nango-api-integration

name

nango-api-integration

description

Connect AI agents to 700+ external APIs using Nango. Handles OAuth, authentication flows, and tool calling for any API. Use when integrating agents with external services (Google, Slack, GitHub, Salesforce, etc.), setting up API access for agents, or when you need OAuth/API key management for AI tools. Triggers on "nango", "api integration", "oauth for agents", "connect api", "external api access".

Nango API Integration for AI Agents

Nango provides unified API access for AI agents with OAuth handling, 700+ pre-built integrations, and MCP server support. This skill helps you connect your agent to any external API.

Why Nango for Agents?

• 700+ APIs pre-integrated - No need to build each integration from scratch
• 2800+ pre-built actions - Ready-to-use API operations
• MCP servers per app - Model Context Protocol support
• 1:1 API access - No abstraction layer, you see exact API requests
• White-label OAuth - Embeddable auth flows
• Any backend language - Works with Python, Node, etc.
• AI-generated code - Write integration logic with AI

Quick Start

Step 1: Create Nango Account

1. Go to https://nango.dev
2. Sign up for a free account
3. Create a new project
4. Get your API key from Settings

Step 2: Install Nango SDK

# Python
pip install nango

# Node.js
npm install @nangohq/node-client

Step 3: Configure Environment

Add to your environment:

NANGO_SECRET_KEY=your-secret-key-here
NANGO_HOST=https://api.nango.dev  # or self-hosted

Integration Patterns

Pattern 1: OAuth Flow

For APIs requiring OAuth (Google, Slack, GitHub, etc.):

from nango import Nango

nango = Nango()

# Get OAuth URL
auth_url = nango.get_auth_url(
    provider="google",
    redirect_uri="https://your-app.com/callback"
)

# User visits auth_url, authorizes, returns with code
# Exchange code for connection
connection = nango.create_connection(
    provider="google",
    code="auth_code_from_callback",
    connection_id="user-google-123"
)

# Now make API calls
result = nango.proxy(
    provider="google",
    endpoint="/gmail/v1/users/me/messages",
    connection_id="user-google-123"
)

Pattern 2: API Key

For APIs using API keys (Stripe, OpenAI, etc.):

from nango import Nango

nango = Nango()

# Set API key for provider
nango.set_credentials(
    provider="stripe",
    connection_id="user-stripe-123",
    credentials={"api_key": "sk_test_xxx"}
)

# Make calls
customers = nango.proxy(
    provider="stripe",
    endpoint="/v1/customers",
    connection_id="user-stripe-123"
)

Pattern 3: MCP Server

For Model Context Protocol integration:

# Get MCP server configuration for a provider
mcp_config = nango.get_mcp_server(
    provider="github",
    connection_id="user-github-123"
)

# Use with MCP-compatible agents
# The config includes tools, resources, and prompts

Popular API Integrations

Provider	Use Case	Auth Type
Google	Gmail, Calendar, Drive	OAuth
Slack	Messages, Channels	OAuth
GitHub	Repos, Issues, PRs	OAuth
Salesforce	CRM Data	OAuth
Stripe	Payments	API Key
Notion	Notes, Databases	OAuth
Linear	Issues, Projects	OAuth
HubSpot	CRM, Marketing	OAuth

Creating Custom Integrations

Template for New Provider

// integrations/my-custom-api.ts
import { NangoIntegration } from '@nangohq/types';

export default NangoIntegration({
  // Provider name
  provider: 'my-custom-api',
  
  // Authentication type
  auth: {
    type: 'api_key', // or 'oauth2', 'basic'
    credentials: {
      api_key: { type: 'string', required: true }
    }
  },
  
  // Available actions
  actions: {
    list_items: {
      endpoint: '/items',
      method: 'GET',
      output: { type: 'array' }
    },
    create_item: {
      endpoint: '/items',
      method: 'POST',
      input: { type: 'object' },
      output: { type: 'object' }
    }
  }
});

Deploy Custom Integration

# Deploy to Nango
nango deploy integrations/my-custom-api.ts

Error Handling

from nango import Nango, NangoError

try:
    result = nango.proxy(
        provider="github",
        endpoint="/repos/owner/repo/issues",
        connection_id="user-github-123"
    )
except NangoError as e:
    if e.code == "auth_expired":
        # Re-authorize
        auth_url = nango.get_auth_url("github")
        print(f"Please re-authorize: {auth_url}")
    elif e.code == "rate_limited":
        # Wait and retry
        time.sleep(e.retry_after)
    else:
        raise

Best Practices for Agents

1. Connection Management

• Store connection IDs with user context
• Check connection health before operations
• Implement re-auth flows automatically

2. Error Recovery

• Handle rate limits gracefully
• Cache frequently accessed data
• Provide clear error messages to users

3. Security

• Never expose API keys in prompts
• Use environment variables for secrets
• Implement permission scoping

4. Performance

• Batch operations when possible
• Use webhooks instead of polling
• Implement request caching

MCP Integration for OpenClaw

To use Nango with OpenClaw agents:

# In your OpenClaw skill or tool
from nango import Nango

class NangoTool:
    def __init__(self):
        self.nango = Nango()
    
    def call_api(self, provider: str, endpoint: str, connection_id: str, **params):
        """Generic API calling tool for any provider."""
        return self.nango.proxy(
            provider=provider,
            endpoint=endpoint,
            connection_id=connection_id,
            params=params
        )
    
    def list_providers(self):
        """List all available providers."""
        return self.nango.list_providers()
    
    def get_provider_actions(self, provider: str):
        """Get available actions for a provider."""
        return self.nango.get_actions(provider)

Common Issues

Issue: "Connection not found"

• Ensure connection_id matches what was created
• Check if credentials expired

Issue: "Provider not supported"

• Check full list at https://nango.dev/integrations
• Create custom integration for unsupported providers

Issue: "Rate limited"

• Implement exponential backoff
• Consider upgrading Nango plan

Resources

• Nango Dashboard: https://app.nango.dev
• Documentation: https://docs.nango.dev
• Integration Catalog: https://nango.dev/integrations
• GitHub: https://github.com/NangoHQ/nango
• Community: https://nango.dev/community

Pricing

• Free Tier: 10,000 API calls/month
• Pro: $49/month for 100,000 calls
• Enterprise: Custom pricing for unlimited

Free tier is sufficient for development and small projects.