Build SAS Data Sets-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 SAS Data Sets, configuring the connection to SAS Data Sets, connecting the Code Assist MCP add-on to GitHub Copilot, and querying live SAS Data Sets 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 SAS Data Sets has been installed

Step 1: Download and install the CData Code Assist MCP for SAS Data Sets

1. To begin, download the CData Code Assist MCP for SAS Data Sets 👁 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 SAS Data Sets.

Step 2: Configure the connection to SAS Data Sets

1. After installation, open the CData Code Assist MCP for SAS Data Sets 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 SAS Data Sets" 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_sasdatasets") and click OK 👁 Naming the configuration
   

4. Enter the appropriate connection properties in the configuration wizard

   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.

   👁 Configuring the Code Assist MCP add-on connection
   
5. Click Connect to authenticate with SAS Data Sets
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_sasdatasets": {
 "command": "C:\Program Files\CData\CData Code Assist MCP for SAS Data Sets\jre\bin\java.exe",
 "args": [
 "-Dfile.encoding=UTF-8",
 "-jar",
 "C:\Program Files\CData\CData Code Assist MCP for SAS Data Sets\lib\cdata.mcp.sasdatasets.jar",
 "cdata_sasdatasets"
 ]
 }
 }
}

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_sasdatasets").

Option 2: Copy the MCP configuration from the CData Code Assist MCP for SAS Data Sets 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 SAS Data Sets 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 SAS Data Sets data using natural language. For example:

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

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

   For my project, data from the restaurants is very important. Pull data from the most important columns like name and borough.
   

GitHub Copilot is now fully integrated with CData Code Assist MCP for SAS Data Sets and can use the MCP tools to explore schemas and execute live queries against SAS Data Sets.

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 SAS Data Sets data during development. When you're ready to move to production, CData SAS Data Sets 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.