Integrate Live Google Cloud Storage Data in the Windsurf IDE via CData Connect AI

Windsurf is an AI-native IDE built around Cascade, an autonomous coding agent that understands project context and executes multi-step tasks directly inside the editor. Cascade supports the Model Context Protocol (MCP), allowing the agent to discover and call external tools and data sources without leaving the development environment.

By integrating Windsurf with CData Connect AI through the built-in MCP server, the Cascade agent gains governed, real-time access to live Google Cloud Storage data. This enables developers to list catalogs, inspect schemas, and query records from Google Cloud Storage data within the IDE using natural language prompts.

This article explains how to configure Google Cloud Storage connectivity in Connect AI, generate the required personal access token, configure the Connect AI MCP Server in Windsurf, and verify the integration by querying live Google Cloud Storage data from the Cascade chat.

Step 1: Configure Google Cloud Storage connectivity for Windsurf

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

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

2. Select Google Cloud Storage from the Add Connection panel

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Google Cloud Storage.

   Authenticate with a User Account

   You can connect without setting any connection properties for your user credentials. After setting InitiateOAuth to GETANDREFRESH, you are ready to connect.

   When you connect, the Google Cloud Storage OAuth endpoint opens in your default browser. Log in and grant permissions, then the OAuth process completes

   Authenticate with a Service Account

   Service accounts have silent authentication, without user authentication in the browser. You can also use a service account to delegate enterprise-wide access scopes.

   You need to create an OAuth application in this flow. See the Help documentation for more information. After setting the following connection properties, you are ready to connect:

   • InitiateOAuth: Set this to GETANDREFRESH.
   • OAuthJWTCertType: Set this to "PFXFILE".
   • OAuthJWTCert: Set this to the path to the .p12 file you generated.
   • OAuthJWTCertPassword: Set this to the password of the .p12 file.
   • OAuthJWTCertSubject: Set this to "*" to pick the first certificate in the certificate store.
   • OAuthJWTIssuer: In the service accounts section, click Manage Service Accounts and set this field to the email address displayed in the service account Id field.
   • OAuthJWTSubject: Set this to your enterprise Id if your subject type is set to "enterprise" or your app user Id if your subject type is set to "user".
   • ProjectId: Set this to the Id of the project you want to connect to.

   The OAuth flow for a service account then completes.

   
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 Windsurf. 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 Google Cloud Storage connection configured and a PAT generated, Windsurf can now connect to Google Cloud Storage data.

Step 2: Configure Connect AI MCP in Windsurf

Next, configure the Connect AI Remote MCP Server in Windsurf so that the Cascade agent can discover and call live data tools through Connect AI.

1. Download and install the Windsurf IDE
2. Open Windsurf, click your profile icon in the top right, and select Windsurf Settings
3. Under the Cascade section, locate MCP Servers and click Open MCP Registry
4. In the MCP Marketplace, click Add custom MCP in the top right
5. This opens the mcp_config.json file. Paste the following JSON:

   {
       "mcpServers": {
           "cdata-mcp": {
               "serverUrl": "https://mcp.cloud.cdata.com/mcp",
               "headers": {
                   "Authorization": "Basic your_base64_encoded_email_PAT",
                   "Content-Type": "application/json"
               }
           }
       }
   }
   		

   Note: Windsurf will use Basic authentication with Connect AI. Combine your Connect AI user email and the PAT you created earlier in the format email:PAT, base64 encode the combined string, and prefix it with Basic. For example, given [email protected]:ABC123...XYZ789, the Authorization header value becomes something like: Basic dXNlckBkb21haW4uY29tOkFCQzEyMy4uLlhZWjc4OQ==

   
6. Save the mcp_config.json file and return to the MCP Registry
7. Under Installed, confirm that cdata-mcp is listed and marked as Enabled

With the MCP server registered and enabled, Windsurf is ready to query live Google Cloud Storage data through Connect AI.

Step 3: Query live Google Cloud Storage data from Windsurf

With the integration complete, use the Cascade chat panel in Windsurf to interact with live Google Cloud Storage data through natural language prompts.

1. On the top bar of Windsurf, switch from Editor to Agent to open a new Cascade chat
2. At the bottom of the chat panel, confirm that the cdata-mcp server is listed and the toggle is enabled
3. Start interacting with the agent by entering prompts like:
   • List all catalogs in my cdata-mcp connection
   • Show the available schemas and tables for Google Cloud Storage
   • Query the top 5 records from a table in Google Cloud Storage data
4. The Cascade agent calls the Connect AI MCP Server and returns live results from Google Cloud Storage data

At this point, your Windsurf IDE communicates with the Connect AI MCP Server and retrieves live Google Cloud Storage data through remote MCP directly from the editor.

Get CData Connect AI

To access hundreds of SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources directly from your cloud applications, try CData Connect AI today! Download a free 14-day trial of CData Connect AI today, and as always, our Support Team is available to assist you with any questions you may have.