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Install the Airbyte MCP

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Private beta

The Airbyte MCP is in private beta. Features and tools may change. It's available to Airbyte Cloud organizations enrolled in the beta. To use the Airbyte MCP with self-managed Airbyte Core, see Use the Airbyte MCP with Airbyte Core.

The Airbyte MCP is a hosted, remote MCP server. You don't need to install anything. Give your MCP client this URL and sign in with your Airbyte Cloud account.

https://mcp.airbyte.com/mcp

Prerequisites​

  • An Airbyte Cloud account in an organization enrolled in the private beta.
  • An MCP client that supports remote MCP servers with OAuth and the Streamable HTTP transport.
  • To read data directly from sources and destinations, an organization admin must enable the context layer. However, you can use the Airbyte MCP to manage pipelines without it.

Sign in​

The first time your client connects, it opens the Airbyte Cloud sign-in page in your browser. Sign in with the account you use for Airbyte Cloud and grant access.

If your organization uses single sign-on, select Sign in with SSO and enter your Company identifier. This is the same identifier you enter after you select Continue with SSO on the Airbyte Cloud sign-in page. If you don't know it, ask your Airbyte organization admin.

If you belong to more than one organization or workspace, the Airbyte MCP uses your default workspace. Ask your agent to list your workspaces or switch to a different one at any time.

Add the Airbyte MCP to your client​

Expand your client below for setup instructions.

ChatGPT web

ChatGPT connects to remote MCP servers as custom apps in developer mode. Developer mode is available on ChatGPT Business, Enterprise, and education plans, and workspace admins control who can use it. For details, see Developer mode and MCP apps in ChatGPT.

  1. In ChatGPT, confirm developer mode is on for your account. Go to Settings > Apps > Advanced settings.

  2. Go to Settings > Apps and click Create.

  3. Enter a name, like Airbyte, and enter the MCP server URL: https://mcp.airbyte.com/mcp.

  4. Choose OAuth authentication.

  5. Click Scan Tools. When prompted, sign in to Airbyte Cloud and grant access.

  6. Click Create.

  7. In a new conversation, add the Airbyte app and ask ChatGPT to use it. For example, "Use Airbyte to list my connections."

ChatGPT desktop

The ChatGPT desktop app uses the apps you add to your ChatGPT account. Follow the ChatGPT web instructions to add the Airbyte MCP in your browser, then start a new conversation in the desktop app and add the Airbyte app.

Claude web

Claude connects to remote MCP servers as custom connectors. For details, see Get started with custom connectors using remote MCP.

  1. In Claude, go to Customize > Connectors.

  2. Click + next to Connectors, then select Add custom connector.

  3. Enter a name, like Airbyte, and enter the URL: https://mcp.airbyte.com/mcp.

  4. Click Add, then click Connect.

  5. Sign in to Airbyte Cloud and grant access.

On Team and Enterprise plans, an owner must first add the custom connector in Organization settings > Connectors. After that, each member finds it in Customize > Connectors and clicks Connect.

Claude Desktop

Custom connectors you add on Claude web are also available in Claude Desktop. Follow the Claude web instructions in Claude Desktop or in your browser. Claude connects to the Airbyte MCP from the cloud, so you don't need to edit a local configuration file.

Claude Code

  1. Run the following command in your terminal.

    claude mcp add --transport http airbyte https://mcp.airbyte.com/mcp

  2. Run Claude Code with claude.

  3. Type /mcp, select airbyte, then select Authenticate. Your browser opens.

  4. Sign in to Airbyte Cloud and grant access.

  5. Return to Claude Code and start using the Airbyte MCP.

VS Code

Click to install in VS Code, or set it up manually.

To install from the command line, run:

code --add-mcp '{"name":"airbyte","type":"http","url":"https://mcp.airbyte.com/mcp"}'

To install with a configuration file, add this to .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace, or run MCP: Open User Configuration from the Command Palette to edit your user configuration.

{
  "servers": {
    "airbyte": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.airbyte.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

VS Code detects that the server requires OAuth and opens your browser. Sign in to Airbyte Cloud and grant access. Tools from the Airbyte MCP are then available in Copilot Chat.

VS Code Insiders

Click to install in VS Code Insiders, or set it up manually.

To install from the command line, run:

code-insiders --add-mcp '{"name":"airbyte","type":"http","url":"https://mcp.airbyte.com/mcp"}'

To install with a configuration file, add this to .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace, or run MCP: Open User Configuration from the Command Palette to edit your user configuration.

{
  "servers": {
    "airbyte": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.airbyte.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

VS Code Insiders detects that the server requires OAuth and opens your browser. Sign in to Airbyte Cloud and grant access. Tools from the Airbyte MCP are then available in Copilot Chat.

Cursor

Click to install in Cursor, or add this to .cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "airbyte": {
      "url": "https://mcp.airbyte.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

In Cursor Settings > Tools and MCP, find airbyte and click Connect. Sign in to Airbyte Cloud and grant access.

Other clients

The Airbyte MCP works with any client that supports remote MCP servers with OAuth and the Streamable HTTP transport. Use this server URL:

https://mcp.airbyte.com/mcp

Many clients accept a JSON configuration like this. Key names vary by client, so check your client's documentation.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "airbyte": {
      "url": "https://mcp.airbyte.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

When your client first connects, it detects that the server requires OAuth. It may open your browser automatically, or you may need to click a button to start sign-in. Sign in to Airbyte Cloud and grant access.

Connect without a browser​

Authenticate with an Airbyte application

Automated agents, scripts, and CI jobs can't complete a browser sign-in. Instead, they can authenticate with an Airbyte application. Use this method only if your agent or a script can request new access tokens on its own. If a person uses the agent, add the Airbyte MCP to your client and sign in with a browser instead.

  1. Create an application and get an access token. The application acts with the permissions of the user who created it, so consider using a service account.

  2. Send the access token in the Authorization header of every request to the Airbyte MCP.

    {
      "mcpServers": {
        "airbyte": {
          "url": "https://mcp.airbyte.com/mcp",
          "headers": {
            "Authorization": "Bearer <ACCESS_TOKEN>"
          }
        }
      }
    }

  3. Optional: to choose a workspace or organization other than your default, add the X-Airbyte-Workspace-Id or X-Airbyte-Organization-Id header.

Access tokens expire after 15 minutes, so don't paste a token into your client's configuration by hand. Your agent or script needs to request a new token with the application's client ID and client secret before the current one expires.

Next steps​

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