Query Live SAS Data Sets 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 SAS Data Sets 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 SAS Data Sets 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 SAS Data Sets data.

Step 1: Configure SAS Data Sets connectivity for Perplexity Desktop

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

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

2. Select SAS Data Sets from the Add Connection panel

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to SAS Data Sets.

   Set the following connection properties to connect to your SAS DataSet files:

   Connecting to Local Files

   • Set the Connection Type to "Local." Local files support SELECT, INSERT, and DELETE commands.
   • Set the URI to a folder containing SAS files, e.g. C:\PATH\TO\FOLDER\.

   Connecting to Cloud-Hosted SAS DataSet Files

   While the driver is capable of pulling data from SAS DataSet files hosted on a variety of cloud data stores, INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE are not supported outside of local files in this driver.

   Set the Connection Type to the service hosting your SAS DataSet files. A unique prefix at the beginning of the URI connection property is used to identify the cloud data store and the remainder of the path is a relative path to the desired folder (one table per file) or single file (a single table). For more information, refer to the Getting Started section of the Help documentation.

   
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 SAS Data Sets connection configured and an OAuth App created, Perplexity Desktop can now connect to SAS Data Sets 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 SAS Data Sets 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 SAS Data Sets 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 SAS Data Sets data. For example:

   "List all the tables available in my SAS Data Sets data connection."

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

Perplexity Desktop is now fully integrated with the CData Connect AI MCP Server and can reason over live SAS Data Sets data directly from the chat interface.

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