Integrate Goose with Live QuickBooks Online Data via CData Connect AI
Goose is an open source AI agent that runs locally on your machine and works with a wide range of LLM providers. It supports the model context protocol (MCP) through its extensions framework, so you can add external tools and data sources and give the agent access to live systems beyond the model's training data.
By integrating Goose with CData Connect AI through the built-in MCP Server, Goose gains governed, real-time access to live QuickBooks Online data. You can list catalogs, explore schemas, and query records from QuickBooks Online data using natural language prompts, with all data access running securely against authorized sources.
This article explains how to configure QuickBooks Online connectivity in Connect AI, generate the required personal access token, install and set up Goose, add the Connect AI MCP Server as a custom extension, and verify the integration by querying live QuickBooks Online data from the Goose chat.
About QuickBooks Online Data Integration
CData provides the easiest way to access and integrate live data from QuickBooks Online. Customers use CData connectivity to:
- Realize high-performance data reads thanks to push-down query optimization for complex operations like filters and aggregations.
- Read, write, update, and delete QuickBooks Online data.
- Run reports, download attachments, and send or void invoices directly from code using SQL stored procedures.
- Connect securely using OAuth and modern cryptography, including TLS 1.2, SHA-256, and ECC.
Many users access live QuickBooks Online data from preferred analytics tools like Power BI and Excel, directly from databases with federated access, and use CData solutions to easily integrate QuickBooks Online data with automated workflows for business-to-business communications.
For more information on how customers are solving problems with CData's QuickBooks Online solutions, refer to our blog: https://www.cdata.com/blog/360-view-of-your-customers.
Getting Started
Step 1: Configure QuickBooks Online connectivity for Goose
Connectivity to QuickBooks Online from Goose is made possible through Connect AI's Remote MCP Server. To interact with QuickBooks Online data from Goose, start by creating and configuring a QuickBooks Online connection in Connect AI.
- Log into Connect AI, click Sources, and then click Add Connection
- Select QuickBooks Online from the Add Connection panel
-
QuickBooks Online uses OAuth to authenticate. Click Sign in to authenticate with QuickBooks Online
- 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 Goose. It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each integration to maintain granular access control.
- Click the gear icon () at the top right of the Connect AI app to open Settings
- On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT
- Give the PAT a descriptive name and click Create
- Copy the token when displayed and store it securely. It will not be shown again
With the QuickBooks Online connection configured and a PAT generated, Goose can now connect to QuickBooks Online data through Connect AI.
Step 2: Install and set up Goose
Next, install Goose, choose an LLM provider, and add the Connect AI Remote MCP Server as a custom extension so the agent can discover and call live data tools through Connect AI.
- Download and install Goose by following the official installation guide, then launch the application
-
On the Welcome to goose screen, choose an AI provider. Select Use Free/Local Providers to run a local model, or Connect to a Provider to configure a provider such as OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google, and enter the required API key
-
In the left navigation, click Extensions, then click + Add custom extension
-
In the extension dialog, configure the server with the following values:
- Extension Name: CData MCP, or any name of your choice
- Type: Streamable HTTP
- Endpoint: https://mcp.cloud.cdata.com/mcp
-
Under Request Headers, add the following two headers and click + Add after each pair:
- Authorization: Basic your_base64_encoded_email_PAT
- Content-Type: application/json
Note: Goose will use Basic authentication with Connect AI. Combine your Connect AI user email and the PAT you created earlier in the format email:PAT, base64 encode the combined string, and prefix it with Basic. For example, given [email protected]:ABC123...XYZ789, the Authorization header value becomes something like: Basic dXNlckBkb21haW4uY29tOkFCQzEyMy4uLlhZWjc4OQ==
- Click Save to save the configuration
-
Return to the chat, click the extensions icon at the bottom of the chat input, and confirm that the configured MCP is enabled
With the MCP server added and an LLM provider configured, Goose is ready to query live QuickBooks Online data through Connect AI.
Step 3: Query live QuickBooks Online data from Goose
With the integration complete, use the Goose chat to interact with live QuickBooks Online data through natural language prompts handled by the configured LLM.
-
With the CData MCP extension enabled, type a prompt in the chat, for example:
- List catalogs from my CData MCP
- Show the available schemas and tables for QuickBooks Online
- Query the top 5 records from a table in QuickBooks Online data
-
Goose calls the Connect AI MCP Server and returns live results from QuickBooks Online data
At this point, your Goose agent communicates with the Connect AI MCP Server and retrieves live QuickBooks Online data through remote MCP tools directly from the chat.
Get 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.