Query Live IBM Cloud Object Storage Data in Perplexity Desktop via CData Connect AI

Perplexity is an AI-powered research and answer engine that combines web search, structured data, and connected tools through a unified conversational interface. With Perplexity Desktop for macOS, you can bring external data sources directly into your workflow using MCP, enabling fast, context-aware insights powered by live data.

Integrating Perplexity Desktop with CData Connect AI via its built-in MCP connector allows the AI to query, explore, and reason over live IBM Cloud Object Storage data without copying data out of its source system. The result is a research experience where you can ask questions about your governed enterprise data directly from Perplexity Desktop.

This article outlines how to configure IBM Cloud Object Storage connectivity in Connect AI, generate the required access token, register Connect AI's MCP Server in Perplexity Desktop, and then use the chat interface to explore live IBM Cloud Object Storage data.

Step 1: Configure IBM Cloud Object Storage connectivity for Perplexity Desktop

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

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

2. Select IBM Cloud Object Storage from the Add Connection panel

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to IBM Cloud Object Storage.

   Register a New Instance of Cloud Object Storage

   If you do not already have Cloud Object Storage in your IBM Cloud account, follow the procedure below to install an instance of SQL Query in your account:

   1. Log in to your IBM Cloud account.
   2. Navigate to the page, choose a name for your instance and click Create. You will be redirected to the instance of Cloud Object Storage you just created.

   Connecting using OAuth Authentication

   There are certain connection properties you need to set before you can connect. You can obtain these as follows:

   API Key

   To connect with IBM Cloud Object Storage, you need an API Key. You can obtain this as follows:

   1. Log in to your IBM Cloud account.
   2. Navigate to the Platform API Keys page.
   3. On the middle-right corner click "Create an IBM Cloud API Key" to create a new API Key.
   4. In the pop-up window, specify the API Key name and click "Create". Note the API Key as you can never access it again from the dashboard.

   Cloud Object Storage CRN

   If you have multiple accounts, specify the CloudObjectStorageCRN explicitly. To find the appropriate value, you can:

   • Query the Services view. This will list your IBM Cloud Object Storage instances along with the CRN for each.
   • Locate the CRN directly in IBM Cloud. To do so, navigate to your IBM Cloud Dashboard. In the Resource List, Under Storage, select your Cloud Object Storage resource to get its CRN.

   Connecting to Data

   You can now set the following to connect to data:

   • InitiateOAuth: Set this to GETANDREFRESH. You can use InitiateOAuth to avoid repeating the OAuth exchange and manually setting the OAuthAccessToken.
   • ApiKey: Set this to your API key which was noted during setup.
   • CloudObjectStorageCRN (Optional): Set this to the cloud object storage CRN you want to work with. While the connector attempts to retrieve this automatically, specifying this explicitly is recommended if you have more than Cloud Object Storage account.

   When you connect, the connector completes the OAuth process.

   1. Extracts the access token and authenticates requests.
   2. Saves OAuth values in OAuthSettingsLocation to be persisted across connections.
   
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 Perplexity Desktop. 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. The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use

Create an OAuth App in CData Connect AI

Perplexity Desktop uses OAuth 2.0 to authenticate users against the CData Connect AI MCP Server. This requires creating an OAuth App in your CData Connect AI account.

1. Click the Gear icon () in the top-right corner of Connect AI to open Settings
2. Navigate to OAuth Apps and click + Create App. The Create OAuth App dialog appears
3. Fill in the following fields:
   • Name — Enter a descriptive name (e.g.,

     PerplexityOAuth

     )
   • Authentication Flow — Select User-based (Authorization Code)
   • Callback URL — Enter the callback URL provided by Perplexity Desktop when adding the connector
   
4. Click Confirm. CData Connect AI generates a Client ID and Client Secret
5. Copy both values and store them securely. You will need them in Step 2

With the IBM Cloud Object Storage connection configured and an OAuth App created, Perplexity Desktop can now connect to IBM Cloud Object Storage data through Connect AI.

Step 2: Configure Connect AI in Perplexity Desktop

Next, register the CData Connect AI MCP Server as a custom remote connector in Perplexity Desktop. This feature requires a Perplexity Pro, Max, or Enterprise account and the macOS desktop app. Once configured, Perplexity's AI can call the tools exposed by CData Connect AI to access live IBM Cloud Object Storage data.

1. Download the Perplexity Desktop application for macOS and sign in with your Pro, Max, or Enterprise account
2. Open Settings > Connectors. If the Perplexity Helper App is not installed, you will be prompted to download it. Install the Helper App, then restart Perplexity Desktop
3. After restarting, return to Settings > Connectors and click Add Custom Remote Connector
4. In the URL field, enter the CData Connect AI MCP endpoint:

   https://mcp.cloud.cdata.com/mcp

   
5. For the authentication method, select OAuth. Enter the Client ID and Client Secret from the OAuth App created in Step 1, and click Connect
6. You will be redirected to CData Connect AI to authorize the connection. Sign in and click Allow to grant Perplexity access
7. After successful authorization, you will be redirected back to Perplexity Desktop. The connector should now appear in the list with an active status

Step 3: Query your live IBM Cloud Object Storage data from Perplexity Desktop

1. Open a new chat in Perplexity Desktop. Click the Sources toggle and enable your CData connector
2. Start asking questions about your IBM Cloud Object Storage data. For example:

   "List all the tables available in my IBM Cloud Object Storage data connection."

   
3. Try additional queries such as:
   • "Show the available schemas in IBM Cloud Object Storage."
   • "Retrieve the top 10 records from the Account table."
   • "Summarize the high-priority open opportunities in IBM Cloud Object Storage."

Perplexity Desktop is now fully integrated with the CData Connect AI MCP Server and can reason over live IBM Cloud Object Storage data directly from the chat interface.

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