How to Connect to Live Cosmos DB Data in n8n Workflows and Agents (via CData Connect Cloud)

n8n is an open-source workflow automation tool that allows you to connect various applications and services to automate tasks and processes. When combined with CData Connect Cloud Remote MCP, you can leverage n8n to interact with your Cosmos DB data in real-time. This article outlines the process of connecting to Cosmos DB using Connect Cloud Remote MCP and creating a basic workflow in n8n to interact with your Cosmos DB data.

CData Connect Cloud offers a dedicated cloud-to-cloud interface for connecting to Cosmos DB data. The CData Connect Cloud Remote MCP Server enables secure communication between n8n and Cosmos DB. This allows you to ask questions and take actions on your Cosmos DB data using n8n, all without the need for data replication to a natively supported database. With its inherent optimized data processing capabilities, CData Connect Cloud efficiently channels all supported SQL operations, including filters and JOINs, directly to Cosmos DB. This leverages server-side processing to swiftly deliver the requested Cosmos DB data.

In this article, we show how to build a simple chat agent in n8n to conversational explore (or Vibe Query) your data. The connectivity principals apply to any n8n workflow. With Connect Cloud you can build workflows and agents with access to live Cosmos DB data, plus hundreds of other sources.

Step 1: Configure Cosmos DB Connectivity for n8n

Connectivity to Cosmos DB from n8n is made possible through CData Connect Cloud Remote MCP. To interact with Cosmos DB data from n8n, we start by creating and configuring a Cosmos DB connection in CData Connect Cloud.

1. Log into Connect Cloud, click Sources, and then click Add Connection

2. Select "Cosmos DB" from the Add Connection panel

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Cosmos DB.

   To obtain the connection string needed to connect to a Cosmos DB account using the SQL API, log in to the Azure Portal, select Azure Cosmos DB, and select your account. In the Settings section, click Connection String and set the following values:

   • AccountEndpoint: The Cosmos DB account URL from the Keys blade of the Cosmos DB account
   • AccountKey: In the Azure portal, navigate to the Cosmos DB service and select your Azure Cosmos DB account. From the resource menu, go to the Keys page. Find the PRIMARY KEY value and set AccountKey to this value.
   
4. Click Create & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Cosmos DB Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

Add a Personal Access Token

A Personal Access Token (PAT) is used to authenticate the connection to Connect Cloud from n8n. It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each service to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click on the Gear icon () at the top right of the Connect Cloud app to open the settings page.
2. On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give the PAT a name and click Create.
4. The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.

With the connection configured and a PAT generated, we are ready to connect to Cosmos DB data from n8n.

Step 2: Connect n8n to CData Connect Cloud

Follow these steps to connect to CData Connect Cloud in n8n:

1. Sign in to n8n.io or create a new account.
2. Create a Workflow in n8n that uses the MCP Client tool. The example Workflow below acts as a chatbot. OpenAI was used as the Chat Model, and Simple Memory was used for the Memory.
3. Configure the MCP Client node in the Workflow:
   • Set Endpoint to https://mcp.cloud.cdata.com/mcp (found in the "Connect Data to AI" ribbon in Connect Cloud)
   • Set Server Transport to HTTP Streamable
   • Set Authentication to Header Auth and set the following properties to use Basic authentication:
     • Set Name to Authorization
     • Set Value to Basic EMAIL:PAT", replacing the EMAIL and PAT with your Connect Cloud email address and the PAT created previously. For example: Basic [email protected]:Uu90pt5vEO..."
     
   

Optional Step: Give the AI Agent context

This step establishes the AI Agent's role and provides context for the conversation through the System Message parameter in the AI Agent node. By providing a system message that explicitly informs the agent about its role as an MCP Server expert and lists the available tools, you can enhance the agent's understanding and response accuracy. For example, you can set the System Message to:

You are an expert at using the MCP Client tool connected which is the CData Connect Cloud MCP Server. Always search thoroughly and use the most relevant MCP Client tool for each query. Below are the available tools and a description of each:
queryData: Execute SQL queries against connected data sources and retrieve results. When you use the queryData tool, ensure you use the following format for the table name: catalog.schema.tableName
execData: Execute stored procedures against connected data sources
getCatalogs: Retrieve a list of available connections from CData Connect Cloud. The connection names should be used as catalog names in other tools and in any queries to CData Connect Cloud. Use the `getSchemas` tool to get a list of available schemas for a specific catalog.
getColumns: Retrieve a list of available database columns from CData Connect Cloud for a specific catalog, schema, and table.
getExportedKeys: Retrieve a list of foreign key relationships from CData Connect Cloud for a specific catalog, schema, and table.
getImportedKeys: Retrieve a list of foreign key relationships from CData Connect Cloud for a specific catalog, schema, and table.
getIndexes: Retrieve a list of indexes from CData Connect Cloud for a specific catalog, schema, and table.
getPrimaryKeys: Retrieve a list of primary keys from CData Connect Cloud for a specific catalog, schema, and table.
getProcedures: Retrieve a list of stored procedures from CData Connect Cloud for a specific catalog and schema
getProcedureParameters: Retrieve a list of stored procedure parameters from CData Connect Cloud for a specific catalog, schema, and procedure.
getSchemas: Retrieve a list of available database schemas from CData Connect Cloud for a specific catalog. Use the `getTables` tool to get a list of available tables for a specific catalog and schema.
getTables: Retrieve a list of available database tables from CData Connect Cloud for a specific catalog and schema. Use the `getColumns` tool to get a list of available columns for a specific table.
  

Step 3: Explore Live Cosmos DB Cosmos DB data with n8n

With the Workflow created in n8n and the MCP Client connected, you can now interact with your Cosmos DB data using n8n. The MCP Client node allows you to send queries and receive responses from the Cosmos DB data source in real-time.

Open the Workflow in n8n and execute it to start interacting with your Cosmos DB data. You can ask questions, retrieve data, and perform actions on your Cosmos DB data using the MCP Client node:

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