IBP MCP Server (read-only) for SAP BTP

An MCP server that lets Claude (or any MCP client) read SAP IBP master data and key figures through IBP's standard OData APIs. It runs on SAP BTP Cloud Foundry, reaches IBP through a BTP Destination, and is protected by XSUAA.

It never writes to IBP: the only HTTP method it sends is GET, and every tool is marked read-only.

What Claude gets

Example prompt once connected: "Compare consensus demand vs statistical forecast for coffee products at the Auckland DC for Q1 2026."

Related MCP server: OData to MCP

Architecture

Claude ──HTTPS + Bearer JWT──▶ ibp-mcp-server (CF app)
                                 │  XSUAA: validates token, requires $XSAPPNAME.Read
                                 │  Allow-lists, input validation, row & size caps
                                 ▼
                         BTP Destination "IBP" (Basic auth, communication user)
                                 ▼
             IBP  /IBP/PLANNING_DATA_API_SRV   (key figures)
                  /IBP/MASTER_DATA_API_SRV     (master data)     ← SAP_COM_0720

Why these services: SAP positions PLANNING_DATA_API_SRV and MASTER_DATA_API_SRV (scenario SAP_COM_0720) for external systems; EXTRACT_ODATA_SRV is aimed at SAP Analytics Cloud. Service paths are configurable if your landscape differs.

Security model (why it is safe to put in front of a client tenant)

• Read-only by construction: GET only; the IBP communication user should also hold read-only authorisation.

• Two allow-lists, fail closed: IBP's Global Configuration decides what the API exposes; this server's ALLOWED_PLANNING_AREAS / ALLOWED_MASTER_DATA_TYPES narrow it further. Empty list = nothing allowed.

• No raw OData from the model: filters are structured (field, op, value); field names must match ^[A-Za-z_][A-Za-z0-9_]{0,59}$, string values are quote-escaped, control characters rejected. Injection attempts are covered by tests.

• Bounded results: MAX_ROWS (default 1000, hard max 5000) and MAX_RESPONSE_CHARS cap every response; paging via nextSkip.

• Auth required: in xsuaa mode the app refuses to start without an XSUAA binding; AUTH_MODE=none is rejected when NODE_ENV=production.

• No credential leakage: IBP credentials live only in the BTP Destination; error messages return IBP's message text, never raw responses or headers.

• Rate limiting per client IP (RATE_LIMIT_PER_MINUTE).

Get written IT/security sign-off from the client before connecting to a production tenant, and agree which planning areas and master data types may be exposed. Planning data is commercially sensitive.

1. Try it locally in 2 minutes (no IBP needed)

Requires Node.js 22+.

npm ci
npm test        # 10 unit tests
npm run smoke   # mock IBP + real MCP client, calls every tool

Run the demo stack for Claude Code / Claude Desktop:

npm run build
npm run mock:ibp &       # fictional NZ data on :4004, user demo / demo

AUTH_MODE=none \
ALLOWED_PLANNING_AREAS=SAPIBP1 \
ALLOWED_MASTER_DATA_TYPES=SAP1PRODUCT,SAP1LOCATION \
destinations='[{"name":"IBP","url":"http://localhost:4004","authentication":"BasicAuthentication","username":"demo","password":"demo"}]' \
npm start

claude mcp add --transport http ibp-demo http://localhost:8080/mcp

This is the safe portfolio demo: realistic IBP shapes, zero client data.

2. IBP setup (client tenant)

1. Maintain Communication Users → create a user, generate a strong password.

2. Communication Systems → new system, tick Inbound Only, assign the user.

3. Communication Arrangements → new arrangement for SAP_COM_0720, select the system. Note the service URLs shown.

4. Global Configuration → expose only what is needed:

   • FLEXQUERY / PLANNINGAREA → e.g. SAPIBP1

   • FLEXQUERY / RELEVANT_MDT_FOR_MD_API → the master data types (avoid * on client systems)

5. Ensure the business user behind the arrangement has read access to those planning areas.

3. BTP setup (Cloud Foundry)

cf login -a https://api.cf.<region>.hana.ondemand.com

cf create-service xsuaa application ibp-mcp-xsuaa -c xs-security.json
cf create-service destination lite ibp-mcp-destination

In the BTP cockpit → Connectivity → Destinations → New Destination:

Edit manifest.yml → set ALLOWED_PLANNING_AREAS and ALLOWED_MASTER_DATA_TYPES. Then:

npm ci && npm run build      # dist/ is pushed; CF installs production deps only
cf push

Assign the IBP_MCP_Reader role collection to users who should use it (for user-based tokens).

4. Connect Claude

Get a token (client credentials, valid 1 hour):

TOKEN=$(./scripts/get-token.sh)

Claude Code

claude mcp add --transport http ibp https://<app-route>/mcp --header "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN"

Claude Desktop (claude_desktop_config.json, uses the mcp-remote bridge):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ibp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-remote", "https://<app-route>/mcp", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer ${IBP_TOKEN}"],
      "env": { "IBP_TOKEN": "<paste token>" }
    }
  }
}

Tokens expire after token-validity (3600 s in xs-security.json). Refresh with the script; raise the validity only if the client's security policy allows it.

Configuration

Troubleshooting

Known limits / next steps

• Your tenant's exact field names (e.g. which PERIODID*_TSTAMP matches the planning level) vary by configuration; the model discovers them with ibp_describe_entity. Verify the first queries against a planning view in Excel.

• Version/scenario: add a filter on the version attribute (e.g. VERSIONID) if you need a non-baseline version.

• claude.ai custom connectors need OAuth with discovery; XSUAA does not offer dynamic client registration. Supporting that is a v2 item (OAuth protected-resource metadata + pre-registered client). Claude Code and Claude Desktop work today via bearer token.

• npm audit reports a node-forge advisory inside SAP Cloud SDK's JKS keystore support. This server uses Basic-auth destinations, so that code path is not used; upgrade @sap-cloud-sdk/* when SAP ships a fix.

• Delta reads and write-back are deliberately out of scope.

Disclaimer

Independent open-source project, not affiliated with or endorsed by SAP. SAP, SAP IBP and SAP BTP are trademarks of SAP SE. Demo data is fictional. Provided as-is under the MIT licence; you are responsible for security review before connecting to any IBP tenant.

Author

Rakesh Binny Dasari, SAP IBP delivery lead, Auckland. LinkedIn