Alation MCP Server

Alation Agent SDK

Local serverstdioPython

What is the Alation MCP server?

If you already use Alation, the alation mcp server is the piece that lets your assistant work with it directly. Alation Agent SDK.

What the server does

The Alation AI Agent SDK enables AI agents to access and leverage metadata from the Alation Data Catalog.

Available tools

The toolset is worth reading before you wire it up, because it tells you what the integration is really for:

  • Prerequisites — The Prerequisites tool exposed by this server
  • Installation — The Installation tool exposed by this server
  • 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
  • General — The General tool exposed by this server
  • LangChain — The LangChain tool exposed by this server

Installation

Installation goes through your MCP client rather than a global install: point it at alation-ai-agent-sdk on PyPI and it is fetched when the client starts. The copy-paste blocks for Claude Desktop, Claude Code and Cursor are further down this page.

Credentials and setup notes

Configuration is passed through the environment: ALATION_ENABLED_TOOLS. Treat anything key-shaped as a real credential — scope it to the minimum the server needs, and rotate it if it ever lands in a shared config.

  • 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.

Where it fits

Among the developer tooling options, the useful question is rarely "what can it do" but "what does it cost you to run" — permissions, credentials, and how much of your context its toolset consumes. Alation's toolset — Prerequisites, Installation, Streaming and 2 more — is a fair guide to whether it matches your workflow.

SyncDev reviews every entry in this directory against the project's own documentation before publishing, and revisits them as servers change.

Worth knowing first

  • It runs with your machine's permissions. That is convenient and also the reason to think about what you point it at before you approve a tool call.
  • Keep per-call confirmation enabled while you learn its behaviour; it is the cheapest safeguard you have.

Available tools

ToolWhat it does
PrerequisitesThe Prerequisites tool exposed by this server.
InstallationThe Installation tool exposed by this server.
StreamingAll 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 yo
GeneralThe General tool exposed by this server.
LangChainThe LangChain tool exposed by this server.

How to install the Alation MCP server

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "alation-ai-agent-sdk": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["alation-ai-agent-sdk"],
      "env": {
        "ALATION_ENABLED_TOOLS": "your-value"
      }
    }
  }
}

Add to claude_desktop_config.json, then restart Claude Desktop.

Configuration

  • 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.
VariableDescriptionRequired
ALATION_ENABLED_TOOLSConfiguration value read at startup.Optional

Example prompts to try

  • Use Alation to Prerequisites.
  • Use Alation to Installation.
  • Use Alation to Streaming.

Frequently asked questions

It connects Alation to MCP-compatible AI assistants such as Claude and Cursor, exposing 5 tools (Prerequisites, Installation, Streaming, and more) that the assistant can call on your behalf. Instead of copying data back and forth by hand, the assistant works with Alation directly.