Build GitLab-Connected Applications in Kiro with CData Connect AI MCP Server

Kiro is an agentic AI IDE from AWS that takes a spec-driven approach to software development, turning a natural language prompt into a detailed spec, then into working code, tests, and documentation. Available as a desktop IDE and CLI, Kiro supports remote MCP servers natively across all plans, letting agents pull live context from enterprise systems while they build.

By integrating Kiro with CData Connect AI through the MCP (Model Context Protocol), Kiro agents gain the ability to query, analyze, and act on live GitLab data directly inside any coding session. Connect AI manages authentication, security, and query optimization so you can focus on building intelligent applications, while Kiro handles spec generation, code writing, and task execution.

This article outlines the steps to configure GitLab connectivity in Connect AI, generate the required authentication credentials, register the Connect AI MCP Server in Kiro, and verify that your agent can successfully interact with live GitLab data during coding sessions.

Prerequisites

• Kiro account
• CData Connect AI account
• GitLab account with valid credentials.

Step 1: Configure GitLab Connectivity for Kiro

Connectivity to GitLab from Kiro is made possible through Connect AI's Remote MCP Server. To interact with GitLab data from your Kiro agent sessions, start by creating and configuring a GitLab connection in Connect AI.

1. Log into Connect AI, click Sources, and then click Add Connection.
2. Select GitLab from the Add Connection panel.
3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to GitLab.

   To connect to GitLab, use either OAuth or a personal access token:

   Using OAuth

   Register an OAuth application in GitLab under Edit Profile > Applications (or group Settings > Applications). Set the Redirect URI to https://oauth.cdata.com/oauth/. Note the Application ID (OAuth Client Id) and Secret (shown once). Then set:

   • OAuth Client Id: The Application ID from your GitLab OAuth application.
   • OAuth Client Secret: The Secret from your GitLab OAuth application.

   Click Sign In to complete OAuth authentication.

   Using a Personal Access Token

   In GitLab, navigate to Edit Profile > Access Tokens > Add new token. Select the required scopes (such as api, read_api, read_user, read_repository) and set an expiration date. Copy the token immediately (shown only once). Then set:

   • API Key: The personal access token from your GitLab account.
   
4. Click Save & Test.
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add GitLab Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

Add a Personal Access Token

A Personal Access Token (PAT) is used to authenticate the connection to Connect AI from Kiro. 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 (e.g., Kiro MCP) and click Create.

With the GitLab connection configured and a PAT generated, Kiro can now connect to GitLab data through Connect AI.

Step 2: Register the CData Connect AI MCP Server in Kiro

Kiro connects to external data sources through MCP servers configured in a file called mcp.json. In this step, you will open that file, add the Connect AI server details, and verify the connection.

1. Open a project folder. Kiro requires an open project before its agent features activate. When Kiro launches, click Open a project on the Getting started screen (or click Open Folder in the Explorer panel on the left). You can open any existing folder or create a new empty one, it just needs to be open.
2. Open the MCP config file. Press Ctrl + Shift + P (Windows) or Cmd + Shift + P (Mac) to open the command palette. Type MCP and select Kiro: Open user MCP config (JSON). This opens the mcp.json file where you register MCP servers for Kiro.
3. Generate your Base64 credentials. Kiro authenticates with Connect AI using your email and PAT, encoded together as a single Base64 string. Open a terminal and run the command for your operating system. Replace [email protected] with your Connect AI login email and YourPAT with the PAT you created in Step 1.

   Windows (PowerShell):

   [Convert]::ToBase64String([Text.Encoding]::UTF8.GetBytes("[email protected]:YourPAT"))

   Mac/Linux (Terminal):

   echo -n "[email protected]:YourPAT" | base64

   Copy the output string. You will paste it into the config file in the next step.

4. Add the Connect AI server to mcp.json. Paste the following block into your mcp.json file. Replace your_base64_string with the string you copied in the previous step:

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "cdata-connect-ai": {
         "url": "https://mcp.cloud.cdata.com/mcp",
         "headers": {
           "Authorization": "Basic your_base64_string"
         }
       }
     }
   }    

   
5. Save the file. Press Ctrl + S (Windows) or Cmd + S (Mac). Kiro picks up changes to mcp.json automatically, no restart is needed.
6. Verify the connection. Click the ghost icon in the left sidebar to open the Kiro panel. Under MCP SERVERS, you should see cdata-connect-ai with a green connected indicator. You can also confirm by typing the following in the Kiro chat panel:

   List all available connections from Connect AI.

   If your GitLab connection appears in the response, the MCP server is set up correctly and you are ready to query live data.

   

Step 3: Query Live GitLab Data from Kiro

With the MCP server registered and verified, Kiro agents can now access your live GitLab data directly in any session. Open the Kiro chat panel and use the following prompts to interact with your data.

The integration uses the following Connect AI MCP tools in sequence:

Open the Kiro chat panel and try the following prompts to interact with your GitLab data:

• "What tables are available in my GitLab connection?"
• "What are the top records in GitLab data ordered by revenue?"
• "List all active GitLab data and their current status."
• "Summarize GitLab data activity for this quarter."

Kiro automatically discovers all CData connections, selects the most relevant connection, discovers the schema, generates, and executes the appropriate SQL query, and returns live results directly in the chat.

Build real-time, data-aware applications with Kiro and CData

Kiro and CData Connect AI together enable intelligent, AI-driven development where natural language prompts are automatically translated into live data operations across enterprise systems, without ETL pipelines, data sync jobs, or custom integration logic. This streamlined approach delivers stronger governance, lower operational overhead, and faster, more grounded responses from AI-powered agents.

Start a free trial today to see how CData Connect AI can empower Kiro with live, secure access to hundreds of enterprise systems.