Build IBM Cloud Object Storage-Powered Applications in GitHub Copilot with CData Code Assist MCP

GitHub Copilot is an AI-powered coding assistant that integrates directly into Visual Studio Code and other IDEs. With support for MCP, GitHub Copilot can connect to local tools and enterprise data sources, enabling natural language interaction with live systems during development.

Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard for connecting LLM clients to external services through structured tool interfaces. MCP servers expose capabilities such as schema discovery and live querying, allowing AI agents to retrieve and reason over real-time data safely and consistently.

In this article, we guide you through installing the CData Code Assist MCP for IBM Cloud Object Storage, configuring the connection to IBM Cloud Object Storage, connecting the Code Assist MCP add-on to GitHub Copilot, and querying live IBM Cloud Object Storage data from within Visual Studio Code.

Prerequisites

• Visual Studio Code is installed on your machine
• GitHub Copilot Chat extension is enabled in Visual Studio Code
• CData Code Assist MCP for IBM Cloud Object Storage has been installed

Step 1: Download and install the CData Code Assist MCP for IBM Cloud Object Storage

1. To begin, download the CData Code Assist MCP for IBM Cloud Object Storage 👁 Downloading the CData Code Assist MCP add-on installer
   
2. Find and double-click the installer to begin the installation
3. Run the installer and follow the prompts to complete the installation 👁 Completing the CData Code Assist MCP add-on installation
   

When the installation is complete, you are ready to configure your Code Assist MCP add-on by connecting to IBM Cloud Object Storage.

Step 2: Configure the connection to IBM Cloud Object Storage

1. After installation, open the CData Code Assist MCP for IBM Cloud Object Storage configuration wizard 👁 The CData Code Assist MCP add-on configuration wizard
   

   NOTE: If the wizard does not open automatically, search for "CData Code Assist MCP for IBM Cloud Object Storage" in the Windows search bar and open the application.

   👁 Opening the CData Code Assist MCP add-on configuration wizard (Google Sheets is shown).
   
2. In MCP Configuration > Configuration Name, either select an existing configuration or choose to create a new one 👁 Creating a new configuration
   
3. Name the configuration (e.g. "cdata_ibmcloudobjectstorage") and click OK 👁 Naming the configuration
   

4. Enter the appropriate connection properties in the configuration wizard

   Register a New Instance of Cloud Object Storage

   If you do not already have Cloud Object Storage in your IBM Cloud account, follow the procedure below to install an instance of SQL Query in your account:

   1. Log in to your IBM Cloud account.
   2. Navigate to the

   Connecting using OAuth Authentication

   There are certain connection properties you need to set before you can connect. You can obtain these as follows:

   API Key

   To connect with IBM Cloud Object Storage, you need an API Key. You can obtain this as follows:

   1. Log in to your IBM Cloud account.
   2. Navigate to the Platform API Keys page.
   3. On the middle-right corner click "Create an IBM Cloud API Key" to create a new API Key.
   4. In the pop-up window, specify the API Key name and click "Create". Note the API Key as you can never access it again from the dashboard.

   Cloud Object Storage CRN

   If you have multiple accounts, specify the CloudObjectStorageCRN explicitly. To find the appropriate value, you can:

   • Query the Services view. This will list your IBM Cloud Object Storage instances along with the CRN for each.
   • Locate the CRN directly in IBM Cloud. To do so, navigate to your IBM Cloud Dashboard. In the Resource List, Under Storage, select your Cloud Object Storage resource to get its CRN.

   Connecting to Data

   You can now set the following to connect to data:

   • InitiateOAuth: Set this to GETANDREFRESH. You can use InitiateOAuth to avoid repeating the OAuth exchange and manually setting the OAuthAccessToken.
   • ApiKey: Set this to your API key which was noted during setup.
   • CloudObjectStorageCRN (Optional): Set this to the cloud object storage CRN you want to work with. While the connector attempts to retrieve this automatically, specifying this explicitly is recommended if you have more than Cloud Object Storage account.

   When you connect, the connector completes the OAuth process.

   1. Extracts the access token and authenticates requests.
   2. Saves OAuth values in OAuthSettingsLocation to be persisted across connections.
   👁 Configuring the Code Assist MCP add-on connection
   
5. Click Connect to authenticate with IBM Cloud Object Storage
6. Click Save & Test to finalize the connection 👁 Saving and testing the Code Assist MCP add-on configuration
   

This process creates a .mcp configuration file that GitHub Copilot will reference when launching the Code Assist MCP add-on. Now with your Code Assist MCP add-on configured, you are ready to connect it to GitHub Copilot.

Step 3: Connect the Code Assist MCP add-on to GitHub Copilot

1. Download and install Visual Studio Code and enable the GitHub Copilot Chat extension

Option 1: Manually add the MCP configuration

1. Open or create the mcp.json file:
   • For global configuration: %%APPDATA%%/Roaming/Code/User/mcp.json
   • For project-specific configuration:
2. Add the JSON code shown below and save the file

{
 "servers": {
 "cdata_ibmcloudobjectstorage": {
 "command": "C:\Program Files\CData\CData Code Assist MCP for IBM Cloud Object Storage\jre\bin\java.exe",
 "args": [
 "-Dfile.encoding=UTF-8",
 "-jar",
 "C:\Program Files\CData\CData Code Assist MCP for IBM Cloud Object Storage\lib\cdata.mcp.ibmcloudobjectstorage.jar",
 "cdata_ibmcloudobjectstorage"
 ]
 }
 }
}

NOTE: The command value should point to your Java 17+ java.exe executable, and the JAR path should point to the installed CData Code Assist MCP add-on .jar file. The final argument must match the MCP configuration name you saved in the CData configuration wizard (e.g. "cdata_ibmcloudobjectstorage").

Option 2: Copy the MCP configuration from the CData Code Assist MCP for IBM Cloud Object Storage UI

1. After saving and testing your connection in the configuration wizard, click Next 👁 Selecting 'Next'
   
2. Select Github Copilot from the AI MCP Tool dropdown 👁 Choosing GitHub Copilot as the AI MCP tool
   
3. Follow the MCP Client Instructions to create the required configuration file 👁 MCP configuration instructions for GitHub Copilot
   
4. Copy the displayed JSON code and paste it into your configuration file

Step 4: Query live IBM Cloud Object Storage data in GitHub Copilot

1. Launch Visual Studio Code and open the GitHub Copilot Chat interface. Select the tool icon to enable the configured Code Assist MCP add-on 👁 Enabling the CData Code Assist MCP add-on in GitHub Copilot
   
2. Ask questions about your IBM Cloud Object Storage data using natural language. For example:

   "List all tables available in my IBM Cloud Object Storage data data connection."

   👁 Querying live data from GitHub Copilot
   
3. Start building with natural language prompts:

   For my project, data from the Objects is very important. Pull data from the most important columns like Key and Etag.
   

GitHub Copilot is now fully integrated with CData Code Assist MCP for IBM Cloud Object Storage and can use the MCP tools to explore schemas and execute live queries against IBM Cloud Object Storage.

Build with Code Assist MCP. Deploy with CData Drivers.

Download Code Assist MCP for free and give your AI tools schema-aware access to live IBM Cloud Object Storage data during development. When you're ready to move to production, CData IBM Cloud Object Storage Drivers deliver the same SQL-based access with enterprise-grade performance, security, and reliability.

Visit the CData Community to share insights, ask questions, and explore what's possible with MCP-powered AI workflows.