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SAS Data Sets MCP Server

Provides a read-only MCP server to query live SAS Data Sets via the CData JDBC Driver.

Installation

Add the following to your MCP client configuration file.

Configuration

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cdatasoftware-sas-data-sets-mcp-server-by-cdata": {
      "command": "java",
      "args": [
        "-jar",
        "/PATH/TO/CDataMCP-jar-with-dependencies.jar",
        "/PATH/TO/sas-data-sets.prp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

You have a read-only MCP server that exposes SAS Data Sets through the CData JDBC Driver, enabling large language models to query live data without writing SQL. This server wraps the JDBC driver and presents a simple MCP interface so you can ask natural-language questions like what’s in a dataset or how many records meet a condition, and get up-to-date results without managing SQL directly.

How to use

Once the MCP server is running on the same machine as your client, you can interact with it using an MCP client such as Claude Desktop or any compatible tool. The server runs locally and listens through standard input/output, so you don’t need to expose a remote API. Use the built-in tools to discover datasets, inspect columns, and run read-only queries. Typical tasks include listing available tables, checking column definitions, and retrieving query results in a structured format that your AI client can reason over.

How to install

Prerequisites: you need a Java Runtime Environment compatible with running the MCP server jar.

1. Clone the project and prepare the build artifacts.

2. Build the server package so the MCP jar is generated.

3. Install the CData JDBC Driver for SAS Data Sets and license it following the specific steps for your platform.

4. Create a JDBC connection property file (for example sas-data-sets.prp) with your driver details, connection string, and table scope. Include the following properties and format exactly as shown when you configure your data source.

env
Prefix=sasdatasets
ServerName=CDataSASDataSets
ServerVersion=1.0
DriverPath=PATH\TO\cdata.jdbc.sasdatasets.jar
DriverClass=cdata.jdbc.sasdatasets.SASDataSetsDriver
JdbcUrl=jdbc:sasdatasets:InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;
Tables=

Additional setup notes

The configuration file sas-data-sets.prp defines how the MCP server will access SAS Data Sets through the JDBC driver. You also configure the MCP client to load this server by pointing to the Java runtime and the MCP jar with the path to sas-data-sets.prp.

To run the server on the same machine as your client, you execute a Java command that starts the MCP server using the prepared prp file.

Troubleshooting and tips

If you cannot see or connect to the MCP server from your client, ensure the MCP client is restarted after adding or updating the server configuration. Verify that the SAS Data Sets connection string is correct and that the CData JDBC Driver is properly licensed and accessible. If you encounter data retrieval issues, re-test the connection string and confirm that the prp file paths are correct.

Available tools

sas_data_sets_get_tables

Retrieves the list of available tables from the SAS Data Sets source. The output is provided in CSV format with column headers.

sas_data_sets_get_columns

Retrieves the list of columns for a specified table. The output is provided in CSV format with column headers.

sas_data_sets_run_query

Executes a read-only SQL SELECT query against the SAS Data Sets data source.