A suite of Avalara MCP servers that bring Avalara knowledge and APIs into any MCP-enabled tool (VS Code, Cursor, Claude Desktop, agentic IDEs, and more).
- What is MCP?
- Why Avalara MCP Servers?
- Available Servers
- Quick Start
- Configuration & Security
- Troubleshooting
Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open protocol that lets applications (IDEs, chat apps, agents) talk to external tools and data sources in a standard way.
An MCP Server is a lightweight program exposing capabilities (tools, resources, prompts).
An MCP Client (e.g., VS Code/Copilot MCP, Cursor, Claude Desktop) maintains a connection to an MCP server and invokes its tools as needed.
MCP is open source and community-driven.
MCP servers make foundation models significantly more useful for tax and compliance work:
Higher answer quality – Inject current, authoritative Avalara context to reduce hallucinations and improve accuracy.
Always up to date – Bring in the latest Avalara docs, API references, changelogs, and guides.
Workflow automation – Wrap common tasks (e.g., API lookups, validations, configuration checks) as reliable tools that assistants can invoke.
Deep domain expertise – Provide Avalara-specific knowledge that generic models often miss.
Start with Avalara API MCP Server for general interactions, then add Avalara Knowledge MCP Server for docs and guidance.
| Server | Description | Install |
|---|---|---|
| Avalara Knowledge MCP Server | Remote server surfacing the latest Avalara docs, API references, guides, and updates. | VS Code: Cursor |
Each Avalara MCP server includes its own README with specifics and (when available) one-click installs for Cursor and VS Code. If you just want a working, copy-paste setup, follow the steps below.
- Install the GitHub Copilot extension (latest).
- Ensure your org has enabled MCP servers in Copilot policy (Admin step).
- Open Extensions → MCP → Browse Servers and install the Avalara servers from your catalog.
- In MCP Servers, start the server(s) and set required environment variables (e.g., API keys).
- Open Settings → Features → MCP.
- Click Add New MCP Server, paste the server’s server.json URL (or pick from your org catalog if supported).
- Save and provide any required environment variables.
- Secrets: never commit secrets; require them via env and store locally (IDE/OS keychain).
- Least privilege: issue scoped tokens and rotate regularly.
- Guardrails: add input validation, rate limiting, and logging inside each server.
- HTTPS: serve catalogs and manifests over HTTPS with certificates trusted by developer devices.
- 401/403 from tools? Check API keys/scopes in environment variables.
- SSL/cert errors? Install your internal CA on developer machines or use a public CA.
Each Avalara MCP server may declare additional env vars, permissions, or optional features. Always check that server’s README for the authoritative configuration and examples.