Integrating Cursor CLI with Presto Data via CData CLI

Justin Floyd
Justin Floyd
Product Business Analyst
CData CLI gives AI coding agents direct, command-line-native access to CData Drivers across hundreds of data sources, allowing agents to manage licenses, configure connections, run SQL queries, and explore schema metadata, all without leaving the terminal.

Cursor is an AI editor and coding agent built by Anysphere that plans, writes, and reviews code using agents that understand your entire codebase. Cursor CLI brings these agentic capabilities natively to the terminal, allowing developers to run agents in any terminal, script, or editor without switching context. Its support for integrations and custom agent rules makes Cursor CLI well-suited for structured, multi-step workflows, making it a natural fit for connecting to external data sources through tools like CData CLI. By describing your data goals in plain language, Cursor's agent handles the full setup process from driver configuration to query execution without manual intervention at each step.

This article details step-by-step directions for how to connect Presto to Cursor CLI through CData CLI.

Prerequisites

  1. Cursor CLI installed
  2. CData CLI installed
  3. Access to Presto

About Presto Data Integration

Accessing and integrating live data from Trino and Presto SQL engines has never been easier with CData. Customers rely on CData connectivity to:

  • Access data from Trino v345 and above (formerly PrestoSQL) and Presto v0.242 and above (formerly PrestoDB)
  • Read and write access all of the data underlying your Trino or Presto instances
  • Optimized query generation for maximum throughput.

Presto and Trino allow users to access a variety of underlying data sources through a single endpoint. When paired with CData connectivity, users get pure, SQL-92 access to their instances, allowing them to integrate business data with a data warehouse or easily access live data directly from their preferred tools, like Power BI and Tableau.

In many cases, CData's live connectivity surpasses the native import functionality available in tools. One customer was unable to effectively use Power BI due to the size of the datasets needed for reporting. When the company implemented the CData Power BI Connector for Presto they were able to generate reports in real-time using the DirectQuery connection mode.


Getting Started


Step 1: Download the skill (one-time setup)

Always use CData CLI with the official skill.

  1. The official CData CLI Skill on GitHub can be downloaded using npx skills through the terminal:

    npx skills add CDataSoftware/cli-skills

  2. Follow the prompts in the terminal to install for Cursor CLI.

Step 2: Set up the project directory

Create a project directory to contain all project files.

  1. Navigate to your desired directory in the terminal and start a session with the agent command.

Step 3: Establish the driver and connection

Describe what you want to accomplish in this session with the CLI and Presto data.

I would like to build a command line app that connects to Presto and checks for updates from Customer. Make sure to include data from important columns like FirstName and LastName.

This prompt automatically loads the skill and kicks off the following process. You can always manually prompt the agent for each of the following steps.

  1. Driver setup: Cursor CLI checks for an existing CData Presto driver, or searches and downloads a new one:
    • cdatacli drivers list
    • cdatacli drivers search Presto
    • 
      cdatacli drivers download --artifact-id <artifact-id>
  2. Activation: Activate the Presto driver with a single command for a trial or full license:
    •  cdatacli drivers activate Presto --name "<name>" --email "<email>" --trial
      
    • cdatacli drivers activate Presto --name "<name>" --email "<email>" --key "<product-key>"
      
  3. Establish the connection: Check for existing Presto connections or create a new one:
    • cdatacli connection list
    • cdatacli drivers activate Presto --name "<name>" --email "<email>" --trial
      
  4. Create a Presto skill (if applicable): CData provides driver instructions for popular sources that can be used to create a source-specific skill to guide the agent through best practices for the driver.
    • Run the following command to generate a skill file and save the output to your skills directory. You can choose to save the skill either at the project level or globally. (Note: If "No instructions available for Presto data" error is returned, no driver instructions exist and you can continue to use main driver skill)
      cdatacli drivers skill Presto > ~/skills/cdata-Presto/SKILL.md

Step 4: Query Presto data

With the CData driver fully configured, your agent can now execute queries and write code against live Presto data:

  1. 
    cdatacli query sql --connection <my_Presto_connection> --sql <SELECT * FROM table>

Query Presto data directly from your terminal with CData CLI

Cursor CLI and CData CLI together give your AI coding agent a direct path to live Presto data without custom middleware, scheduled syncs, or manual setup at each step. Describe your goal, and the agent handles driver configuration, connection setup, and query execution from start to finish in the terminal.

Download the free CData CLI and start a free, 30-day trial of the CData JDBC Driver for Presto today.

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