home / mcp / zoho crm mcp server

Zoho CRM MCP Server

This read-only MCP Server allows you to connect to Zoho CRM data from Claude Desktop through CData JDBC Drivers. For full CRUD support, check out the first managed MCP platform: CData Connect AI (https://www.cdata.com/ai/).

Installation

Add the following to your MCP client configuration file.

Configuration

View docs

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

You can run a local, read-only MCP server that exposes Zoho CRM data through a simple MCP interface. This lets LLMs query live Zoho CRM data without writing SQL, enabling natural-language questions and direct results while keeping data access controlled and lightweight on your machine.

How to use

Start the local MCP server and connect your MCP client to it. You will interact with Zoho CRM data through built-in tools that let you discover available tables, inspect their columns, and run read-only queries. Ask natural language questions like “Show me open opportunities by account industry” or “What are today’s calendar events?” and the AI client will translate them into safe MCP operations.

How to install

Prerequisites: Java Runtime Environment (JRE) you can run with the standard java command.

1. Build the MCP server project.

git clone https://github.com/cdatasoftware/zoho-crm-mcp-server-by-cdata.git
cd zoho-crm-mcp-server-by-cdata
mvn clean install

2. Obtain and license the CData JDBC Driver for Zoho CRM from the official driver source. Install the driver following the standard steps for your OS, then license it using the command below in the driver’s lib folder.

java -jar cdata.jdbc.zohocrm.jar --license
```
Enter your name, email, and TRIAL (or your license key).

3. Create a JDBC connection string using the driver utility, then craft a .prp file for the MCP server configuration.

java -jar cdata.jdbc.zohocrm.jar
```
Configure the connection, test, and copy the resulting connection string for the .prp file.

4. Example .prp contents for Zoho CRM access (adjust paths to your environment):

Prefix=zohocrm
ServerName=CDataZohoCRM
ServerVersion=1.0
DriverPath=PATH\TO\cdata.jdbc.zohocrm.jar
DriverClass=cdata.jdbc.zoho.ZohoCRMDriver
JdbcUrl=jdbc:zohocrm:InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;
Tables=

5. Place the MCP server properties in zoho-crm.prp and keep it accessible to the MCP runtime.

Additional configuration and run details

You will run the MCP server as a local, stdio-based server, meaning it starts on the same machine as your client and communicates via standard input/output.

java -jar /PATH/TO/CDataMCP-jar-with-dependencies.jar /PATH/TO/zoho-crm.prp

Notes on usage with Claude Desktop or other clients

Add the MCP server entry to your client’s configuration so the client can spawn the stdio process and feed commands through the pipeline. You will point the client to the Java command and the path to the built JAR plus the path to zoho-crm.prp.

Available tools

zoho_crm_get_tables

Retrieves a list of tables available in the Zoho CRM data source. The output is provided in CSV format with column headers as the first line.

zoho_crm_get_columns

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

zoho_crm_run_query

Executes a SQL SELECT query against the Zoho CRM data source and returns the results.