Dataverse CLI

A command-line tool for Microsoft Dataverse that provides multiple capabilities for working with Dataverse environments.

Installation

Global Installation

npm install -g @microsoft/dataversecli

Use with npx (No Installation Required)

npx @microsoft/dataversecli <command> [options]

Prerequisites

Before you can use the Dataverse MCP server, the following setup steps must be completed by your administrators:

1. Azure Tenant Admin: Grant Admin Consent

An Azure tenant administrator must grant admin consent for the Dataverse MCP CLI tool application.

Steps:

1. Navigate to: https://login.microsoftonline.com/{your-tenant-id}/adminconsent?client_id=0c412cc3-0dd6-449b-987f-05b053db9457
   • Replace {your-tenant-id} with your actual Azure tenant ID
2. Sign in as an Azure tenant administrator
3. Review and grant the requested permissions

2. Dataverse Admin: Enable MCP Server

A Dataverse organization administrator must enable the MCP server feature for your environment.

Resources:

• Enable Dataverse MCP (Production)
• Enable Dataverse MCP (Preview)

3. Dataverse Admin: Allow the MCP CLI Tool

A Dataverse organization administrator must add the Dataverse MCP CLI tool to the allowed client applications list.

Steps:

1. Follow the instructions at: Configure MCP Client List
2. Add the application with App ID: 0c412cc3-0dd6-449b-987f-05b053db9457
   • This will appear as "Dataverse MCP CLI tool" in the UI

Note: All three prerequisite steps must be completed before you can successfully authenticate and connect to your Dataverse environment.

Available Commands

mcp - MCP Server for Dataverse

Starts an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that connects to your Dataverse environment, enabling AI assistants like Claude to interact with your Dataverse data.

Usage

dataversecli mcp <orgUrl> [options]

Arguments:

• <orgUrl> - Your Dataverse organization URL (e.g., https://myorg.crm.dynamics.com)

Options:

• --validate - Validate MCP endpoints and authentication setup without starting the server
• --log-level <level> - Set logging level: Trace, Debug, Information, Warning, Error, Critical (default: Warning)
• --log-file - Enable logging to a file in the temp directory
• --preview - Use preview MCP endpoint (api/mcp_preview instead of api/mcp)

Examples

Validate setup (recommended first step):

dataversecli mcp https://myorg.crm.dynamics.com --validate

This will test both the GA and Preview endpoints and verify that:

• Authentication is working correctly
• The MCP server is enabled
• The MCP CLI tool is in the allowed applications list

If validation fails, the output will provide specific guidance on which prerequisite steps need to be completed.

Basic usage with stdio transport:

dataversecli mcp https://myorg.crm.dynamics.com

With npx:

npx @microsoft/dataversecli mcp https://myorg.crm.dynamics.com

Use preview endpoint:

dataversecli mcp https://myorg.crm.dynamics.com --preview

Enable debug logging:

dataversecli mcp https://myorg.crm.dynamics.com --log-level Debug

Enable file logging (useful for troubleshooting):

dataversecli mcp https://myorg.crm.dynamics.com --log-file

Using with Claude Desktop

To use the Dataverse MCP server with Claude Desktop, add it to your MCP configuration.

Quick Setup

claude mcp add dataverse -t stdio -- npx -y @microsoft/dataversecli mcp https://yourorg.crm.dynamics.com

Manual Configuration

Edit your Claude Desktop MCP configuration file:

Location:

• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "dataverse": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@microsoft/dataversecli", "mcp", "https://yourorg.crm.dynamics.com"],
      "type": "stdio"
    }
  }
}

With logging enabled for troubleshooting:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "dataverse": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@microsoft/dataversecli",
        "mcp",
        "https://yourorg.crm.dynamics.com",
        "--log-level", "Debug",
        "--log-file"
      ],
      "type": "stdio"
    }
  }
}

Using the preview endpoint:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "dataverse": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@microsoft/dataversecli",
        "mcp",
        "https://yourorg.crm.dynamics.com",
        "--preview"
      ],
      "type": "stdio"
    }
  }
}

Authentication

The MCP server uses Microsoft Authentication Library (MSAL) with device code flow for authentication. When you start the server:

1. A browser window will open automatically
2. Sign in with your Microsoft account that has access to the Dataverse environment
3. The server will cache your authentication token for future use

Supported Platforms

• Windows (x64)
• macOS (ARM64 - Apple Silicon)

Troubleshooting

Enable Logging

If you encounter issues, enable file logging to capture detailed diagnostic information:

dataversecli mcp https://yourorg.crm.dynamics.com --log-level Debug --log-file

Log files are written to your system's temporary directory. The exact location will be displayed when logging starts.

Common Issues

"No compatible binary found for your platform"

• This package currently supports Windows (x64) and macOS (ARM64/Apple Silicon)
• For other platforms, please use the .NET version directly

Authentication failures

• Ensure you have access to the Dataverse environment
• Check that your organization URL is correct
• Try clearing your token cache and re-authenticating

MCP connection issues in Claude Desktop

• Verify the configuration JSON syntax is correct
• Check that the organization URL is accessible
• Enable --log-file to capture detailed error messages
• Restart Claude Desktop after configuration changes

Getting Help

# General help
dataversecli --help

# MCP command help
dataversecli mcp --help

Support MCP Operations

The MCP server supports the following operations:

• Tools: List and call Dataverse tools
• Prompts: List and retrieve prompts
• Resources: List and read Dataverse resources

License

MIT

Links

• GitHub Repository
• Model Context Protocol
• Claude Desktop