> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.open-metadata.org/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Getting Started with Claude Desktop

> Set up MCP Server to connect Claude Desktop with OAuth or PAT-based authentication for AI-powered access to your data.

# Getting Started with Claude Desktop

Configure OpenMetadata's MCP Server to interact with Anthropic's AI assistant platform.

## Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have:

1. **OpenMetadata v1.8.0+** running
2. **MCP Application** installed in OpenMetadata
   * Navigate to `<YOUR-OpenMetadata-SERVER>/marketplace/apps/McpApplication`
   * Install **McpApplication** if not already installed
3. **[Claude Desktop](https://claude.ai/download)** installed

## Connect with OAuth 2.0 (Recommended)

OAuth lets you authenticate using your existing OpenMetadata login, with no tokens to manage.

### Step 1: Open Settings

Open Claude Desktop and navigate to **Settings**.

### Step 2: Add a Custom Connector

Go to **Connectors** and click **Add custom connector**.

### Step 3: Configure the Server

* **Name**: Enter a name for your connector (e.g., `OpenMetadata`)
* **Remote MCP server URL**: Enter your OpenMetadata MCP Server URL:

```
https://<YOUR-OpenMetadata-SERVER>/mcp
```

For example: `https://your-openmetadata-instance.com/mcp`

Click **Add** to save.

<img noZoom src="https://mintcdn.com/openmetadata/oMrqaOqRCTd0vWNF/public/images/how-to-guides/mcp/claude-oauth-add-connector.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=oMrqaOqRCTd0vWNF&q=85&s=7cf15aa43c28898d16517ad7aadeb8bb" alt="Claude Desktop Add custom connector dialog" width="1074" height="840" data-path="public/images/how-to-guides/mcp/claude-oauth-add-connector.png" />

### Step 4: Authenticate

Claude Desktop will open a browser window prompting you to sign in with your OpenMetadata credentials. Follow the on-screen instructions based on your configured authentication method:

* **SSO (Google, Azure, Okta, etc.)**: You will be redirected to your SSO provider's login page
* **Basic Auth**: Enter your OpenMetadata username and password

Once authenticated, Claude Desktop connects to your OpenMetadata MCP Server automatically. You will see the server listed with all available MCP tools.

<img noZoom src="https://mintcdn.com/openmetadata/oMrqaOqRCTd0vWNF/public/images/how-to-guides/mcp/claude-oauth-connected.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=oMrqaOqRCTd0vWNF&q=85&s=7bb80b75d5e59e1ab581bd2a6be9fa7e" alt="Claude Desktop showing connected OpenMetadata MCP Server with available tools" width="1696" height="1358" data-path="public/images/how-to-guides/mcp/claude-oauth-connected.png" />

## Connect with Personal Access Token (PAT)

If you prefer token-based authentication or OAuth is not available in your environment, you can use a Personal Access Token with the `mcp-remote` proxy.

### Prerequisites for PAT Method

In addition to the general prerequisites above, you will need:

* [nvm](https://github.com/nvm-sh/nvm) and npx/node version 22
* OpenMetadata [Personal Access Token](/v2.0.x-SNAPSHOT/how-to-guides/mcp#adding-a-personal-access-token-to-your-mcp-client)

### Configure Claude Desktop

Navigate to Claude Desktop's Settings, then select *Developer* and *Edit Config*. Paste the following into `claude_desktop_config.json`:

```json theme={null}
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "OpenMetadata": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-remote",
        "<YOUR-OpenMetadata-SERVER>/mcp",
        "--auth-server-url=<YOUR-OpenMetadata-SERVER>/mcp",
        "--client-id=OpenMetadata",
        "--verbose",
        "--clean",
        "--header",
        "Authorization:${AUTH_HEADER}"
      ],
      "env": {
        "AUTH_HEADER": "Bearer <YOUR-OpenMetadata-PAT>"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

Replace `<YOUR-OpenMetadata-SERVER>` with your OpenMetadata instance URL and `<YOUR-OpenMetadata-PAT>` with your Personal Access Token.

Restart Claude Desktop. You should see your `OpenMetadata` service running.

## Prompt to Read from OpenMetadata

This part of the guide assumes that you have assets in OpenMetadata that Claude can read. You can add data sources into OpenMetadata [here](https://docs.open-metadata.org/latest/connectors).

Paste the following prompt into Claude to have it read from OpenMetadata:

```
Imagine you're a data analyst tasked with building a customer retention dashboard.
Can you help me identify which tables or datasets in the OpenMetadata database might
contain relevant information?
```

Claude will ask if it can use the external integration `OpenMetadata`, select *Allow always*. You may have to do this multiple times, once for each tool. Claude is now reading from OpenMetadata via its MCP Server!

For more sample use cases with MCP please check out [our blog](https://collatedata.medium.com/mcp-sample-uses-in-openmetadata-b7846864f63b)!

## Additional Resources

* [OpenMetadata MCP Documentation](/v2.0.x-SNAPSHOT/how-to-guides/mcp)
* [OAuth 2.0 Authentication](/v2.0.x-SNAPSHOT/how-to-guides/mcp/oauth)
* [MCP Tools Reference](/v2.0.x-SNAPSHOT/how-to-guides/mcp/reference)

### Reach out on Slack!

With MCP, we are finding new ways to use OpenMetadata all the time! Now that you have Claude and OpenMetadata configured to work together, think you've got a great new use case? Show us what you've got in [Slack](https://slack.open-metadata.org/)!