| name | composio |
| description | Use 1000+ external apps via Composio - either directly through the CLI or by building AI agents and apps with the SDK |
| tags | ["composio","tool-router","agents","mcp","tools","api","automation","cli"] |
When to Apply
- User wants to access or interact with external apps (Gmail, Slack, GitHub, Notion, etc.)
- User wants to automate a task using an external service (send email, create issue, post message)
- Building an AI agent or app that integrates with external tools
- Multi-user apps that need per-user connections to external services
Setup
Check if the CLI is installed; if not, install it:
curl -fsSL https://composio.dev/install | bash
After installation, restart your terminal or source your shell config, then authenticate:
composio login
composio whoami
For agents without direct browser access: composio login --no-wait | jq to get URL/key, share URL with user, then composio login --key <cli_key> --no-wait once they complete login.
1. Use Apps via Composio CLI
Use this when: The user wants to take action on an external app directly — no code writing needed. The agent uses the CLI to search, connect, and execute tools on behalf of the user.
Key commands (new top-level aliases):
composio search "<query>" — find tools by use case
composio execute "<TOOL_SLUG>" -d '{...<input params>}' — execute a tool
composio link [toolkit] — connect a user account to an app (agents: always use --no-wait for non-interactive mode)
composio listen — listen for real-time trigger events
Typical workflow: search → link (if needed) → execute
Full reference: Composio CLI Guide
2. Building Apps and Agents with Composio
Use this when: Writing code — an AI agent, app, or backend service that integrates with external tools via the Composio SDK.
Run this first inside the project directory to set up the API key:
composio init
Full reference: Building with Composio
Sandbox and network
Composio operations are network-heavy: CLI install, OAuth login, tool search,
tool execution, and trigger subscriptions all make outbound calls. If any of
these fail with a network error (ECONNREFUSED, ETIMEDOUT, "unreachable",
or a hung login), check whether Codex is running inside a sandbox before
declaring the install or login broken. Codex sandboxing can block:
curl -fsSL https://composio.dev/install | bash (and the post-install
binary download from Composio's CDN).
composio login (OAuth redirect, browser handoff, and token exchange).
composio execute, composio search, and composio listen (calls to
Composio's tool-router and the 1000+ external app APIs).
mcp__composio__* MCP tool calls and COMPOSIO_REMOTE_BASH_TOOL /
COMPOSIO_REMOTE_WORKBENCH if outbound network is sandboxed.
Request approval and retry the same command outside the sandbox. If the
outside-sandbox retry succeeds, treat the in-sandbox failure as a sandbox
artifact and continue. Do not report that the install URL is invalid, the
auth flow is broken, or a remote app is unreachable until the outside-sandbox
retry also fails. For agents without direct browser access, composio login --no-wait | jq is the recommended handoff — make sure that pattern is not
swallowed by the sandbox.