Build Vercel-Powered Applications in Gemini Code Assist with CData MCP Server

Gemini Code Assist is an AI-powered coding companion that integrates intelligent code generation into everyday development workflows. With support for MCP, Gemini Code Assist can connect to live enterprise data sources directly from Visual Studio Code, enabling natural language interaction with structured data without switching context or manually writing data access code.

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.

This guide explains how to install the CData API Driver for MCP Server, configure the connection to Vercel, connect the MCP Server add-on to Gemini Code Assist, and query live Vercel data from within the editor.

Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure the following requirements are met:

1. Visual Studio Code is installed on the machine
2. Gemini Code Assist extension is enabled in Visual Studio Code
3. CData API Driver for MCP Server has been installed
4. Access to Vercel

Note: Gemini Code Assist must already be set up and functional in Visual Studio Code before configuring MCP servers. MCP servers are accessed when Gemini Code Assist is running in Agent mode.

Step 1: Download and install the CData API Driver for MCP Server

1. To begin, download the CData API Driver for MCP Server 👁 Downloading the CData MCP Server 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 MCP Server add-on installation
   

When the installation is complete, the MCP Server add-on is ready for configuration by connecting to Vercel.

Step 2: Configure the connection to Vercel

1. After installation, open the CData API Driver for MCP Server configuration wizard 👁 The CData MCP Server add-on configuration wizard
   

   NOTE: If the wizard does not open automatically, search for "CData API Driver for MCP Server" in the Windows search bar and open the application.

   👁 Opening the CData MCP Server add-on configuration wizard
   
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_api") and click OK 👁 Naming the configuration
   

4. Enter the appropriate connection properties in the configuration wizard

   Using API Key Authentication

   Vercel uses Bearer token authentication. You can use either a personal access token or an OAuth access token as the API key.

   To obtain a personal access token:

   1. Log into your Vercel account at https://vercel.com/
   2. Navigate to Account Settings > Tokens.
   3. Click Create Token, enter a name and expiration, and click Create.
   4. Copy the generated token (it will only be shown once).

   After obtaining your token, set the following connection properties:

   • AuthScheme: Set this to APIKey.
   • APIKey: Set this to your Vercel personal access token or OAuth access token.

   Example Connection String

   Profile=C:\profiles\Vercel.apip;AuthScheme=APIKey;APIKey=your_access_token;
   

   Working with Teams

   Many Vercel resources are scoped to a team. To scope all requests to a specific team, set the TeamId connection property to your team's ID. You can find your team ID by querying the Teams table or from the Vercel dashboard. Alternatively, you can specify TeamId in your SQL queries using the WHERE clause where supported.

   Connecting to Vercel

   Once the authentication is configured, you can connect to Vercel and query data from any of the available tables such as Projects, Deployments, Teams, and Domains.

   👁 Configuring the MCP Server add-on connection
   
5. Click Connect to authenticate with Vercel
6. Then, click Save Configuration to save the MCP Server add-on 👁 Saving the MCP Server add-on configuration
   

This process creates a .mcp configuration file that Gemini Code Assist will reference when launching the MCP Server add-on. With the MCP Server add-on configured, it is ready to connect to Gemini Code Assist.

Step 3: Connect the MCP Server add-on to Gemini Code Assist

1. Ensure Visual Studio Code is installed and the Gemini Code Assist extension is enabled
2. From the configuration wizard, click Next after saving and testing the connection 👁 Selecting 'Next'
   
3. Select Gemini Code Assist from the AI MCP Tool dropdown 👁 Choosing Gemini Code Assist as the AI MCP tool
   
4. Click Copy JSON to copy the generated MCP configuration to the clipboard 👁 Copying the MCP configuration
   
5. Paste the copied JSON into the appropriate configuration file based on the desired scope:
   • User-level: Configuration applies across all projects for the current user
   • Workspace-level: Configuration applies only to the current workspace or project

   NOTE: The configuration includes the path to Java 17+ executable and the CData MCP Server add-on JAR file. The final argument must match the MCP configuration name saved in the wizard (e.g. "cdata_api").

6. Save the configuration file and restart Visual Studio Code if necessary

Step 4: Query live Vercel data in Gemini Code Assist

1. Open Visual Studio Code and select Gemini Code Assist in the activity bar 👁 Open Gemini Code Assist
   
2. Enter /mcp in the chat prompt to verify the connection status. The Vercel MCP Server add-on should appear with a green connection indicator 👁 Verify the connection status
   
3. Ask questions about Vercel data using natural language. For example:

   "Provide the list of all tables available in my Vercel data connection."

   👁 Querying live data from Gemini Code Assist
   
4. Generate code that works with live Vercel data. For example:

   "Write a function to retrieve records from the User table where matches a given value."

   👁 Generating function for live data from Gemini Code Assist
   

Gemini Code Assist is now fully integrated with the CData MCP Server add-on and can use the MCP tools exposed to explore schemas, execute live queries against Vercel, and generate data-aware code.

Build with MCP Server. Deploy with CData Drivers.

Download CData API Driver for MCP Server for free and give your AI tools schema-aware access to live Vercel data during development. When you're ready to move to production, CData API 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.