Prerequisites

• watsonx.data intelligence service: https://www.ibm.com/products/watsonx-data-intelligence
  • API key from IBM Cloud console
  • Or, for software installation, get the Cloud Pak for Data (CPD) API key
• Install Bob IDE: https://www.ibm.com/products/bob
• Install uv, follow instructions from https://docs.astral.sh/uv/getting-started/installation/
  • For macOS: It’s recommended to install uv via Homebrew
    • Check if Homebrew is installed by typing brew in your terminal.
    • If not, install Homebrew.
    • Then install uv using homebrew.

Bob settings

• Add MCP server
  • Three-dot menu on top right corner -> MCP server
    • 
  • Edit global MCP
  • For SaaS, add the following in the JSON editor, get the API key from IBM Cloud console

    • {
        "mcpServers": {
          "wxdi-mcp-server": {
            "command": "uvx",
            "args": [
              "ibm-watsonx-data-intelligence-mcp-server",
              "--transport",
              "stdio"
            ],
            "env": {
              "DI_SERVICE_URL": "https://api.dataplatform.cloud.ibm.com",
              "DI_APIKEY": "<IBM_CLOUD_API_KEY>",
              "DI_ENV_MODE": "SaaS",
              "LOG_FILE_PATH": "/tmp/di-mcp-server-logs"
            }
          }
        }
      }

  • For software, add the following in the JSON editor, get the API key from IBM Cloud console

    • {
        "mcpServers": {
          "wxdi-mcp-server": {
            "command": "uvx",
            "args": ["ibm-watsonx-data-intelligence-mcp-server", "--transport", "stdio"],
            "env": {
               "DI_SERVICE_URL": "<CPD_DI_SERVICE_URL>",
               "DI_APIKEY": "<CPD_API_KEY>",
               "DI_ENV_MODE": "cpd",
               "DI_USERNAME": "<CPD_USER_NAME>"
            }
          }
        }
      }

  • Save the file
  • MCP server should be added. If not, click "Refresh MCP Servers". Restart Bob if the MCP server is still not showing up.
    • 
  • Use the toggle to start the wxdi-mcp-server 
• (Optional) Add custom mode that only interacts with wxdi-mcp-server
  • Three-dot menu on top right corner -> Modes
  • Create new mode
  • Provide name of your choice, e.g., wxdi-mcp
  • Role definition

    • You are a helpful assistant focused on data intelligence and you should only use the wxdi-mcp-server MCP server. Your responses should be as concise as possible.

  • (Optional) Mode-specific Custom Instructions:

    • Only use the wxdi-mcp-server MCP server.
      Prefer markdown for tabular data.

Interacting with watsonx.data intelligence MCP Server via Bob

• (Optional) Switch to the custom mode, e.g., wxdi-mcp
• Now you can start asking questions related to watsonx.data intelligence service, e.g., Find asset about customer
• 

Bob Version Tested: 0.0.9 (c3600536)