Alation AI Agent SDK
About
Python library for integrating the Alation API into agentic workflows
Details
- License
- Apache-2.0
Explore
- Integrates with Alation Data Catalog for metadata access
- Supports natural language search for relevant metadata
- Includes MCP and LangChain integrations
- Provides tools like catalog context search, lineage, and data quality
- Supports streaming and chat ID for enhanced agent interactions
- Offers a remote MCP server option for easier deployment
Setting up with Highlight
This MCP is not yet compatible with Highlight’s one-click setup. However, you can still use it with Highlight by following these steps:
- Download and install Highlight from highlightai.com/download
- Navigate to the plugins tab and select "Add Custom Plugin"
-
Configure the plugin with the settings below
Plugin Name
Alation AI Agent SDKCommand (node, npx, python, etc.)Please refer to the README for specific instructions on how to obtain API keys or other required environment variables.
- Enable "Start Automatically" if you want the plugin to start when Highlight launches
From the repository
- Python 3.10 or higher
- Access to an Alation Data Catalog instance
- A valid refresh token or client_id and secret. For more details, refer to the Authentication Guide.
uv pip install alation-ai-agent-sdk==1.0.0rc3
uv pip install alation-ai-agent-langchain==1.0.0rc3
uv pip install alation-ai-agent-mcp==1.0.0rc3
auth_params = ServiceAccountAuthParams(
client_id="your_client_id",
client_secret="your_client_secret"
)
alation_api = AlationAPI(
base_url="https://your-alation-instance.com",
auth_method="service_account",
auth_params=auth_params
)
If you cannot obtain service account credentials (admin only), see the User Account Authentication Guide for instructions.
export ALATION_ENABLED_TOOLS='alation_context,analyze_catalog_question,bulk_retrieval,generate_data_product,get_custom_fields_definitions,get_data_dictionary_instructions,data_product,get_signature_creation_instructions,catalog_context_search_agent,query_flow_agent,sql_query_agent'
- alation_context
- bulk_retrieval
- data_quality_tool
- get_custom_fields_definitions
- get_data_products
- get_data_sources_tool
- get_signature_creation_instructions
- lineage
- Planning an Integration - Practical considerations for getting the most out of your agents and the Alation Data Catalog.
- <a href="https://developer.alation.com/dev/docs/customize-the-aggregated-context-api-calls-with-a-signature" target="blank"> Using Signatures </a> - How to customize your agent with concrete examples.
- <a href="https://developer.alation.com/dev/docs/guide-to-aggregated-context-api-beta#supported-object-types-and-default-object-type-fields" target="blank">Supported Object Types and Default Object Fields</a> - See which objects are supported.
- <a href="https://developer.alation.com/dev/docs/customize-the-aggregated-context-api-calls-with-a-signature#supported-object-fields" target="blank">Supported Object Fields</a> - A comprehensive reference for each supported object.
- Data Quality: Check SQL Query - Identifies data quality issues within a SQL query.
- Lineage - Resolve upstream and downstream graphs.
The number of published agent frameworks and toolkits appears to be increasing every day. If you don't happen to see the framework or toolkit you're using here, it's still possible to adapt alation-ai-agent-sdk to your needs. It may be as simple as writing a wrapping function where a decorator is applied.
While we want to reach as many developers as possible and make it as convenient as possible, we anticipate a long tail distribution of toolkits and won't be able to write adapters for every case. If you'd like support for a specific toolkit, please create an issue to discuss.
Claude Desktop / Cursor
Paste into your MCP client config file to install this server.
{
"mcpServers": {
"alation ai agent sdk": {
"alation-ai-agent-sdk": {
"command": "uv",
"args": [
"pip",
"install",
"alation-ai-agent-sdk==1.0.0rc3"
]
}
}
}
}McpServers
{
"alation-ai-agent-sdk": {
"command": "uv",
"args": [
"pip",
"install",
"alation-ai-agent-sdk==1.0.0rc3"
]
}
}The Alation AI Agent SDK enables AI agents to access and leverage metadata from the Alation Data Catalog.
Overview
This SDK empowers AI agents to:
- Easily integrate with Alation's Data Catalog
- Address use cases like Asset Curation, Search & Discovery, Role Based Agents, and Data Analyst Agents
- Use natural language to search for relevant metadata
- Integrate seamlessly with AI frameworks like MCP
Components
The project is organized into multiple components:
- Core SDK - Foundation with API client and context tools
- MCP Integration - Server implementation for Model Context Protocol
- LangChain Integration - Adapters for the LangChain framework
Core SDK (alation-ai-agent-sdk)
The core SDK provides the foundation for interacting with the Alation API. It handles authentication, request formatting, and response parsing.
LangChain Integration (alation-ai-agent-langchain)
This component integrates the SDK with the LangChain framework, enabling the creation of sophisticated AI agents that can reason about your data catalog.
Learn more about the LangChain Integration
MCP Integration (alation-ai-agent-mcp)
The MCP integration provides an MCP-compatible server that exposes Alation's context capabilities to any MCP client. Supports both traditional STDIO mode for direct MCP client connections and HTTP mode for web applications and API integrations.
Learn more about the MCP Integration
Getting Started
Prerequisites
- Python 3.10 or higher
- Access to an Alation Data Catalog instance
- A valid refresh token or client_id and secret. For more details, refer to the Authentication Guide.
Installation
```bash
pip install uv
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