alation-ai-agent-mcp 1.0.0rc2

Alation Agent SDK with MCP support

MCP Integration

The SDK includes built-in support for the Model Context Protocol (MCP), which enables AI models to retrieve knowledge from Alation during inference.

This package provides an MCP server that exposes Alation Data Catalog capabilities to AI agents with support for multiple transport modes.

New Major Version 1.x.x

Dec 10, 2025 Update

1.0.0rc2 version of the Alation AI Agent SDK is now available.

It deprecates the Context Tool in favor of the more capable Catalog Context Search Agent. On the practical side, Catalog Context Search Agent shares the same contract so any migrations should be straightforward.

We've committed to keep the now deprecated Context Tool as part of the SDK for the next three months for transition. This means you should expect to see it removed in Feb 2026.

The main rationale for removing the Context Tool originates from having two tools which do very similar things. When both are exposed to an LLM, the model often picks the less capable one leading to worse outcomes. By reducing the number of tools that overlap conceptually, we're avoiding the wrong tool selection.

The Catalog Context Search Agent will do all the things the Context Tool did AND more like dynamically construct the signature parameter which was a major bottleneck when using the Context Tool.

Our local MCP server was changed for the same reason and no longer includes Context Tool, Analyze Catalog Question, Signature Create, or Bulk Retrieval by default. The Catalog Context Search Agent will invoke these internally as needed without requiring them in scope.

If you have prompts that expect any of those specific tools, you'll need to tell the MCP server which tools you wish to have enabled (overriding the default set). This can be done as a command line argument or as an environment variable.

Reminder: If you have a narrow use case, only enable the tools that are needed for that particular case.

# As command line arguments to the MCP server command
--enabled-tools=alation_context,analyze_catalog_question,bulk_retrieval,generate_data_product,get_custom_fields_definitions,get_data_dictionary_instructions,data_product,get_signature_creation_instructions,catalog_context_search_agent,query_flow_agent,sql_query_agent

# Or as an environment variable
export ALATION_ENABLED_TOOLS='alation_context,analyze_catalog_question,bulk_retrieval,generate_data_product,get_custom_fields_definitions,get_data_dictionary_instructions,data_product,get_signature_creation_instructions,catalog_context_search_agent,query_flow_agent,sql_query_agent'

Nov 4, 2025 Update

We're excited to announce the 1.0.0rc1 version of the Alation AI Agent SDK is available.

IMPORTANT: In a breaking change user_account is no longer supported as an authorization mode. We recommend you migrate to service_account or bearer_token modes.

The new major version comes with several notable changes that should make the transition worth it.

• Alation Agent Studio Integration
• Remote MCP Server
• Catalog Search Context Agent
• Streaming and Chat ID Support

Alation Agent Studio Integration

The Alation Agent Studio gives you first class support for creating and leveraging the agents your business needs. Whether you're improving catalog curation or building data-centric query agents, the Agent Studio makes it easy to create agents, hone them, and deploy them across your enterprise. It includes a number of expert tools that are ready to be used or composed together as building blocks for more complex scenarios. And any precision agents you build are available within the SDK or MCP server as tools (See custom_agent).

Remote MCP Server

We've heard from a number of customers that want the flexibility of MCP servers without the responsibility of having to install or upgrade the SDK. With our remote MCP server you don't have to do any of that. After a one time MCP focused authorization setup, it can be as simple as adding a remote MCP server to your favorite MCP client like: https://<your_instance>/ai/mcp

Note: MCP clients and platforms are rapidly evolving. Not all of them support authorization flows the same way nor path parameters etc. If you're running into blockers, please file an Issue so we can investigate and come up with a plan. We do not support dynamic client registration so please use an MCP client that allows you to pass in a client_id and client_secret.

Start Here

One issue the remote MCP server solves is listing tools dynamically. This dynamic portion is doing a lot of work for us. For instance, it can filter out tools the current user cannot use or it can list brand new tools the SDK doesn't even know about.

And since the tools are resolved lazily instead of statically, it means the API contracts for those tools can also be dynamic. This avoids client server version mismatches which could otherwise break static integrations.

We will continue to support the SDK and issue new versions regularly, but if you're after a less brittle more robust integration, you should consider integrating directly with the remote MCP server as a starting place.

Catalog Search Context Agent

In the beginning of the Agent SDK we had only one tool: Alation Context. It offered a powerful way to dynamically select the right objects and their properties to best address a particular question. It's powerful signature parameter made it suitable for cases even without an user question (Bulk Retrieval). At the same time we saw a fair bit of friction with LLM generated signature parameters being invalid or just outright wrong. And a surprising amount of usage involved no signature at all which frequently resulted in poor results.

We've sought to address these issues by moving from a collection of these tools (alation_context, bulk_retrieval) into an agent that performs a series of checks and heuristics to dynamically create a signature when needed to take advantage of your custom fields. That is our new catalog_search_context_agent.

This should translate into fewer instructions you need to convince these tools to play nice with each other. And at the same time increase the accuracy of calls.

Streaming and Chat ID Support

Streaming

All tools now support a streaming option. Primarily this benefits our local MCP server in http mode. If your MCP clients support streaming you should now see some of the internal processing of tools and agents to give you more transparency into what is happening under the hood.

By default the SDK has streaming disabled but it can be enabled if you have a use case for it. To enable it pass a sdk_options=AgentSDKOptions(enable_streaming=True) argument to the AlationAIAgentSDK constructor. When streaming you'll need to loop over the result or yield from it to correctly handle the underlying generator.

Chat ID

Most of our tools and agents accept the chat_id parameter when invoked. Including this will associate that tool call with any other prior calls referencing the same chat_id. Any chat_id compatible tool will include a chat_id in the response.

Overview

The MCP integration enables:

• Running an MCP-compatible server that provides access to Alation's context capabilities
• Making Alation metadata accessible to any MCP client
• NEW: HTTP mode with OAuth authentication for web-based integrations
• Traditional STDIO mode for direct MCP client connections (like Claude Desktop)

Transport Modes

STDIO Mode (Default)

• Use case: Direct integration with MCP clients like Claude Desktop, Cursor, etc.
• Authentication: Environment variables (refresh token or service account)
• Connection: Standard input/output communication
• Best for: Local development, desktop applications

HTTP Mode (New)

• Use case: Web-based applications, hosted services, microservice architectures
• Authentication: OAuth bearer tokens per request (no pre-configured credentials needed)
• Connection: RESTful HTTP API with MCP-over-HTTP protocol
• Security: Per-request authentication with Alation OAuth tokens
• Deployment: Supports load balancers, reverse proxies, and containerized environments
• Best for: Azure OpenAI, LibreChat, VS Code extensions, web applications

Quick Reference

STDIO Mode (Traditional MCP)

# Start server for MCP clients (Claude Desktop, Cursor, etc.)
start-alation-mcp-server

# With custom configuration  
start-alation-mcp-server \
  --disabled-tools "TOOL1,TOOL2" \
  --enabled-beta-tools "LINEAGE"

HTTP Mode (Web API)

# Start HTTP server (basic)
start-alation-mcp-server --transport http --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000

# Production configuration with external URL
start-alation-mcp-server \
  --transport http \
  --host 0.0.0.0 \
  --port 8000 \
  --external-url https://your-domain.com \
  --disabled-tools "TOOL1,TOOL2" \
  --enabled-beta-tools "LINEAGE"

# Docker HTTP mode
docker run \
  -e ALATION_BASE_URL=https://your-instance.alationcloud.com \
  -p 8000:8000 \
  ghcr.io/alation/alation-ai-agent-sdk/alation-mcp-server:latest \
  --transport http --host 0.0.0.0

Need more details? See the complete HTTP Mode Guide for web applications and API integrations.

Prerequisites

• Python 3.10 or higher
• Access to an Alation Data Catalog instance
• A valid refresh token or client_id and secret. For more details, refer to the Authentication Guide.

Setup

Environment Variables

Set up your environment variables based on the transport mode you plan to use:

# Required for all modes
export ALATION_BASE_URL="https://your-alation-instance.com"

# Required for STDIO mode only (HTTP mode uses OAuth per-request)

# Service account authentication (STDIO mode only)
export ALATION_AUTH_METHOD="service_account"
export ALATION_CLIENT_ID="your-client-id"
export ALATION_CLIENT_SECRET="your-client-secret"

# Optional configuration (both modes)
export ALATION_DISABLED_TOOLS="tool1,tool2"  # Disable specific tools
export ALATION_ENABLED_BETA_TOOLS="LINEAGE"  # Enable beta tools

# HTTP mode specific (optional)
export MCP_EXTERNAL_URL="https://your-lb.com"  # External URL for OAuth callbacks

Method 1: Using uvx or pipx (Quickest)

STDIO Mode (Default)

The quickest way to try out the server in STDIO mode is using pipx or uvx:

# Using uvx (recommended)
uvx --from alation-ai-agent-mcp start-alaiton-mcp-server

# Using pipx
pipx run alation-ai-agent-mcp

HTTP Mode

To run the server in HTTP mode with OAuth authentication:

# Using uvx (recommended)  
uvx --from alation-ai-agent-mcp start-alaiton-mcp-server --transport http --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000

# Using pipx
pipx run alation-ai-agent-mcp --transport http --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000

Method 2: Using pip

1. Install the package: pip install alation-ai-agent-mcp

2. Run the server:

STDIO Mode (Default)

# Option A: Using entry point
start-alation-mcp-server

# Option B: Using Python module
python -m alation_ai_agent_mcp

HTTP Mode

# Option A: Using entry point
start-alation-mcp-server --transport http --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000

# Option B: Using Python module  
python -m alation_ai_agent_mcp --transport http --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000

Advanced HTTP Mode Configuration

For production deployments, you can configure additional options:

# Full HTTP mode configuration
start-alation-mcp-server \
  --transport http \
  --host 0.0.0.0 \
  --port 8000 \
  --external-url https://your-load-balancer.com \
  --disabled-tools "TOOL1,TOOL2" \
  --enabled-beta-tools "LINEAGE"

HTTP Mode Options:

• --host: Host to bind the server to (default: 127.0.0.1)
• --port: Port to bind the server to (default: 8000)
• --external-url: External URL for OAuth callbacks (for load balancers/proxies)
• --disabled-tools: Comma-separated list of tools to disable
• --enabled-beta-tools: Comma-separated list of beta tools to enable

Note:

• STDIO Mode: Starts an MCP server using stdin/stdout. Connect to MCP clients like Claude Desktop, Cursor, or test with MCP Inspector.
• HTTP Mode: Starts a web server with OAuth authentication. Access via HTTP API calls or integrate with web applications.

Transport Mode Usage Examples

STDIO Mode - MCP Clients

Please refer to our guides for specific examples of STDIO mode integration:

• Using with Claude Desktop
• Testing with MCP Inspector
• Integrating with LibreChat
• Integration with Code Editors

HTTP Mode - Web Applications

When running in HTTP mode, the server exposes MCP-over-HTTP endpoints for integration with web applications and services.

Authentication for HTTP Mode:

• Requires valid Alation access tokens as Bearer tokens
• Tokens are validated against your Alation instance
• Each request is authenticated independently

Integration: HTTP mode is designed for integration with MCP clients and web applications, not direct API testing. See our integration guides for specific client examples.

Debugging and Development

Using MCP Inspector (STDIO Mode)

To debug the server in STDIO mode, you can use the MCP Inspector:

First clone and build the server:

git clone https://github.com/Alation/alation-ai-agent-sdk.git
cd python/dist-mcp

# Create a virtual environment
python -m venv venv

# Activate the virtual environment
# On macOS/Linux:
source venv/bin/activate
# On Windows:
venv\Scripts\activate

# Install dependencies
pip3 install .

Make sure you run the npx command from the active venv terminal

Run the MCP inspector:

npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector python3 alation_ai_agent_mcp/server.py

Testing HTTP Mode

Local Testing

1. Start the server in HTTP mode:

# Using Python
start-alation-mcp-server --transport http --host 127.0.0.1 --port 8000

# Using Docker
docker run \
  -e ALATION_BASE_URL=https://your-instance.alationcloud.com \
  -p 8000:8000 \
  ghcr.io/alation/alation-ai-agent-sdk/alation-mcp-server:latest \
  --transport http --host 0.0.0.0

2. Verify the server is running:

# Check if server is responding (no auth required)
curl http://localhost:8000/

# The server should return basic information about the MCP server

Note: Testing MCP tools requires a valid Alation access token and proper MCP client integration. The server endpoints are designed for MCP client consumption, not direct API testing.

Production Testing

For production deployments with external URLs:

# Start with external URL configuration
docker run \
  -e ALATION_BASE_URL=https://your-instance.alationcloud.com \
  -e MCP_EXTERNAL_URL=https://your-domain.com \
  -p 8000:8000 \
  ghcr.io/alation/alation-ai-agent-sdk/alation-mcp-server:latest \
  --transport http --host 0.0.0.0 --external-url https://your-domain.com

Method 3: Using Docker

The Docker image supports both STDIO and HTTP transport modes with comprehensive metadata and security features.

Docker - STDIO Mode (Default)

# Using environment file (recommended)
docker run --env-file .env ghcr.io/alation/alation-ai-agent-sdk/alation-mcp-server:latest

# With explicit environment variables
docker run \
  -e ALATION_BASE_URL=https://your-instance.alationcloud.com \
  -e ALATION_AUTH_METHOD=service_account \
  -e ALATION_CLIENT_ID=your_client_id \
  -e ALATION_CLIENT_SECRET=your_client_secret \
  ghcr.io/alation/alation-ai-agent-sdk/alation-mcp-server:latest

# With tool configuration
docker run --env-file .env \
  ghcr.io/alation/alation-ai-agent-sdk/alation-mcp-server:latest \
  --disabled-tools "TOOL1,TOOL2" \
  --enabled-beta-tools "LINEAGE"

Docker - HTTP Mode

# Basic HTTP mode
docker run \
  -e ALATION_BASE_URL=https://your-instance.alationcloud.com \
  -p 8000:8000 \
  ghcr.io/alation/alation-ai-agent-sdk/alation-mcp-server:latest \
  --transport http --host 0.0.0.0

# Production HTTP mode with custom port and external URL
docker run \
  -e ALATION_BASE_URL=https://your-instance.alationcloud.com \
  -e MCP_EXTERNAL_URL=https://your-load-balancer.com \
  -p 9000:9000 \
  ghcr.io/alation/alation-ai-agent-sdk/alation-mcp-server:latest \
  --transport http --host 0.0.0.0 --port 9000 \
  --disabled-tools "TOOL1,TOOL2" \
  --enabled-beta-tools "LINEAGE"

Docker Environment Variables

Required for all modes:

ALATION_BASE_URL=https://your-instance.alationcloud.com

Required for STDIO mode only:

# Service account authentication
ALATION_AUTH_METHOD=service_account
ALATION_CLIENT_ID=your_client_id
ALATION_CLIENT_SECRET=your_client_secret

Optional for both modes:

ALATION_DISABLED_TOOLS=tool1,tool2
ALATION_ENABLED_BETA_TOOLS=LINEAGE,DATA_QUALITY
MCP_EXTERNAL_URL=https://external-host:8000  # For HTTP mode OAuth callbacks

Building from Source

Build the server:

docker build -t alation-mcp-server .

Run in STDIO mode (default):

docker run --rm alation-mcp-server

Run in HTTP mode:

docker run --rm -p 8000:8000 alation-mcp-server --transport http --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000

Use Cases

STDIO Mode

• Claude Desktop integration: Direct connection to Claude Desktop app
• Local development: Testing and development on local machines
• Code editors: Integration with Cursor, VS Code with MCP extensions
• Command-line tools: Integration with CLI applications that support MCP
• Desktop applications: Any application that can spawn processes and communicate via stdin/stdout

HTTP Mode

• MS Copilot Studio: use with custom connectors
• ChatGPT customGPT