---
id: post/demiliani-com/13512
type: post
title: "Dynamics 365 Business Central: using the standalone MCP Server provided as part of the AL Development Tools."
summary: "Version 17.X of the AL Development Tools .NET package adds a launchmcpserver command. It starts an MCP server, HTTP on port 5000 by default, that lets AI coding agents run AL tasks on a project: build, publish, debug, set breakpoints, snapshot debugging, download symbols and symbol search. The tools are experimental. The package itself compiles and packages extensions outside VS Code for CI/CD."
tier: community
language: en
tags:
  - al development
  - mcp server
  - ci/cd automation
  - ai agents
  - debugging
  - build tools
system: development
review:
  state: reviewed
  by: opus
  at: "2026-10-08T01:56:09.637Z"
  flags: []
generated:
  at: "2026-10-08T01:26:53.141Z"
  pipeline: 0.2.0
  prompts:
    extract-post: 1
  input_hash: 445b4593c7bdce18841392aa77db204611b40045253824d1fa84ccffb17a5584
evidence:
  - kind: blog
    url: https://demiliani.com/2026/03/09/dynamics-365-business-central-using-the-standalone-mcp-server-provided-as-part-of-the-al-development-tools/
    title: "Dynamics 365 Business Central: using the standalone MCP Server provided as part of the AL Development Tools."
    date: "2026-03-09"
    commit: null
    t: null
    quote: null
  - kind: blog
    url: https://demiliani.com/2026/03/09/dynamics-365-business-central-using-the-standalone-mcp-server-provided-as-part-of-the-al-development-tools/
    title: "Dynamics 365 Business Central: using the standalone MCP Server provided as part of the AL Development Tools."
    date: "2026-03-09"
    commit: null
    t: null
    quote: This command starts up an HTTP-based MCP server, which can be used by coding agents to invoke AL-specific development tools.
  - kind: blog
    url: https://demiliani.com/2026/03/09/dynamics-365-business-central-using-the-standalone-mcp-server-provided-as-part-of-the-al-development-tools/
    title: "Dynamics 365 Business Central: using the standalone MCP Server provided as part of the AL Development Tools."
    date: "2026-03-09"
    commit: null
    t: null
    quote: These tools are experimental and subject to change in future updates.
links:
  learn: []
  objects: []
  features: []
  topics: []
  localizations: []
  videos: []
  posts: []
  guidelines: []
post_id: "13512"
source_id: demiliani-com
source_name: Stefano Demiliani
url: https://demiliani.com/2026/03/09/dynamics-365-business-central-using-the-standalone-mcp-server-provided-as-part-of-the-al-development-tools/
published_at: "2026-03-09T11:03:25.000Z"
author: Stefano Demiliani
full_text: false
words: 477
quotes:
  - text: This command starts up an HTTP-based MCP server, which can be used by coding agents to invoke AL-specific development tools.
    why_it_matters: Describes how the MCP server enables AI agents to interact with AL development workflows
  - text: These tools are experimental and subject to change in future updates.
    why_it_matters: Sets expectations about the stability and future evolution of these features
code_objects_mentioned: []
systems:
  - development
  - platform
versions_mentioned:
  - 17.X
preview:
  embeddable: true
  frame_url: https://demiliani.com/2026/03/09/dynamics-365-business-central-using-the-standalone-mcp-server-provided-as-part-of-the-al-development-tools/embed/
  image: https://demiliani.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/altoolmcp_00.png
  image_alt: null
  image_w: 473
  image_h: 266
  site_name: Stefano Demiliani
  favicon: https://demiliani.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/sd_wordpress_logo.png?w=32
  probed_at: "2026-10-07T11:50:54.112Z"
---

# Dynamics 365 Business Central: using the standalone MCP Server provided as part of the AL Development Tools.

[Read the post](https://demiliani.com/2026/03/09/dynamics-365-business-central-using-the-standalone-mcp-server-provided-as-part-of-the-al-development-tools/) · Stefano Demiliani (Stefano Demiliani, MVP) · 2026-03-09 · 477 words · tier community · reviewed (checked by Opus)

> Version 17.X of the AL Development Tools .NET package adds a launchmcpserver command. It starts an MCP server, HTTP on port 5000 by default, that lets AI coding agents run AL tasks on a project: build, publish, debug, set breakpoints, snapshot debugging, download symbols and symbol search. The tools are experimental. The package itself compiles and packages extensions outside VS Code for CI/CD.

## Key points

- AL Development Tools is a cross-platform NuGet-based package for compiling and packaging Business Central extensions outside Visual Studio Code
- The launchmcpserver command launches an HTTP-based MCP server that AI agents can use to invoke AL development tools
- Available tools include building, debugging, downloading symbols, publishing, setting breakpoints, snapshot debugging, and symbol searching
- The server supports configurable options like port, transport mode, telemetry, ruleset, and output folder
- These tools are experimental and designed to streamline AL development workflows with AI assistance

## Quotes

- "This command starts up an HTTP-based MCP server, which can be used by coding agents to invoke AL-specific development tools." (Describes how the MCP server enables AI agents to interact with AL development workflows)
- "These tools are experimental and subject to change in future updates." (Sets expectations about the stability and future evolution of these features)

## Context

- Features: MCP server, launchmcpserver command, al_build, al_debug, al_downloadsymbols, al_publish, al_setbreakpoint, al_snapshotdebugging, al_symbolsearch
- Versions: 17.X

Source: Stefano Demiliani, community blog. Summary, key points and quotes are derived (CONTENT-NOTICE.md); read the original for the full text.