20260831 - Business Central MCP Server, standard and custom

Overview

The Areopa webinar explains the Model Context Protocol, an open standard created by Anthropic, and how Business Central implements it as an MCP server. In Copilot Studio only the tools component is supported for Business Central. Resources are being worked on and are expected in later minor versions.

The presenter demos adding the Business Central MCP server in Copilot Studio by choosing environment, MCP server configuration and company. The default dynamic configuration exposes search, describe and invoke and is read-only. Write scenarios need a static configuration with explicitly chosen APIs and permissions. The session also covers the validate feature, connection string reuse, VS Code with mcp.json, configuration export and import, query exposure, an experimental proxy for cloud tools, and an MCP for administrators.

Key points

• The standard Business Central MCP server is in public preview from 27.1. In Copilot Studio only tools are supported, not resources.
• The default configuration is read-only, for security. Dynamic mode exposes three tools: search, describe and invoke.
• Write scenarios (customers, sales orders, purchase orders) need static configuration. You pick the APIs and actions and set permissions for each.
• Adding the server in Copilot Studio asks for three inputs: environment, MCP server configuration and company. Only active configurations can be selected.
• The MCP connection string can be copied and reused outside Copilot Studio, for example in VS Code via mcp.json. Configurations can be exported from sandbox and imported to production.
• The MCP proxy for cloud tools is experimental and not supported by Microsoft. Query exposure was described as not yet working perfectly.
• Advice: do not expose all APIs. Custom fields need custom APIs, with tooltips and captions that give the agent context.

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.

• other “Model Context Protocol configuration” at 23:03
• table 18 “Customer” at 34:00
• other “mcp.json” at 43:27
• api “Business Central admin API” at 52:06

Quotes

• 7:05 “protocol is something similar to that we have the same protocol to connect every item every model large language”
• 9:57 “The MCP is an open protocol. Remember that the MCP was created by Anthropic.”
• 13:41 “components that we can use in copilot studio are resources and tools”
• 13:51 “if you want to use business central with copilot the mcp server for business central”
• 13:51 “if you want to use Business Central with Copilot the MCP server for Business Central uh in Copilot Studio, you only can use tools”

Disclaimers in the video

• 14:20 coming-later: I suppose in a couple of versions or minor versions, probably you can use the resources because the team is working in use this resources, but for now we only can use tools
• 19:50 preview: The MCP server standard uh is in public preview from 27.1
• 20:09 preview: Experimental. If you want to use the MCP server with cloud up to you, but it’s experimental
• 20:20 other: It’s not supported by Microsoft
• 41:13 preview: it’s not it’s still maturing. Um it’s not something very um tested
• 45:13 preview: it’s not uh working uh for now it’s not working um perfectly
• 48:01 preview: this is the experimental solution, right? This Remember, this is the experimental. It’s not supported by Microsoft.
• 53:41 preview: new tool selections from uh, from Copilot Studio is not public. It’s not uh in all the environments

Presenters (as heard): Fred Hector, Roberto Corella, Roberto.