Integrating Codex CLI with Xero data via CData CLI

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.

Codex CLI is OpenAI's open-source coding agent that runs locally from your terminal, built in Rust for speed and efficiency. It can read, modify, and execute code on your machine through natural language instructions, handling multi-file edits, running shell commands, reviewing code changes, and launching Codex Cloud tasks. Its support for integrations, agent skills, and AGENTS.md configuration files makes it well-suited for structured, tool-driven workflows, making it a natural fit for connecting to external data sources through CData CLI.

By describing your data goals in plain language, Codex CLI can handle the full setup process, from driver configuration and license activation to connection creation and query execution, without manual intervention at each step.

This article details step-by-step directions for how to connect Xero data to Codex CLI through CData CLI.

Prerequisites

About Xero Data Integration

Accessing and integrating live data from Xero has never been easier with CData. Customers rely on CData connectivity to:

Connect to Xero Accounts and both US and Australian Payroll APIs.
Read, write, update, and delete Xero objects like Customers, Transactions, Invoices, Sales Receipts and more.
Use SQL stored procedures for actions like adding items to a cart, submitting orders, and downloading attachments.
Work with accounting, payroll, file, fixed asset, and project data.

Customers regularly integrate their Xero data with preferred tools, like Tableau, Qlik Sense, or Excel, and integrate Xero data into their database or data warehouse.

Getting Started

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

Always use CData CLI with the official skill.

The official CData CLI Skill is available on GitHub and installs through npx skills in the terminal:
```
npx skills add CDataSoftware/cli-skills
```
Follow the prompts in the terminal to install for Codex.

Step 2: Set up the project directory

Create a project directory to contain all project files.

Navigate to the directory within the terminal and start a session with the codex command:

Step 3: Establish the driver and connection

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

I would like to build a command line app that connects to Xero data and checks for updates from Items. Make sure to include data from important columns like Name and QuantityOnHand.

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.

Driver setup: Codex CLI checks for an existing CData Xero driver, or searches and downloads a new one:

```
cdatacli drivers list
```
```
cdatacli drivers search Xero
```

cdatacli drivers download --artifact-id

Activation: Activate the Xero driver with a single command for a trial or full license:

cdatacli drivers activate Xero --name "" --email "" --trial

cdatacli drivers activate Xero --name "" --email "" --key ""

Establish the Xero connection: Check for existing Xero connections or create a new one:

```
cdatacli connection list
```

cdatacli connection create --driver Xero --name  --connectionstring

Create a Xero skill (if applicable): CData provides driver instructions for popular sources. You can use these to generate a source-specific skill file that guides the agent through best practices for the driver.

Run the following command and save the output to your skills directory, either at the project level or globally. (Note: If you receive a "No instructions available for Xero" message, no driver instructions exist for this source. You can continue using the main driver skill.)
```
cdatacli drivers skill Xero > ~/skills/cdata-Xero/SKILL.md
```

Step 4: Query Xero data

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

cdatacli query sql --connection  --sql

Query Xero data directly from your terminal with CData CLI

Codex CLI and CData CLI together give your AI coding agent a direct path to live Xero data without custom middleware, scheduled syncs, or manual setup at each step. Describe your goal in plain language, 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 Xero today.

Ready to get started?

Download a free trial of the Xero Driver to get started:

Download Now

Learn more:

Xero JDBC Driver

Complete read-write access to Xero accounting enables developers to search (Customers, Transactions, Invoices, Sales Receipts, etc.), update items, edit customers, and more, from any Java/J2EE application.

CData is the data layer that makes AI work in production—live connectivity and replication across hundreds of the most critical enterprise sources, semantic context, and built-in governance. Powering AI for Databricks, Microsoft, Google, Palantir, and 10,000+ customers worldwide.