsoft Exchange data via CData CLI

Codex CLI is OpenAI's open-source coding agent that runs locally from your terminal, built in Rust for speed and efficiency. It can read, modify, and execute code on your machine through natural language instructions, handling multi-file edits, running shell commands, reviewing code changes, and launching Codex Cloud tasks. Its support for integrations, agent skills, and AGENTS.md configuration files makes it well-suited for structured, tool-driven workflows, making it a natural fit for connecting to external data sources through CData CLI.

By describing your data goals in plain language, Codex CLI can handle the full setup process, from driver configuration and license activation to connection creation and query execution, without manual intervention at each step.

This article details step-by-step directions for how to connect Microsoft Exchange data to Codex CLI through CData CLI.

Prerequisites

1. Codex CLI installed
2. CData CLI installed
3. Access to Microsoft Exchange

Step 1: Download the skill (one-time setup)

Always use CData CLI with the official skill.

1. The official CData CLI Skill is available on GitHub and installs through npx skills in the terminal:

   npx skills add CDataSoftware/cli-skills

2. Follow the prompts in the terminal to install for Codex.

Step 2: Set up the project directory

Create a project directory to contain all project files.

1. Navigate to the directory within the terminal and start a session with the codex command:

Step 3: Establish the driver and connection

Describe what you want to accomplish in this session with the CLI and Microsoft Exchange data.

I would like to build a command line app that connects to Microsoft Exchange data and checks for updates from Contacts. Make sure to include data from important columns like GivenName and Size.

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.

1. Driver setup: Codex CLI checks for an existing CData Microsoft Exchange driver, or searches and downloads a new one:

• cdatacli drivers list

• cdatacli drivers search Microsoft Exchange

• cdatacli drivers download --artifact-id 

2. Activation: Activate the Microsoft Exchange driver with a single command for a trial or full license:

• cdatacli drivers activate Microsoft Exchange --name "" --email "" --trial

• cdatacli drivers activate Microsoft Exchange --name "" --email "" --key ""

3. Establish the Microsoft Exchange connection: Check for existing Microsoft Exchange connections or create a new one:

• cdatacli connection list

• cdatacli connection create --driver Microsoft Exchange --name  --connectionstring 

4. Create a Microsoft Exchange skill (if applicable): CData provides driver instructions for popular sources. You can use these to generate a source-specific skill file that guides the agent through best practices for the driver.
• Run the following command and save the output to your skills directory, either at the project level or globally. (Note: If you receive a "No instructions available for Microsoft Exchange" message, no driver instructions exist for this source. You can continue using the main driver skill.)

  cdatacli drivers skill Microsoft Exchange > ~/skills/cdata-Microsoft Exchange/SKILL.md

Step 4: Query Microsoft Exchange data

With the CData driver fully configured, your agent can now execute queries and write code against live Microsoft Exchange data:

cdatacli query sql --connection  --sql 

Query Microsoft Exchange data directly from your terminal with CData CLI

Codex CLI and CData CLI together give your AI coding agent a direct path to live Microsoft Exchange data without custom middleware, scheduled syncs, or manual setup at each step. Describe your goal in plain language, 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 Exchange today.