Use Manus AI to Talk to Your HubDB Data via CData Connect AI

Manus AI is an autonomous AI agent platform that helps users accomplish complex tasks through natural language from browsing the web to executing code and interacting with external services. When combined with CData Connect AI remote MCP, users can leverage Manus AI to interact with their HubDB data in real-time, without any data replication.

This article explains how to connect to HubDB using the CData Connect AI MCP Server and configure Manus AI to conversationally explore (or Vibe Query) their HubDB data. With Connect AI, users can build AI agents with access to live HubDB data, plus hundreds of other sources.

Step 1: Configure HubDB connectivity for Manus AI

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

1. Log into Connect AI, click Connections and click Add Connection
2. Select "HubDB" from the Add Connection panel
3. 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.

   Click Save & Test
4. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add HubDB 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 Manus AI. It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each service to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click on the Gear icon () at the top right of the Connect AI app to open the settings page.
2. On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give the PAT a name and click Create.
4. The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.

With the connection configured and a PAT generated, we are ready to connect to HubDB data from Manus AI.

Step 2: Get started with Manus AI

Navigate to Manus and sign in to your Manus AI account. Once logged in, you are ready to configure the CData Connect AI MCP Server as a custom connector.

Step 3: Add the CData Connect AI MCP Server as a connector

Manus AI supports connecting to external MCP servers via its Connectors settings. There are two methods to add the CData Connect AI MCP Server: Import by JSON or Direct Configuration. Both methods are explained below.

1. In Manus AI, click on the profile icon and navigate to Settings
2. Go to the Connectors section and click Add Connectors
3. Locate Custom MCP
4. Click Add custom MCP to select the configuration options

Option A: Import by JSON

Use this method to quickly configure the MCP Server by pasting a JSON configuration snippet.

1. Select Import by JSON from the connector setup options.
2. Paste the following JSON into the configuration field, replacing the placeholder values with your Connect AI credentials:

   
   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "cdata-connect-ai": {
         "transport": "sse",
         "url": "https://mcp.cloud.cdata.com/mcp",
         "headers": {
           "Authorization": "Basic USER_NAME:YOUR_CONNECTAI_PAT;"
         }
       }
     }
   }
       

   Replace url with the Connect AI MCP URL, USER_NAME with your Connect AI email address, and YOUR_CONNECTAI_PAT with the Personal Access Token created in Step 1.
3. Click Import to apply the configuration.

Option B: Direct Configuration

Use this method to manually enter the MCP Server connection properties through the Manus AI interface.

1. Select Direct Configuration from the connector setup options.
2. Fill in the following fields:
   • Server Name: CData Connect AI
   • Transport Type: HTTP
   • Server URL: https://mcp.cloud.cdata.com/mcp
   • Custom Headers: Add a header with the name Authorization and the value Basic Base64Encoded(username:pat), replacing the placeholder with your Base64-encoded Connect AI email and PAT combination.
   
3. Optionally, enter a Note to provide Manus AI with instructions on how and when to use this MCP connector.
4. Click Save to establish the connection to the CData Connect AI MCP Server. Once saved, the connector will appear as active in your Connectors list.

Step 4: Query your HubDB data using natural language

With the CData Connect AI MCP configured in Manus AI, users can now interact with their HubDB data using natural language in any new Manus AI chat session.

1. Open a new chat in Manus AI.
2. Start asking questions about the HubDB data. For example:
   • Show me all customers from the last 30 days
   • What are my top performing products?
   • Analyze sales trends for Q4
   • List all active projects with their current status
3. Manus AI will use the CData Connect AI MCP Server to query your HubDB data in real-time and provide responses based on live data.

Get CData Connect AI

To get live data access to hundreds of SaaS, big data, and NoSQL sources directly from your cloud applications, try CData Connect AI today!