How to Connect to Live Typeform Data in n8n Workflows and Agents (via CData Connect AI)

Yazhini G
Yazhini G
Technical Marketing Engineer
Leverage the CData Connect AI Remote MCP Server to enable n8n to securely read and take actions on your Typeform data for you.

n8n is an open-source workflow automation tool that allows you to connect various applications and services to automate tasks and processes. When combined with CData Connect AI Remote MCP, you can leverage n8n to interact with your Typeform data in real-time. This article outlines the process of connecting to Typeform using Connect AI Remote MCP and creating a basic workflow in n8n to interact with your Typeform data.

CData Connect AI offers a dedicated cloud-to-cloud interface for connecting to Typeform data. The CData Connect AI Remote MCP Server enables secure communication between n8n and Typeform. This allows you to ask questions and take actions on your Typeform data using n8n, all without the need for data replication to a natively supported database. With its inherent optimized data processing capabilities, CData Connect AI efficiently channels all supported SQL operations, including filters and JOINs, directly to Typeform. This leverages server-side processing to swiftly deliver the requested Typeform data.

In this article, we show how to build a simple chat agent in n8n to conversational explore (or Vibe Query) your data. The connectivity principals apply to any n8n workflow. With Connect AI you can build workflows and agents with access to live Typeform data, plus hundreds of other sources.

Step 1: Configure Typeform Connectivity for n8n

Connectivity to Typeform from n8n is made possible through CData Connect AI Remote MCP. To interact with Typeform data from n8n, we start by creating and configuring a Typeform connection in CData Connect AI.

  1. Log into Connect AI, click Sources, and then click Add Connection
    2. Adding a Connection
  2. Select "Typeform" from the Add Connection panel
    3. Selecting a data source
  3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Typeform.

    Start by setting the Profile connection property to the location of the TypeForm Profile on disk (e.g. C:\profiles\TypeForm.apip). Next, set the ProfileSettings connection property to the connection string for TypeForm (see below).

    TypeForm API Profile Settings

    Authentication to TypeForm uses the OAuth standard.

    To authenticate to TypeForm, you must first register and configure an OAuth application with TypeForm here: https://admin.typeform.com/account#/section/tokens. Your app will be assigned a client ID and a client secret which can be set in the connection string. More information on setting up an OAuth application can be found at https://developer.typeform.com/get-started/.

    Note that there are several different use scenarios which all require different redirect URIs:

    • CData Desktop Applications: CData desktop applications (Sync, API Server, ArcESB) accept OAuth tokens at /src/oauthCallback.rst. The host and port is the same as the default port used by the application. For example, if you use http://localhost:8019/ to access CData Sync then the redirect URI will be http://localhost:8019/src/oauthCallback.rst.
    • CData Cloud Applications: CData cloud applications are similar to their desktop counterparts. If you access Connect AI at https://1.2.3.4/ then you should use the redirect https://1.2.3.4/src/oauthCallback.rst.
    • Desktop Application: When using a desktop application, the URI https://localhost:33333 is recommended.
    • Web Application: When developing a web application using the driver, use your own URI here such as https://my-website.com/oauth.

    After setting the following connection properties, you are ready to connect:

    • AuthScheme: Set this to OAuth.
    • InitiateOAuth: Set this to GETANDREFRESH. You can use InitiateOAuth to manage the process to obtain the OAuthAccessToken.
    • OAuthClientId: Set this to the Client Id that is specified in your app settings.
    • OAuthClientSecret: Set this to Client Secret that is specified in your app settings.
    • CallbackURL: Set this to the Redirect URI you specified in your app settings.
    Configuring a connection (Salesforce is shown)
  4. Click Save & Test
  5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Typeform Connection page and update the User-based permissions. Updating permissions

Add a Personal Access Token

A Personal Access Token (PAT) is used to authenticate the connection to Connect AI from n8n. It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each service to maintain granularity of access.

  1. Click on the Gear icon () at the top right of the Connect AI app to open the settings page.
  2. On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
  3. Give the PAT a name and click Create. Creating a new PAT
  4. The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.

With the connection configured and a PAT generated, we are ready to connect to Typeform data from n8n.

Step 2: Connect n8n to CData Connect AI

Follow these steps to connect to CData Connect AI in n8n:

  1. Sign in to n8n.io or create a new account.
  2. Create a Workflow in n8n that uses the MCP Client tool. The example Workflow below acts as a chatbot. OpenAI was used as the Chat Model, and Simple Memory was used for the Memory. Example n8n Workflow using MCP Client
  3. Configure the MCP Client node in the Workflow:
    • Set Endpoint to https://mcp.cloud.cdata.com/mcp (found in the "Connect Data to AI" ribbon in Connect AI)
    • Set Server Transport to HTTP Streamable
    • Set Authentication to Header Auth and set the following properties to use Basic authentication:
      • Set Name to Authorization
      • Set Value to Basic EMAIL:PAT, replacing the EMAIL and PAT with your Connect AI email address and the PAT created previously. For example: Basic [email protected]:Uu90pt5vEO..."
      Configure Header Auth
    Configure MCP Client Node

Optional Step: Give the AI Agent context

This step establishes the AI Agent's role and provides context for the conversation through the System Message parameter in the AI Agent node. By providing a system message that explicitly informs the agent about its role as an MCP Server expert and lists the available tools, you can enhance the agent's understanding and response accuracy. For example, you can set the System Message to: 

You are an expert at using the MCP Client tool connected which is the CData Connect AI MCP Server. Always search thoroughly and use the most relevant MCP Client tool for each query. Below are the available tools and a description of each:
queryData: Execute SQL queries against connected data sources and retrieve results. When you use the queryData tool, ensure you use the following format for the table name: catalog.schema.tableName
getCatalogs: Retrieve a list of available connections from CData Connect AI. The connection names should be used as catalog names in other tools and in any queries to CData Connect AI. Use the `getSchemas` tool to get a list of available schemas for a specific catalog.
getSchemas: Retrieve a list of available database schemas from CData Connect AI for a specific catalog. Use the `getTables` tool to get a list of available tables for a specific catalog and schema.
getTables: Retrieve a list of available database tables from CData Connect AI for a specific catalog and schema. Use the `getColumns` tool to get a list of available columns for a specific table.
getColumns: Retrieve a list of available database columns from CData Connect AI for a specific catalog, schema, and table.
getProcedures: Retrieve a list of stored procedures from CData Connect AI for a specific catalog and schema
getProcedureParameters: Retrieve a list of stored procedure parameters from CData Connect AI for a specific catalog, schema, and procedure.
executeProcedure: Execute stored procedures with parameters against connected data sources

Step 3: Explore Live Typeform Data with n8n

With the Workflow created in n8n and the MCP Client connected, you can now interact with your Typeform data using n8n. The MCP Client node allows you to send queries and receive responses from the Typeform data source in real-time.

Open the Workflow in n8n and execute it to start interacting with your Typeform data. You can ask questions, retrieve data, and perform actions on your Typeform data using the MCP Client node: Example n8n Workflow Execution

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