What's New: Admin Center MCP Server (2026 release wave 1)
Admin Center MCP Server (in public preview, 2026 release wave 1) lets an MCP client such as VS Code query and manage Business Central environments through the Admin Center API using natural language. The video demos setup, update queries and failed-update analysis, and lists preview limitations.
- Introduction to Admin Center MCP Server
- Setup and Configuration in VS Code
- Querying Environments and Updates
- Analyzing Failed Updates and Extensions
- Uninstalling Extensions and Scheduling Upgrades
- Use Cases and Scenarios
- Limitations and Future Improvements
- Closing Remarks and Community Engagement
Overview
The video shows the Admin Center MCP Server, which exposes the Admin Center API to MCP-compatible clients. It is connected in VS Code and uses standard Entra authentication, the same as the Admin API. The demo asks natural language questions, such as listing environments and checking their pending updates, and the server picks the tools and API endpoints to call.
It also shows analyzing a failed update, where the failure message pointed to AL logic failing during data upgrade. Root cause analysis works best when the source code of the extension involved is available in the same context. The server is in public preview, so some Admin Center API endpoints are not yet known to it, and destructive operations are blocked.
Key points
- The Admin Center MCP Server is in public preview and can be connected to VS Code or any client that supports MCP servers, including Microsoft Copilot Studio.
- Authentication uses standard Entra authentication, the same mechanism as the Admin API.
- Natural language questions can list environments and show their pending updates; the server chooses the API endpoints to call.
- Failed update analysis can identify root causes, especially when the source code of the failing extension is in the same context.
- It can poll operations, for example copying a production environment, waiting for the copy to finish, then running the update.
- It cannot run destructive operations: deleting or renaming environments, or uninstalling apps. In the demo the agent said no uninstall tool exists.
- It cannot manage security group settings, and settings for linked Power Platform environments are not available yet.
Features
| Feature | Status | At | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Admin Center MCP Server | preview, demoed | 0:05 | “During the public preview, there are already a few scenarios where the MCP server can be really useful in managing your environments.” (8:17) |
| Environment Management via Natural Language | preview, demoed | 1:51 | “For now, this is in public preview. So, we’re still actively working on this and we have some ideas on how to improve it” (9:10) |
| Failed Update Analysis | status not stated, demoed | 2:36 | |
| Extension Dependency and Update Management | status not stated, demoed | 8:59 | |
| Environment Copy and Upgrade Polling | status not stated | 8:44 | |
| MCP Server Authentication | status not stated, demoed | 0:47 |
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.
- other “Admin Center MCP Server” at 0:16
- other “Admin API” at 0:47
- other “Admin Center API” at 9:24
- other “MCP Server” at 0:30
Quotes
- 0:16 “The Admin Center MCP server lets you interact with the Admin Center API using natural language just like other MCP servers.”
- 2:20 “just using a natural language question, the MCP server figures out what tools to use, what API endpoints to call to give you an”
- 3:19 “failure message indicates that it failed in data upgrade because of some logic in AL that that was failing essentially.”
- 5:48 “agent told me that there is no such tool in the MCP server to uninstall the extension because we intentionally are not introducing breaking”
- 8:17 “you can use any client that supports MCP servers including um Microsoft Copilot Studio to connect to the new MCP server for the Admin”
- 9:10 “For now, this is in public preview. So, we’re still actively working on this and we have some ideas on how to improve it”
- 9:24 “During the public preview, there’s a few API endpoints that that are available in the Admin Center API but that are not known to”
- 9:36 “You cannot execute potentially destructive operations like deleting and and renaming environments or uninstalling apps.”
Disclaimers in the video
- 9:10 preview: For now, this is in public preview. So, we’re still actively working on this and we have some ideas on how to improve it in the future.
- 9:24 subject-to-change: During the public preview, there’s a few API endpoints that that are available in the Admin Center API but that are not known to the MCP server.
Presenters (as heard): Joost, Yuri.