Integrating Codex CLI with Zoho Projects data via CData CLI

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 Zoho Projects data to Codex CLI through CData CLI.

Prerequisites

1. Codex CLI installed
2. CData CLI installed
3. Access to Zoho Projects

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

Always use CData CLI with the official skill.

1. The official CData CLI Skill is available on GitHub and installs through npx skills in the terminal:

   npx skills add CDataSoftware/cli-skills

2. 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.

1. 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 Zoho Projects data.

I would like to build a command line app that connects to Zoho Projects data and checks for updates from Portals. Make sure to include data from important columns like Id and Name.

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: Codex CLI checks for an existing CData Zoho Projects driver, or searches and downloads a new one:

• cdatacli drivers list

• cdatacli drivers search Zoho Projects

• cdatacli drivers download --artifact-id 

2. Activation: Activate the Zoho Projects driver with a single command for a trial or full license:

• cdatacli drivers activate Zoho Projects --name "" --email "" --trial

• cdatacli drivers activate Zoho Projects --name "" --email "" --key ""

3. Establish the Zoho Projects connection: Check for existing Zoho Projects connections or create a new one:

• cdatacli connection list

• cdatacli connection create --driver Zoho Projects --name  --connectionstring 

4. Create a Zoho Projects 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 Zoho Projects" message, no driver instructions exist for this source. You can continue using the main driver skill.)

  cdatacli drivers skill Zoho Projects > ~/skills/cdata-Zoho Projects/SKILL.md

Step 4: Query Zoho Projects data

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

cdatacli query sql --connection  --sql 

Query Zoho Projects data directly from your terminal with CData CLI

Codex CLI and CData CLI together give your AI coding agent a direct path to live Zoho Projects 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 Zoho Projects today.