How to Set Up an AI Agent for Oracle EPM Cloud

Who This Is For

If you watched Episode 2 — where I showed how an MCP server connects Claude AI to Oracle EPM Cloud — this is the follow-up that answers the most common question I got: how do you actually set this up on your machine?

This tutorial is for Oracle EPM admins, FP&A practitioners, and anyone curious about how AI agents work with enterprise finance systems. You don't need a live Oracle EPM environment. The server runs in mock mode out of the box.

Before You Start

▶ Watch the intro and prerequisites (0:00)

Two prerequisites, both free:

• Node.js 18 or higher — nodejs.org
• Claude Desktop — claude.ai/download

Git is helpful for cloning the repository, but if you don't have it installed you can download the repo as a zip from GitHub instead.

The Setup in 5 Minutes

Step 1 — Clone the GitHub Repository

▶ Watch the clone and install step (0:27)

Open a terminal and clone the oracle-epm-mcp-server repository:

git clone https://github.com/fmepm/oracle-epm-mcp-server.git
cd oracle-epm-mcp-server

Step 2 — Install Dependencies

Run npm install to fetch the required packages. This takes a few seconds.

npm install

Step 3 — Configure Claude Desktop

▶ Watch the Claude Desktop configuration step (0:54)

Open your Claude Desktop config file:

• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Add the oracle-epm-cloud server entry, pointing to the path where you cloned the repo:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "oracle-epm-cloud": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["C:\\Users\\YourName\\oracle-epm-mcp-server\\index.js"]
    }
  }
}

On Windows, use double backslashes in the path. Save the file.

Step 4 — Fully Quit and Reopen Claude Desktop

▶ Watch the critical restart step (1:24)

This is the step people miss. Claude Desktop only reads the config file on startup — closing the window is not enough.

Right-click the Claude Desktop icon in your system tray (Windows) or menu bar (macOS) and choose Quit. Then reopen the application.

Step 5 — Verify and Test

▶ Watch the verification and first tests (1:45)

When Claude Desktop reopens, click the + icon in the chat input and hover over Connections. You should see oracle-epm-cloud in the list. Enable it.

Now ask Claude a question in plain English:

What applications are in my EPM environment?

Claude calls the tool, hits the REST API, and returns the list. In mock mode, you'll see two simulated applications: Vision and VisionFCC.

Try a second query with different phrasing:

Can you pull SubVars from Vision app?

Claude understands the shorthand and pulls all substitution variables. That's the power of natural language — the AI fills in the intent.

Mock Mode vs Live Environment

▶ Watch the mock vs live explanation (3:17)

Everything in this tutorial runs in mock mode. The server returns realistic sample data so you can explore what natural-language interaction with Oracle EPM looks like without touching a live tenant.

Connecting to an actual Oracle EPM environment is a different conversation. It depends on your tenant's configuration — authentication method, identity domain format, whether MFA is enabled, your security posture, and how credentials should be stored. Every environment is different. If that's where you're headed with your team, happy to talk through it.

Common Questions

How do I set up an MCP server for Oracle EPM Cloud?

Clone the oracle-epm-mcp-server repository from GitHub, run npm install, then add the server to your Claude Desktop config file pointing to your cloned path. Fully quit Claude Desktop from the system tray and reopen it. The full setup takes about five minutes.

Why do I need to fully quit Claude Desktop during setup?

Claude Desktop only reads its config file on startup. Closing the window is not enough — the application keeps running in the background. You must right-click the Claude icon in the system tray and choose Quit, then reopen the application for your MCP server configuration to take effect.

Can I test the Oracle EPM MCP server without a live environment?

Yes. The MCP server runs in mock mode by default — it returns simulated responses from sample Oracle EPM applications like Vision and VisionFCC. This means you can complete the full setup and verify everything works without needing an actual Oracle EPM Cloud tenant.

How do I connect the Oracle EPM MCP server to a live environment?

Connecting to a live Oracle EPM tenant requires configuring authentication, identity domain, and credentials. The specifics depend on your tenant's setup — particularly whether MFA is enabled (which requires OAuth instead of basic auth) and your security posture. Every environment is different. This is covered in the next tutorial.

Is the Oracle EPM MCP server an Oracle product?

No. This is a custom integration built using Oracle's official, documented REST APIs — the same APIs that EPM Automate uses behind the scenes. Oracle has built MCP servers for Oracle Database and Autonomous Database, but not for EPM Cloud. The project is open source under the MIT license.

What's Next

The next tutorial walks through running a business rule in a live Oracle EPM environment — including the authentication and identity domain setup that every tenant handles differently.

Related Articles

How to Connect Claude AI to Oracle EPM Cloud — Architecture Overview

Automating Clone of Production to Test with Groovy

Oracle EPM Cloud April 2026 (26.04) — The Comeback Release

Resources

GitHub Repository: github.com/fmepm/oracle-epm-mcp-server

Node.js Download: nodejs.org

Claude Desktop Download: claude.ai/download

Oracle EPM REST API Docs: Oracle Documentation