Work Smarter & Safer with AI: Connecting Aras Innovator and Claude MCP
Have you ever thought, "It would be great if AI could look up this data in Aras Innovator," or "I wish there was an easier way to generate and load realistic test data for my project"? You’re in luck! We’re going to walk through how you can use a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server with Aras Innovator to streamline everyday tasks for developers and users. By the end of this blog, you’ll be able to give your AI assistant authenticated access to query your PLM data, inspect your schema, and create items through natural language commands. A Community Collaboration This blog post was inspired by community member Daan Theoden and his work integrating Claude Desktop and Aras Innovator. You can check out his videos about AI on LinkedIn and see the source code of his original project on GitHub. The project was later forked and extended by Aras Labs to support both Configurable Web Services (CWS) and Aras InnovatorEdge. This collaboration is an excellent example of how the Aras community drives innovation, and we appreciate Daan laying the groundwork for this tool. What is the MCP? The MCP is an open standard that defines how AI models interact with external data and systems. Without MCP, integrations need to be hard-coded for each individual AI application. With MCP, you can build a standardized server once. This server advertises a set of tools – such as "Get Item" or "Create Item" – and any MCP-compliant client can discover and utilize them. This provides a secure, predictable, and auditable way to expose your PLM environment to an AI assistant without exposing direct database access or unstructured APIs. What this project does This is a lightweight Python server that acts as a bridge to your Aras instance – whether you are using Configurable Web Services (CWS) or the new Aras InnovatorEdge. It handles the necessary plumbing of authentication, URL normalization, and error handling so the AI model can focus on executing your intent. Out of the box, it enables your assistant to: Explore your schema: Fetches OData $metadata to dynamically learn your specific ItemTypes and property definitions. Auto-resolve names: Uses fuzzy matching to resolve terms like "Problem Report" or "Doc" to their actual ItemTypes (PR or Document). Generate data: Automates the creation of complex test data sets. Call methods: Triggers server-side logic by calling Aras methods directly. Quick Start: Connecting to the Aras Innovator REST API This tool is designed to work natively with Aras InnovatorEdge, but it includes full backward compatibility for the standard Aras Innovator REST API via CWS. If you choose to use CWS, please see our previous blog on how to set it up! Here is how to get it running 1. Clone the repository Clone the repo and install the dependencies. We recommend using a virtual environment. git clone https://github.com/ArasLabs/aras-claude-agent.git cd aras-claude-agent pip install -r requirements.txt 2. Configure the environment Create a .env file in the root directory. This is where you will define how the tool connects to Aras. Option A: Connecting via Aras InnovatorEdge (Beta) Aras InnovatorEdge is currently in beta. If you are an early adopter with access to an Edge environment, this is the preferred setup. # --- Backend Setup --- # Use 'EDGE' for InnovatorEdge instances API_BACKEND=EDGE # --- Auth Credentials --- AUTH_MODE=API_KEY EDGE_API_KEY=your_edge_api_key_here # Your Innovator URL API_URL=https://myserver.com/InnovatorServer # --- Optional Configuration --- # Map friendly names to ItemTypes for better recognition ITEMTYPE_ALIASES=Problem:PR;Doc:Document;Part:Part Option B: Connecting via Configurable Web Services If you do not have access to the Edge Beta yet, you can use standard Configurable Web Services (CWS). Note: Because this tool uses an "Edge-first" design, it uses the same authentication pattern for both backends. You will see InnovatorEdge terminology in the configuration variables (specifically EDGE_API_KEY). Don't worry, this works perfectly with CWS. # --- Backend Setup --- # Use 'ARAS' for standard CWS instances API_BACKEND=ARAS # Your Innovator URL (The server handles the /Server/Odata path automatically) API_URL=https://myserver.com/InnovatorServer # --- Auth Credentials --- AUTH_MODE=API_KEY # NOTE: Even though we are connecting to CWS, we use the EDGE_API_KEY # variable name to maintain compatibility with the tool's internal auth logic. EDGE_API_KEY=your_cws_api_key_here # --- Optional Configuration --- ITEMTYPE_ALIASES=Problem:PR;Doc:Document;Part:Part 3. Verify the installation You generally do not need to run the server manually. Claude Desktop will handle that for you. However, it is good practice to run it once just to ensure your environment is set up correctly and there are no missing dependencies. python -m src.server If the process starts and waits silently (or "hangs"), it is working correctly. The server is simply listening for commands over standard input. You can stop it with Ctrl+C and move to the next step. 4. Add to Claude Desktop Open your Claude Desktop configuration file. Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json Add the following entry (ensure you update the path to your cloned repository): { "mcpServers": { "aras-api": { "command": "python", "args": ["-m", "src.server"], "cwd": "/absolute/path/to/aras-claude-agent" } } } Once you save this file and restart Claude Desktop, it will automatically launch the Python server in the background. In Practice: Generating Test Data One of the most powerful applications of this tool is accelerating test preparation. Because the AI can read the OData metadata, it understands your specific data model without requiring detailed instructions. For example, you can use a prompt like this: "I need to test the Part Form with a new Robotic Arm assembly. Create 10 Parts for me. Number them ROBOT-001 through ROBOT-010. For the name, generate realistic component names." Behind the scenes, the Agent will: Call api_resolve_itemtype to confirm "Part" matches the correct ItemType. Call api_get_metadata to verify the property names for item_number and classification. Execute a loop of api_create_item calls to generate the records, using its own creativity to fill in the names. This automation dramatically reduces the time spent on repetitive data setup. Want to learn more about InnovatorEdge? We're preparing a series of technical blogs about what's new and what you can do with it, but in the meantime, you can check out this overview from product manager Benjamin Chaillon, or this article on AI data governance with Aras InnovatorEdge. Join the Conversation This project is just the beginning of what’s possible when we combine the structure of PLM with the flexibility of Large Language Models. By bridging Aras Innovator with tools like Claude, we can reduce the friction of context switching and make data creation and inspection significantly faster. A special thanks again to Daan Theoden for pioneering this integration and sharing it with the community. Open collaboration like this is what makes the Aras ecosystem so powerful, and we are thrilled to support and extend his original vision. Now, we want to hear from you. If you could automate one mundane PLM task with an AI assistant today, what would it be? Let us know in the comments below, or head over to the GitHub repository to star the project, file an issue, or contribute your own improvements!
Experience the Power of Community at the ACE 2025 Tech Summit
It’s that time of year again! Our annual Aras Community Event (ACE) is right around the corner. This year the event is taking place near Aras’ hometown of Boston from March 31 to April 3. This year’s ACE is special as it marks the 25th anniversary of Aras as a company. The event is shaping up to be one of our best yet, with tons of great presentations and breakout sessions for everyone. Like most who have attended it, the Tech Summit is my favorite part of the event. It will be on Monday, March 31. In previous years, it was invite-only. This year, we're opening it up to the entire community, welcoming anyone who wants to participate. We hope to bring in some new technical voices who might not have participated in the past. Email Beth Ewing after completing your ACE registration to register for the Tech Summit. The session lasts most of the day and allows the Aras Innovator® tech community to get together and discuss all things Innovator. In the past, we’ve covered everything from new features to best practices, and even explored ways to enhance the product based on feedback from users like you. The Tech Summit provides a space to hear how our partners and customers are using Aras Innovator. This year we’ll have presentations from customers and partners, in which they will share some of the interesting modifications they’ve made to our platform. Community presenters will: Show capabilities they built in Aras Innovator and discuss how they did it (ex: Impact Matrix extensions, pervasive search) Demo the tools they use to manage their Aras Innovator development projects Share how the next generation of engineers are building PLM skills and knowledge with Aras Between Aras presentations, customer showcases, and open discussion, the Tech Summit is a favorite part of the ACE experience. (It certainly was my favorite part of last year’s event!) The summit will be followed by a welcome reception, and the following days are filled with interesting sessions to attend. If any of the above topics are interesting to you or someone you know who is attending ACE, register now to save your place! Here's a quick breakdown of the Tech-Summit agenda: Welcome & Introductions - get to know the attendees and presenters Community Demos - community members show off what they've built and share their knowledge AI Spotlight - AI demos and insights from Aras Lab Lunch Community Update - what's new and what's coming Open Forum Discussions - bring your questions and ideas! This session is all about connecting with your fellow Builders and learning from the group's collective experience. I’m looking forward to ACE this year and to meeting some of you there. Please feel free to reach out if you have questions regarding this year’s Tech Summit or want to get involved. To secure your spot for the Tech Summit, email Beth Ewing after completing your ACE registration. Registration is open right up to the event, but I’d recommend locking in your registration and hotel as soon as possible!A Few Tips for Styling Responsive Forms with Aras Innovator
In previous posts, we’ve covered the basics of responsive forms. In this blog, we will dive even deeper and share some tips and tricks for making responsive forms more visually appealing to your end users. Here are a few tips on how to make your responsive forms convey more information in the same space. Nested columns In our first introductory blog on responsive forms, we outlined how your form can be broken down into columns to better organize your properties. A cool thing that you might not know is that you can actually break your columns into additional columns. While that might sound complicated, our UI makes it very simple to configure. Here’s a quick look at what this looks like in action: To configure this, you need to open your responsive form editor and just drag a box from the Structure tab into one of your columns: From here, you can select any of your unused properties and drop them directly into the new columns you’ve created. It’s important to keep in mind the length of your property when doing this and reserve this practice for shorter properties. Good examples are things like Revision, State, Generation, Part Number, and things like Booleans or Cost. Color coding important properties In another of my previous blogs, I showed how you can set rules to customize your forms. These can be based on things like who is viewing the form or what the actual value of the property is. This can be used in multiple different ways, but one that I’ve found useful is to check the current variable of your item and style the Revision property a different color if you’re not looking at the most current version of the Item. This gives your user a very quick visual indication that they might be looking at an older version of an Item. Here’s a quick look at what that rule would look like: Another great place to use this is on lifecycle/workflow states. Using a simple color code allows users to quickly understand what is happening with their Items once they open a form. I recommend playing around with these to see what is possible. In the same vein, utilizing rules to hide specific properties from identities is much easier than it was in the old form system. This allows you to have fewer specialized views, which require less maintenance. Concluding thoughts Responsive forms continue to receive enhancements with each release. There has never been a better time to give them a try, and trying is as simple as pressing this button on your Item’s form: Keep in mind that this button just changes your view and doesn’t overwrite any of your existing forms. You can freely switch back and forth between your classic and responsive forms. Give them a try, and let us know what you’re able to build! Consider sharing with colleagues via comments. We want to hear from you.Streamline Collaboration with Aras Supplier Management Solutions
Supplier Management Solutions is new to Aras Innovator and supports Releases 22+. This new application allows you to collaborate seamlessly with your suppliers. Your suppliers can see relevant data approved by your organization through an external portal. The SMS application includes additions to our data model and the Aras Portal, and we’ll go over both below. The Aras view This application adds multiple new ItemTypes, which, in typical Aras fashion, are completely customizable to fit your needs. The package includes a hub for suppliers and additional Item Types linked via properties and relationships. These include all the Items you’ll need for assessment, procurement, and risk management. These items can also be augmented to link directly to other standard or custom Item Types. The Aras portal view The Aras Portal is a separate web service that runs alongside your Aras Innovator server. It connects directly and securely with your server while respecting our complicated permission model. It’s a great way to ensure that suppliers have whatever access they need, without exposing critical business information. The Aras Portal can be accessed either via desktop or mobile, with both views being shown in the screenshots below. It’s important to note that things like our viewers (CAD, PDF) and SSVC are all available in the Aras Portal. This allows for direct, in-context communication between suppliers and manufacturers, whether logged into Aras Innovator or your portal. After showing this application off at ACE 2024, customers expressed great interest. This connectivity between manufacturers and suppliers opens the door for collaboration and efficiency. If this seems like something you could use, let us know in the comments or reach out to our presales team directly for a demonstration and consultation on how to get started using Supplier Management Solutions. For a closer look at this exciting new application, register now for our upcoming webinar, Optimizing PLM Supplier Management Solutions, on November 5. It’s not too soon to start thinking about ACE 2025. Hope to see you there!Key Takeaways from Our Inaugural Aras Virtual Tech Summit
On September 19, 2024, we held our first-ever Aras Virtual Tech Summit. Our Tech Summit is something we’ve done at our annual Aras Community Event (ACE) conference for many years. It’s an incredible opportunity to chat with members of our technical community; you can read about my experience at ACE 2024 here. This week’s virtual summit was designed to be similar to our in-person event while being accessible to those who are unable to travel to our annual ACE conference. Summit Snapshot We had over 50 attendees from across the globe who joined us for our roughly 2-hour session. We started by sharing demonstrations by myself, other Aras employees, and even our partner Essig PLM. The demonstrations varied from Configurable Web Services demonstrations to Digital Twin Core extensions. Essig’s solution showed the ability to build a CAD representation of a product based on a Variant Management structure. It’s always incredible to see what people in our community are doing with Aras Innovator® daily. Seeing and discussing these solutions is my highlight of these events. Even if the solutions aren’t relevant to my work, I’m always inspired by how creative people can be. The final half hour of the day was an open discussion. Anyone could join, and we heard from folks across different partners and customers. Some customers wanted to see if any other customers were facing issues similar to their own, while others had suggestions on ways Aras Labs and Aras as a whole could better serve our community. Community Call to Action Part of my demonstration provided an overview of our community resources. The three that I highlighted were my ACE 2024 blog, our Aras Labs GitHub page, and our Community forums. We’re going to put more effort into new Community Projects and be more active on the forums. Labs is a small team, and we need all the help we can get. We would love to have more active community members on the Forums and make more external projects available to our community members. What Next? Although we experienced some technical hiccups, overall, it the event was a great opportunity to reconnect with members of our community. In the coming weeks, we’ll make the recording of the demonstration portion of the event public for people who couldn’t make the event. We’ll take a look at the feedback and make sure that our next event is even more targeted to topics that are top of mind. A huge thank you to Eli Donahue and Erica Schumann, who put our event together very quickly. I’d also like to thank everyone who attended and participated. This kind of event is really dependent on participation, and many of you stepped up to make your voices heard. Stay tuned for future announcements of similar events, both virtual and in person. Don't forget to save the date for ACE 2025, coming to Boston, March 31 - April 3.
