Set up Visual Studio Code with Remote MCP Private Preview

You can connect Visual Studio Code with the Atlan Remote MCP server to access Atlan metadata directly from your development environment. This enables you to search for assets, explore lineage, update metadata, create glossary terms, and more without leaving your code editor.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:

• An Atlan tenant with Remote MCP enabled. If you don't have access, contact Atlan support or your Atlan customer team to request it.
• Visual Studio Code installed and updated to the latest version.

Set up Remote MCP

You can connect VS Code to the Atlan Remote MCP server using either OAuth or an API key. Choose the method that best fits your use case.

OAuth

You can set up OAuth if you want VS Code to connect using your Atlan login and permissions.

1. Open Visual Studio Code and press Command + Shift + P (Mac) or Ctrl + Shift + P (Windows/Linux) to open the Command Palette.

2. In the search bar add and select:

MCP: Open User Configuration

3. A file named mcp.json opens. Add the following configuration:

   {
     "servers": {
       "atlan-oauth": {
         "url": "https://<your-tenant>.atlan.com/mcp",
         "type": "http"
       }
     },
     "inputs": []
   }

Replace <your-tenant> with your Atlan tenant URL.

5. Save the file and click the Start button for MCP in VS Code.

6. A login prompt appears to complete authentication. After login, VS Code connects to the Remote MCP server using your Atlan roles and permissions.

7. You can now use Atlan MCP tools directly in the VS Code chat interface. For more information, see the list of Atlan MCP tools.

API Key

You can set up API Key authentication if you want VS Code to connect using a static token for automation or service-to-service use cases.

1. In Atlan, generate an API key by going to Admin Settings → API access → Tokens.

2. Open Visual Studio Code and press Command + Shift + P (Mac) or Ctrl + Shift + P (Windows/Linux) to open the Command Palette.

3. In the search bar add and select:

MCP: Open User Configuration

4. A file named mcp.json opens. Add the following configuration:

   {
     "servers": {
       "atlan-api-key": {
         "url": "https://<your-tenant>.atlan.com/mcp/api-key",
         "type": "http",
         "headers": {
           "Authorization": "<your-api-key>"
         }
       }
     },
     "inputs": []
   }

5. Replace:

   • <your-tenant> with your Atlan tenant URL
   • <your-api-key> with your actual API key

6. Save the file and click the Start button for MCP in VS Code.

7. The server is ready with API Key authentication, and VS Code connects to Atlan metadata through Remote MCP.

8. You can now use Atlan MCP tools directly in the VS Code chat interface. For more information, see the list of Atlan MCP tools.

Troubleshooting

• If you encounter authentication errors, verify that your API key is valid and has the necessary permissions.
• If OAuth authentication fails, try logging out and logging back in to refresh your session.
• If you have any issues while configuring the integration, contact Atlan Support for assistance.

See also

• Atlan MCP tools