Integrate Devin with Live Linear Data Using CData Connect AI

Devin is an AI software engineer from Cognition that plans, writes, and tests code in autonomous sessions. It supports the model context protocol (MCP) through its built-in MCP marketplace, allowing you to install remote MCP servers and give Devin access to external tools and live data sources.

By integrating Devin with CData Connect AI through the built-in MCP Server, Devin gains governed, real-time access to live Linear data. You can list catalogs, explore schemas, and query records from Linear data using natural language prompts, with all data access running securely against authorized sources.

This article explains how to configure Linear connectivity in Connect AI, install the CData Connect AI MCP Server from the Devin MCP marketplace, and verify the integration by querying live Linear data from a Devin session.

Step 1: Configure Linear connectivity for Devin

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

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

2. Select Linear from the Add Connection panel

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Linear.

   You can authenticate to Linear with a personal API key or with OAuth 2.0. The API key is the simplest option for connecting with your own Linear account.

   Authenticating with an API Key

   Set the following connection properties:

   • AuthScheme: Set this to APIKey.
   • APIKey: A Linear personal API key.

   To create a personal API key, log in to Linear, open Settings > Security & access > Personal API keys, select New API key, and create it. Copy the key immediately, because Linear shows it only once.

   Authenticating with OAuth

   OAuth requires a custom OAuth application registered in Linear (Settings > API > OAuth applications), which provides the OAuthClientId and OAuthClientSecret. Two flows are supported:

   • Authorization code: Set AuthScheme to OAuth, InitiateOAuth to GETANDREFRESH, and provide OAuthClientId, OAuthClientSecret, and the CallbackURL defined in your application (e.g., http://localhost:33333). The driver opens Linear in your browser so you can grant access.
   • Client credentials: Set AuthScheme to OAuthClient and provide OAuthClientId and OAuthClientSecret. This authenticates the application itself, with no browser interaction, and suits machine-to-machine integrations.

   By default, the driver requests the read,write scopes. The driver refreshes the access token automatically when it expires.

   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab and update user-based permissions

With the Linear connection configured, Devin can now connect to Linear data through Connect AI.

Step 2: Install the Connect AI MCP Server in Devin

Next, install the CData Connect AI MCP Server from the Devin MCP servers list so your sessions can discover and call live data tools through Connect AI.

Note: Installing MCP servers in Devin requires the Manage MCP Servers permission. If you don't have this permission, use the Suggest option or contact your organization admin.

1. Log into Devin and navigate to Settings and Connections, then select the MCP servers tab
2. Search for CData Connect AI in the marketplace and select the verified listing

3. Click Install and enable. When prompted, complete the OAuth flow to authenticate with your Connect AI account
4. Once installed, confirm the Enable in sessions toggle is on and click Test tools. Devin validates the connection and lists the available Connect AI tools, such as getCatalogs, getSchemas, getTables, and queryData

With the MCP server installed and enabled, the Connect AI tools are available to every Devin session in your workspace.

Step 3: Query live Linear data from Devin

With the integration complete, start a Devin session and interact with live Linear data through natural language prompts.

1. From the Devin home page, start a new session
2. In the session prompt, ask Devin to work with your Connect AI data, for example:
   • Can you list the connections in CData Connect AI
   • Show the available schemas and tables for Linear
   • Query the top 5 records from a table in Linear
3. Devin calls the Connect AI MCP Server and returns live results from Linear data directly in the session. You can follow the tool calls, inputs, and outputs in the Progress panel

At this point, Devin communicates with the Connect AI MCP Server and retrieves live Linear data through remote MCP tools directly from your sessions, whether you're exploring data, building features against it, or automating engineering tasks.

Get started with 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, and our Support Team is available to help with any questions you have.