What's New: Enhanced MCP Server (2026 release wave 1)

Overview

The session covers what changed in the Business Central MCP server in 2026 release wave 1. It starts with configuration validation, which warns when APIs or queries in an MCP configuration are removed, for example when an app is uninstalled, and offers recommended actions. It then covers exporting a configuration to JSON and importing it into another environment.

It also covers connecting other MCP hosts, a connection string under advanced settings, telemetry and audit logging of configuration changes, and MCP resources. Embedded resources let the server return large data as file references instead of text, so the host can pass them to a code execution tool. Demos show the connection string and embedded resources.

Key points

• Configuration validation checks whether an MCP configuration is still valid after APIs or queries are added or removed, warns when parent APIs are missing (for example api sales header for api sales line), and offers automatic recommended actions.
• A configuration can be exported to JSON in one environment and imported into another, which supports moving it across test, pre-production and production.
• Microsoft Copilot Studio is the fully supported MCP host. Other hosts such as VS Code are in public preview. VS Code is pre-authorized, and other hosts may need extra setup such as an application registration.
• A connection string under advanced settings gives the exact configuration needed to connect MCP clients such as VS Code to Business Central.
• MCP configuration changes are logged as auditable events in Microsoft audit logs. Telemetry covers successful and failed MCP calls. MCP host type logging may be limited where HTTP headers cannot be fully trusted.
• With embedded resources, list tools that return a lot of data return an embedded file reference instead of a text content block. Code execution runs on the MCP host side and needs the code interpreter enabled.
• Resources are optional, and existing MCP implementations continue to work without changes.

Features

AL objects mentioned

As heard in the captions. A name that matches one object page by exact type and name links to it; the others stay as named.

• api “sales header” at 2:04
• api “sales line” at 2:04

Quotes

• 0:29 “The reason we invest in business in in MCP server is to allow you to create the flexible agentic workflows that you need for”
• 1:28 “you might add API pages or queries later, API pages to your configuration and then someone uninstalls an app and this API is no”
• 3:22 “Other hosts would be in public preview and not kind of fully supported. Well, they they work, but Microsoft Copilot Studio is the is”
• 8:10 “unlike your normal use of MCP, it does not return text content block with a large amount of data because that’s a problem”
• 8:35 “all the list tools where you return a lot of data, instead of returning just the text content, you return an embedded file”
• 11:00 “embedded resources are optional, right? So if you have already an existing MCP server MCP implementation, it does not break that”

Disclaimers in the video

• 3:22 preview: Other hosts would be in public preview and not kind of fully supported
• 3:45 other: VS Code and Copilot Studio pre-authorized with authorization. If you have other MCP hosts, you might need to do additional setup.

Presenters (as heard): Kenny Pontoppidan, Poorshad Dwivedi.