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OutSystems MCP: AI Coding Agents Can Now Build in ODC and O11
An AI coding agent that reads, modifies and deploys your OutSystems applications. On 7 October, OutSystems released MCP support for both OutSystems Developer Cloud (ODC) and OutSystems 11 (O11). This lets AI coding agents work directly with the OutSystems platform. At Product League, we have been developing this way for some time. For OutSystems customers, that step is now a lot smaller.
What is MCP?
MCP (Model Context Protocol) is an open standard that lets AI assistants and AI agents connect to external systems, tools and data sources through a single standardized interface. Just as USB-C connects different devices through one standard, MCP allows AI models to connect to applications, databases, APIs, files and business systems through one standard protocol.
What can an AI coding agent do in ODC?
For ODC, the MCP server is now available on every tenant. You work from the AI coding agent of your choice, such as Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Kiro or Microsoft Copilot. In a single conversation, you have the agent build a web app, set up a workflow or create a reusable library. It can also configure an AI agent inside your app. Need custom code? Then the AI coding agent uploads and publishes a C# library.
The AI coding agent can also manage your applications. It maps dependencies between apps. It promotes a release to the next environment and rolls it back if needed. It reads logs and traces too. For larger organizations, this matters most: the AI coding agent works under the user's identity. The same roles, approvals and audit trail therefore apply as for a flesh-and-blood developer.
It gets really interesting when you also use MCP for your other tools. Imagine this: the AI coding agent picks up a user story from Jira or Azure DevOps and builds the functionality in ODC. It deploys it to the test environment and runs the tests. Then it reports the result back in Jira or Azure DevOps, optionally with an update in a Teams or Slack channel. The building blocks for this already exist. The challenge is to put them into a process you can rely on. At a client in installation technology, we extracted the functional specifications from a nine-year-old O11 application. That took a few days instead of months.
Does MCP also work with OutSystems 11?
O11 now has an MCP server as well. It runs locally through Service Studio, so within your own environment. That can be in the cloud, on-premises or even in an air-gapped environment. Reading Reactive and Mobile apps is generally available. Writing is still in beta.
You don't have to choose between the two platforms, by the way. You build new applications on ODC. Existing apps keep running on O11 and you maintain them there. The two can integrate with each other.
How does AI-native development change the way you work with OutSystems?
The developer's job is changing. An OutSystems developer traditionally builds everything visually in Service Studio: screens, logic and data models. The AI coding agent increasingly takes over that work. The developer spends more time steering, reviewing and improving what AI coding agents deliver. We call this AI-native development. A human remains ultimately responsible for every change that goes live.
An example from our practice: with Claude, we translate existing code back into functional and technical requirements. This also works for legacy systems nobody has documentation for anymore. You get the results and the method behind them, so your own development team can repeat and extend the analysis. With MCP, this approach connects directly to OutSystems: analyze in O11 and build new in ODC. And it all happens within the governance and security you expect from us.
As the first Dutch OutSystems Elite Delivery Partner, we take an honest look with you, even if the answer is that it doesn't fit yet.
Daniël Kuhlmann
Technology Director | OutSystems MVP
Do you have an O11 landscape or an outdated application?
And do you want to know what AI coding agents can do for you there? Get in touch. We'll take an honest look with you, even if the answer is that it doesn't fit yet.
