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Zoho Projects MCP Server

This read-only MCP Server allows you to connect to Zoho Projects 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-projects-mcp-server-by-cdata": {
      "command": "java",
      "args": [
        "-jar",
        "/PATH/TO/CDataMCP-jar-with-dependencies.jar",
        "/PATH/TO/Salesforce.prp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

You can query live Zoho Projects data via a local, read-only MCP server that wraps the CData JDBC Driver. This lets you ask natural-language questions to retrieve up-to-date information from Zoho Projects without writing SQL.

How to use

You run a local MCP server on your machine and connect an MCP client or AI assistant to it. Start the server, then configure your client to point at the local stdio server. You can then ask questions like “What is the status of open Zoho Projects tasks in my active project?” or “Show me my recently created Zoho Projects issues.” The server exposes a small, defined set of tools that let the client list available data, inspect table schemas, and run read-only queries against Zoho Projects data. No SQL is required from you; the client translates your natural-language questions into the appropriate data fetches.

How to install

Prerequisites: you need a Java Development Kit and Maven installed to build and run the MCP server.

1. Clone the MCP server repository and enter the project folder.

git clone https://github.com/cdatasoftware/zoho-projects-mcp-server-by-cdata.git
 cd zoho-projects-mcp-server-by-cdata

2. Build the server to create the runnable JAR file.

mvn clean install

3. Obtain and install the CData JDBC Driver for Zoho Projects from the official download page.

https://www.cdata.com/drivers/zohoprojects/download/jdbc

4. License the CData JDBC Driver.

# Windows
java -jar cdata.jdbc.zohoprojects.jar --license
# Then enter your name, email, and TRIAL or license key

# Mac/Linux
java -jar cdata.jdbc.zohoprojects.jar --license

5. Configure your connection to Zoho Projects. Run the Connection String utility to build a JDBC URL, then test the connection and copy the final connection string for the .prp file.

java -jar cdata.jdbc.zohoprojects.jar
```

Then test the connection and copy the JDBC URL for later use. If OAuth is used, you may need to complete authentication in your browser.

6. Create a .prp file with your JDBC connection details. Example below (adjust values to your environment). This stays on disk where the MCP server can read it.

Prefix=zohoprojects
ServerName=CDataZohoProjects
ServerVersion=1.0
DriverPath=PATH\\TO\\cdata.jdbc.zohoprojects.jar
DriverClass=cdata.jdbc.zohoprojects.ZohoProjectsDriver
JdbcUrl=jdbc:zohoprojects:InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;
Tables=

Run the MCP server locally

Start the MCP server using the Java runtime and point it at your .prp file. This runs on your machine and the client connects to it locally.

java -jar /PATH/TO/CDataMCP-jar-with-dependencies.jar /PATH/TO/Salesforce.prp

Available tools

zoho_projects_mcp_get_tables

Retrieves a list of tables (data sources) available from Zoho Projects through the MCP server. The output uses CSV with a header row for columns.

zoho_projects_mcp_get_columns

Retrieves the list of columns for a specific table. The output is CSV with a header row that names each column.

zoho_projects_mcp_run_query

Executes a SQL SELECT query against the Zoho Projects data exposed by the MCP server and returns the result set.