MCP Server and API Queries (2026 release wave 1)
The Business Central MCP server now supports API queries, as shown in the 2026 release wave 1 video. The analytics API queries behind the Power BI apps can be picked by choosing object type "query" in the MCP server configuration, so external agents can use aggregations and analytics. The video says support came in version 28.2 (captioned "22 28.2") and points to the analytics API reference at aka.ms/bcintegration for agent knowledge.
- Introduction to API queries and MCP server
- Business value of API queries for external agents
- Release wave 1 updates and API queries availability
- Demo: enabling API queries in MCP server configuration
- Documentation and Power BI app analytics reference
- API use cases across functional areas
- Resources and next steps
Overview
The video explains that Power BI apps for most functional areas in Business Central are built on API queries, and that these queries are now available through the MCP server for external agents. This lets agent developers use aggregations and analytics data, not only the other APIs already opened up.
The demo shows an MCP server configuration where the object type is set to query. The analytics API queries appear grouped under the API group analytics, including GL account category, finance and inventory related queries. The video also points to the analytics API reference documentation, which covers semantic models, calculations and use cases across areas such as manufacturing, sales and finance, and suggests using it as knowledge for agents, for example in Copilot Studio.
Key points
- API queries are supported in the MCP server and are the data foundation of the Power BI apps for most functional areas.
- The video says API query support arrived in version 28.2 (captioned as ‘22 28.2’), together with support for all APIs, which is covered in a separate video.
- In the MCP server configuration, choose query as object type and open the object ID lookup to see the analytics API queries, grouped under the API group analytics.
- Versions 0.5 and 1 both appear, and the presenter mentions backwards compatibility; choose the highest numbered version of the API.
- The analytics API reference (aka.ms/bcintegration) documents how the APIs are used in the Power BI apps, with semantic models, calculations and use cases for manufacturing, sales and finance.
- The reference can be used as instructions or knowledge for agents, for example by pointing Copilot Studio to it.
- General MCP server documentation is at aka.ms/bcmcp, and there is a ‘getting started with MCP server’ video playlist.
Features
| Feature | Status | At | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| API queries in MCP server | generally available, demoed | 0:05 | “API queries are the foundation for our Power BI apps, and this is now available in Business Central uh MCP server” (1:37) |
| Analytics API reference documentation | status not stated | 2:52 | |
| MCP server configuration for object type query | status not stated, demoed | 1:37 |
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.
- query “GL account category” at 2:07
Not found in BC28-30: query “GL account category”.
Quotes
- 0:05 “We have two new things. One is support for API queries, that’s this video, and then we have opened up for all Microsoft’s APIs”
- 0:36 “We added Power BI apps for most functional areas in Business Central, and the foundation, the data foundation for these reports or apps uh”
- 0:47 “Those API queries are now also available for your external agents. So, if you want to include things like aggregations or analytics,”
- 1:09 “In the release wave one for Business Central here in 2026, uh highlighted in italic, you can see what we already shipped in April,”
- 1:50 “I have um here a MCP server configuration, and if I go down here under object type and choose query, when I then choose”
- 2:19 “These are all grouped under the API group analytics. And even though they show version 0.5 and version 1 is just for backwards compatibility,”
- 3:45 “you can probably even use that reference as instructions or knowledge to your agents. Maybe you want to point to that in Co-pilot Studio”