Skip to main content

Model Context Protocol (MCP) Usage Guide

This document describes how to connect and use the Dateno MCP (Model Context Protocol) server with MCP-compatible clients such as LM Studio, Cursor, or custom MCP clients.

Overview​

The Dateno MCP server exposes the Dateno API as callable tools for LLM agents via the Model Context Protocol (MCP).

This allows language models to:

  • Discover available API tools
  • Call Dateno API methods programmatically
  • Work with structured API responses inside agent workflows

The MCP endpoint is hosted at:

https://api.dateno.io/mcp

Requirements​

  • A valid Dateno API key
  • An MCP-compatible client (LM Studio, Cursor, or custom MCP client)
  • Internet access to api.dateno.io

MCP Server Configuration​

Below is a minimal example of an MCP configuration file.

Example: mcp.json​

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "dateno": {
      "transport": "http",
      "url": "https://api.dateno.io/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "apikey": "YOUR_APIKEY",
        "Accept": "text/event-stream"
      }
    }
  }
}

Configuration Fields​

FieldDescription
transportTransport type. Currently only http is supported
urlMCP endpoint URL
headers.apikeyYour personal Dateno API key
headers.AcceptRequired. Must include text/event-stream for MCP compatibility

⚠️ Important:
The MCP server requires clients to accept text/event-stream.
If this header is missing, the server may respond with 406 Not Acceptable.

How MCP Session Works​

  1. The client opens a connection to /mcp
  2. The server creates an MCP session and returns an mcp-session-id
  3. All subsequent MCP JSON-RPC calls must include this session ID
  4. Tools are discovered via tools/list
  5. Tools are executed via tools/call

Tool Discovery​

Once connected, the client requests the list of available tools.

JSON-RPC Method​

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": "tools-list",
  "method": "tools/list",
  "params": {}
}

Calling a Tool​

Each MCP tool corresponds to a specific Dateno API operation.

Example Tool Call​

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": "tool-call-1",
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "name": "datasets.search",
    "arguments": {
      "query": "Russia export import",
      "limit": 10
    }
  }
}

Common Errors and Troubleshooting​

406 Not Acceptable​

Client does not send Accept: text/event-stream.

-32001 Request timed out​

Client did not fully load tool definitions or closed the connection.

Bad Request: Missing session ID​

JSON-RPC request sent without an active MCP session.

Regional Connectivity Notice (Russian Federation)​

Users connecting to the Dateno MCP server from the Russian Federation without an active VPN may encounter issues when loading MCP tools.

Symptoms​

When attempting to load the tool list (tools/list) in MCP-compatible clients (e.g. LM Studio or Cursor), the following error may occur:

Failed to load plugin tools: MCP error -32001: Request timed out

Cause​

This issue is caused by network-level restrictions that may interfere with long-lived text/event-stream (SSE) connections required by the MCP protocol.

Resolution​

  • Enable a VPN connection
  • Retry loading MCP tools after VPN is active

With an active VPN, MCP tool discovery and execution work as expected.

ℹ️ This limitation is not related to the Dateno API itself or API key permissions.

Supported Clients​

  • LM Studio
  • Cursor
  • Custom MCP clients

Security Notes​

  • Never commit real API keys
  • Rotate API keys regularly

Support​

Contact the Dateno engineering team for MCP-related issues.