Integrate Cursor with Live HubDB Data via CData Connect AI

Yazhini G
Yazhini G
Technical Marketing Engineer
Leverage the CData Connect AI Remote MCP Server to enable Cursor to securely access and act on live HubDB data from within the editor.

Cursor is an AI-powered code editor that embeds conversational and agent-style assistance alongside your development workflow. By extending Cursor with MCP (Model Context Protocol) tools, you can give its AI agents secure access to external systems such as APIs and databases.

Integrating Cursor with CData Connect AI via the built-in MCP server allows the editor's AI to query, analyze, and act on live HubDB data without copying data into the IDE. The result is a development experience where you can chat with your governed enterprise data directly from Cursor.

This article outlines how to configure HubDB connectivity in Connect AI, generate the required access token, register Connect AI's MCP Server in Cursor, and then use the AI chat pane to explore live HubDB data.

Step 1: Configure HubDB connectivity for Cursor

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

  1. Log into Connect AI, click Sources, and then click Add Connection
  2. Adding a connection in Connect AI
  3. Select HubDB from the Add Connection panel
  4. Selecting data source
  5. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to HubDB.

    There are two authentication methods available for connecting to HubDB data source: OAuth Authentication with a public HubSpot application and authentication with a Private application token.

    Using a Custom OAuth App

    AuthScheme must be set to "OAuth" in all OAuth flows. Be sure to review the Help documentation for the required connection properties for you specific authentication needs (desktop applications, web applications, and headless machines).

    Follow the steps below to register an application and obtain the OAuth client credentials:

    1. Log into your HubSpot app developer account.
      • Note that it must be an app developer account. Standard HubSpot accounts cannot create public apps.
    2. On the developer account home page, click the Apps tab.
    3. Click Create app.
    4. On the App info tab, enter and optionally modify values that are displayed to users when they connect. These values include the public application name, application logo, and a description of the application.
    5. On the Auth tab, supply a callback URL in the "Redirect URLs" box.
      • If you're creating a desktop application, set this to a locally accessible URL like http://localhost:33333.
      • If you are creating a Web application, set this to a trusted URL where you want users to be redirected to when they authorize your application.
    6. Click Create App. HubSpot then generates the application, along with its associated credentials.
    7. On the Auth tab, note the Client ID and Client secret. You will use these later to configure the driver.
    8. Under Scopes, select any scopes you need for your application's intended functionality.

      A minimum of the following scopes is required to access tables:

      • hubdb
      • oauth
      • crm.objects.owners.read
    9. Click Save changes.
    10. Install the application into a production portal with access to the features that are required by the integration.
      • Under "Install URL (OAuth)", click Copy full URL to copy the installation URL for your application.
      • Navigate to the copied link in your browser. Select a standard account in which to install the application.
      • Click Connect app. You can close the resulting tab.

    Using a Private App

    To connect using a HubSpot private application token, set the AuthScheme property to "PrivateApp."

    You can generate a private application token by following the steps below:

    1. In your HubDB account, click the settings icon (the gear) in the main navigation bar.
    2. In the left sidebar menu, navigate to Integrations > Private Apps.
    3. Click Create private app.
    4. On the Basic Info tab, configure the details of your application (name, logo, and description).
    5. On the Scopes tab, select Read or Write for each scope you want your private application to be able to access.
    6. A minimum of hubdb and crm.objects.owners.read is required to access tables.
    7. After you are done configuring your application, click Create app in the top right.
    8. Review the info about your application's access token, click Continue creating, and then Show token.
    9. Click Copy to copy the private application token.

    To connect, set PrivateAppToken to the private application token you retrieved.

    Configuring a connection (Salesforce is shown)
  6. Click Save & Test
  7. Navigate to the Permissions tab and update user-based permissions
  8. Updating permissions

Add a Personal Access Token

A Personal Access Token (PAT) is used to authenticate the connection to Connect AI from Cursor. 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. Creating a new PAT
  5. The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use

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

Step 2: Configure Connect AI in Cursor

Next, configure Cursor to use Connect AI. Cursor reads MCP configuration from an mcp.json file in the user configuration directory and exposes the registered servers under the Tools & MCP settings. Once configured, Cursor's AI chat can call the tools exposed by CData Connect AI.

  1. Download the Cursor desktop application and complete the sign-up flow for your account
  2. From the top menu, click Settings to open the settings panel Opening Cursor Settings
  3. In the left navigation, open the Tools & MCP tab and click Add Custom MCP Tools & MCP tab with Add Custom MCP
  4. Cursor opens an mcp.json file in the editor
  5. Add the following configuration. Make sure to base64-encode your email:PAT before inserting into the header:
    
    {
      "mcpServers": {
        "cdata-mcp": {
          "url": "https://mcp.cloud.cdata.com/mcp",
          "headers": {
            "Authorization": "Basic your_base64_encoded_email_PAT"
          }
        }
      }
    }
    		
    Configuring mcp.json with Connect AI
  6. Save the file
  7. Return to Settings and then select Tools & MCP. You can now see cdata-mcp enabled with an active indicator Connect AI enabled

Step 3: Chat with CData Connect AI from Cursor

  1. From the top bar, click Toggle AI Pane to open the chat window Opening the AI pane
  2. Test the connection by entering "List connections"
  3. You can also run queries like "Query HubDB data and list the high priority accounts" Querying HubDB data from Connect AI

Cursor is now fully integrated with the CData Connect AI MCP Server and can act on live HubDB data directly from the editor.

Get CData Connect AI

To access hundreds of SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources directly from your development tools, try CData Connect AI today!

Ready to get started?

Learn more about CData Connect AI or sign up for free trial access:

Free Trial