Composio - Tool Execution Platform for AI Agents

Composio connects your AI agent to 500+ apps — Gmail, Slack, GitHub, Notion, Google Workspace, Microsoft (Outlook, Teams), X/Twitter, Figma, Web Search, Browser automation, Meta apps, TikTok, and more — for seamless cross-app automation.

Use this guide to discover tools, manage connections, and execute actions across any supported app.

API Base: https://backend.composio.dev/api/v3 Auth: All requests require x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY

---

Setup (One-Time)

1. Get Your API Key

Go to platform.composio.dev and sign in with Google or another account. Navigate to your project settings and copy your API key.

export COMPOSIO_API_KEY="your_api_key_here"
export COMPOSIO_BASE="https://backend.composio.dev/api/v3"

That's it. You can now call any Composio tool.

---

Core Operations

Every tool is called through one endpoint — the tool slug goes in the URL:

POST /api/v3/tools/execute/{TOOL_SLUG}

curl -X POST "$COMPOSIO_BASE/tools/execute/TOOL_SLUG_HERE" \
  -H "x-api-key: $COMPOSIO_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "arguments": { ... }
  }'

Optional fields on every request:

Field	Description
arguments	Tool-specific input parameters (see each tool below)
user_id	Your end-user's identifier (for multi-user connected accounts)
connected_account_id	Override which connected account to use

---

COMPOSIO_SEARCH_TOOLS — Discover Tools

Always call this first. Searches 500+ apps to find the right tools for your task. Returns tool schemas, execution plans, connection status, and pitfalls.

curl -X POST "$COMPOSIO_BASE/tools/execute/COMPOSIO_SEARCH_TOOLS" \
  -H "x-api-key: $COMPOSIO_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "arguments": {
      "queries": [
        {
          "use_case": "send an email to someone",
          "known_fields": "recipient_name: John"
        },
        {
          "use_case": "create a meeting invite",
          "known_fields": "meeting_date: tomorrow"
        }
      ],
      "session": {
        "generate_id": true
      }
    }
  }'

Parameter	Required	Description
queries	Yes	Array of search queries (1-7 items)
queries[].use_case	Yes	Normalized English description of the task. Include app name if known. No personal identifiers here.
queries[].known_fields	No	Comma-separated key:value pairs of known inputs (e.g., "channel_name: general, timezone: UTC")
session.generate_id	Yes (first call)	Set true for new workflows to get a session ID
session.id	Yes (subsequent)	Reuse the session ID returned from first call
model	No	Your LLM model name (e.g., "claude-4.5-sonnet") for optimized planning

Response:

{
  "data": {
    "results": [
      {
        "index": 1,
        "use_case": "send an email to someone",
        "primary_tool_slugs": ["GMAIL_SEND_EMAIL"],
        "related_tool_slugs": ["GMAIL_CREATE_EMAIL_DRAFT"],
        "toolkits": ["gmail"],
        "recommended_plan_steps": ["Step 1: ...", "Step 2: ..."],
        "known_pitfalls": ["Always set user_id to 'me'"],
        "reference_workbench_snippets": [...]
      }
    ],
    "tool_schemas": {
      "GMAIL_SEND_EMAIL": {
        "toolkit": "gmail",
        "tool_slug": "GMAIL_SEND_EMAIL",
        "description": "Send an email",
        "input_schema": { ... }
      }
    },
    "toolkit_connection_statuses": [
      {
        "toolkit": "gmail",
        "has_active_connection": false,
        "status_message": "No active connection. Initiate via COMPOSIO_MANAGE_CONNECTIONS."
      }
    ],
    "time_info": {
      "current_time_utc": "2025-01-15T10:30:00Z",
      "current_time_utc_epoch_seconds": 1736935800
    },
    "session": {
      "id": "abcd",
      "instructions": "Pass this session ID in all subsequent calls"
    }
  },
  "successful": true
}

Splitting guidelines:

• 1 query = 1 tool action. Include hidden prerequisites (e.g., "get issue" before "update issue").
• Include app names in every sub-query if the user specified one.
• Translate non-English prompts to English while preserving identifiers.

After searching:

• Review the recommended_plan_steps and known_pitfalls before executing.
• If a tool has schemaRef instead of input_schema, call COMPOSIO_GET_TOOL_SCHEMAS first.
• If has_active_connection is false for a toolkit, call COMPOSIO_MANAGE_CONNECTIONS before executing its tools.

---

COMPOSIO_MANAGE_CONNECTIONS — Connect to Apps

Creates or checks OAuth/API connections for toolkits. Returns auth links for user authentication.

curl -X POST "$COMPOSIO_BASE/tools/execute/COMPOSIO_MANAGE_CONNECTIONS" \
  -H "x-api-key: $COMPOSIO_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "arguments": {
      "toolkits": ["gmail", "slack"],
      "session_id": "abcd"
    }
  }'

Parameter	Required	Description
toolkits	Yes	Toolkit names from SEARCH_TOOLS response (e.g., ["gmail", "github"]). Never invent names.
reinitiate_all	No	Force reconnection even if already active (default: false)
session_id	No	Session ID from SEARCH_TOOLS

Response:

{
  "data": {
    "message": "1 active, 1 initiated",
    "results": {
      "gmail": {
        "toolkit": "gmail",
        "status": "initiated",
        "redirect_url": "https://accounts.google.com/o/oauth2/...",
        "instruction": "Click the link to authenticate"
      },
      "slack": {
        "toolkit": "slack",
        "status": "active",
        "has_active_connection": true,
        "connected_account_id": "ca_xxx",
        "current_user_info": { "email": "user@example.com" }
      }
    },
    "summary": {
      "total_toolkits": 2,
      "active_connections": 1,
      "initiated_connections": 1,
      "failed_connections": 0
    }
  },
  "successful": true
}

Connection workflow:

1. Call SEARCH_TOOLS — check toolkit_connection_statuses
2. If has_active_connection is false, call MANAGE_CONNECTIONS
3. If status is "initiated", present the redirect_url to the user for authentication
4. Once the user completes auth, the connection becomes active
5. Only execute tools after the connection is confirmed active

---

COMPOSIO_GET_TOOL_SCHEMAS — Get Full Input Schemas

Retrieves complete input schemas for tools. Call this when SEARCH_TOOLS returns schemaRef instead of a full input_schema.

curl -X POST "$COMPOSIO_BASE/tools/execute/COMPOSIO_GET_TOOL_SCHEMAS" \
  -H "x-api-key: $COMPOSIO_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "arguments": {
      "tool_slugs": ["GMAIL_SEND_EMAIL", "SLACK_SEND_MESSAGE"],
      "session_id": "abcd"
    }
  }'

Parameter	Required	Description
tool_slugs	Yes	Array of tool slugs from SEARCH_TOOLS
session_id	No	Session ID

Response:

{
  "data": {
    "success": true,
    "tool_schemas": {
      "GMAIL_SEND_EMAIL": {
        "toolkit": "gmail",
        "tool_slug": "GMAIL_SEND_EMAIL",
        "description": "Send an email via Gmail",
        "input_schema": {
          "properties": {
            "to": { "type": "string", "description": "Recipient email" },
            "subject": { "type": "string" },
            "body": { "type": "string" }
          },
          "required": ["to", "subject", "body"]
        }
      }
    },
    "not_found": []
  },
  "successful": true
}

---

COMPOSIO_MULTI_EXECUTE_TOOL — Execute Tools

Executes one or more tools in parallel. This is how you run the tools discovered through SEARCH_TOOLS.

curl -X POST "$COMPOSIO_BASE/tools/execute/COMPOSIO_MULTI_EXECUTE_TOOL" \
  -H "x-api-key: $COMPOSIO_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "arguments": {
      "tools": [
        {
          "tool_slug": "GMAIL_SEND_EMAIL",
          "arguments": {
            "to": "john@example.com",
            "subject": "Hello",
            "body": "Welcome to the team!"
          }
        },
        {
          "tool_slug": "SLACK_SEND_MESSAGE",
          "arguments": {
            "channel": "#general",
            "text": "New member joined!"
          }
        }
      ],
      "sync_response_to_workbench": false,
      "session_id": "abcd"
    }
  }'

Parameter	Required	Description
tools	Yes	Array of tool executions (1-50 items)
tools[].tool_slug	Yes	Valid slug from SEARCH_TOOLS
tools[].arguments	Yes	Arguments matching the tool's input schema exactly
sync_response_to_workbench	Yes	Set true if response may be large or needed for later scripting
session_id	No	Session ID

Response:

{
  "data": {
    "results": [
      {
        "tool_slug": "GMAIL_SEND_EMAIL",
        "index": 0,
        "response": {
          "data": { "id": "msg_123", "threadId": "thread_456" },
          "successful": true
        },
        "error": null
      },
      {
        "tool_slug": "SLACK_SEND_MESSAGE",
        "index": 1,
        "response": {
          "data": { "ok": true, "ts": "1234567890.123456" },
          "successful": true
        },
        "error": null
      }
    ],
    "total_count": 2,
    "success_count": 2,
    "error_count": 0,
    "remote_file_info": null
  },
  "successful": true
}

Rules:

• Only batch tools that are logically independent (no ordering dependencies).
• Never invent tool slugs or argument fields — always use what SEARCH_TOOLS returned.
• Ensure active connections exist before executing.
• If response is large, it may be saved to a remote file — use remote_file_info.file_path with the Remote Workbench or Bash tools to process it.

---

COMPOSIO_REMOTE_WORKBENCH — Run Python Code

Executes Python code in a persistent remote Jupyter sandbox. Use for processing large tool outputs, bulk operations, and scripting multi-tool chains.

curl -X POST "$COMPOSIO_BASE/tools/execute/COMPOSIO_REMOTE_WORKBENCH" \
  -H "x-api-key: $COMPOSIO_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "arguments": {
      "code_to_execute": "result, error = run_composio_tool(\"GMAIL_FETCH_EMAILS\", {\"max_results\": 5, \"user_id\": \"me\"})\nif error:\n    print(\"Error:\", error)\nelse:\n    emails = result.get(\"data\", {})\n    print(\"Fetched:\", len(emails.get(\"messages\", [])))",
      "thought": "Fetching recent emails for bulk processing",
      "session_id": "abcd"
    }
  }'

Parameter	Required	Description
code_to_execute	Yes	Python code to run in the sandbox
thought	No	One-sentence objective description
timeout	No	Execution timeout in seconds (1-780, default: 600)
session_id	No	Session ID

Response:

{
  "data": {
    "results": "Fetched: 5",
    "stdout": "Fetched: 5\n",
    "stderr": "",
    "error": "",
    "sandbox_id_suffix": "a1b2"
  },
  "successful": true
}

If output exceeds 40,000 characters, it is saved to a file and results_file_path / stdout_file_path is returned instead.

Pre-loaded helper functions (do NOT import or redeclare these):

Function	Signature	Description
run_composio_tool	(tool_slug: str, arguments: dict) -> tuple[dict, str]	Execute a Composio app tool. Returns (response, error).
invoke_llm	(query: str) -> tuple[str, str]	Call an LLM for analysis, summarization, extraction. Max 200k chars input. Returns (response, error).
proxy_execute	(method, endpoint, toolkit, query_params?, body?, headers?) -> tuple[any, str]	Direct API call to a connected toolkit when no Composio tool exists. Returns (response, error).
web_search	(query: str) -> tuple[str, str]	Search the web via Exa AI. Returns (results, error).
upload_local_file	(*file_paths) -> tuple[dict, str]	Upload sandbox files to cloud storage. Returns ({"s3_url": ...}, error).
smart_file_extract	(sandbox_file_path: str) -> tuple[str, str]	Extract text from PDF, images, etc. Returns (text, error).

All helpers return (result, error) — always check error before using result.

Coding rules:

1. Split work into small steps; save intermediate results to /tmp/ files.
2. State persists across executions (variables, imports, files).
3. Hard timeout of 4 minutes — use ThreadPoolExecutor for bulk operations.
4. Always check error from helper functions before using results.
5. Use invoke_llm for summarization and analysis — it gives better results than ad-hoc filtering.
6. Do NOT call COMPOSIO_* meta tools via run_composio_tool — only use it for app tools (e.g., GMAIL_SEND_EMAIL).

Example — bulk email processing:

import concurrent.futures

def process_email(email_id):
    result, error = run_composio_tool("GMAIL_GET_EMAIL", {
        "message_id": email_id, "user_id": "me"
    })
    if error:
        return {"id": email_id, "error": error}
    subject = result.get("data", {}).get("subject", "")
    return {"id": email_id, "subject": subject}

# Fetch email list
emails, err = run_composio_tool("GMAIL_FETCH_EMAILS", {
    "max_results": 50, "user_id": "me"
})
if not err:
    ids = [m["id"] for m in emails.get("data", {}).get("messages", [])]
    with concurrent.futures.ThreadPoolExecutor(max_workers=10) as ex:
        results = list(ex.map(process_email, ids))
    print(f"Processed {len(results)} emails")

---

COMPOSIO_REMOTE_BASH_TOOL — Run Bash Commands

Executes bash commands in the same persistent sandbox as the workbench.

curl -X POST "$COMPOSIO_BASE/tools/execute/COMPOSIO_REMOTE_BASH_TOOL" \
  -H "x-api-key: $COMPOSIO_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "arguments": {
      "command": "cat /home/user/.code_out/response.json | jq \".results[] | .tool_slug\"",
      "session_id": "abcd"
    }
  }'

Parameter	Required	Description
command	Yes	Bash command to execute
session_id	No	Session ID

Response:

{
  "data": {
    "stdout": "\"GMAIL_SEND_EMAIL\"\n\"SLACK_SEND_MESSAGE\"\n",
    "stdoutLines": 2,
    "stderr": "",
    "stderrLines": 0,
    "sandbox_id_suffix": "a1b2"
  },
  "successful": true
}

Use cases:

• Process large tool responses saved to remote files (via jq, awk, sed, grep)
• File system operations in the sandbox
• Commands run from /home/user by default
• 5-minute timeout, max 40,000 chars output per stream

---

Typical Workflow

1. COMPOSIO_SEARCH_TOOLS
   | Find tools for your task
   | Check connection statuses
   | Review execution plan and pitfalls

2. COMPOSIO_GET_TOOL_SCHEMAS (if needed)
   | Get full input schemas for tools with schemaRef

3. COMPOSIO_MANAGE_CONNECTIONS (if needed)
   | Initiate connections for toolkits without active connections
   | Present auth URL to user -> user completes OAuth

4. COMPOSIO_MULTI_EXECUTE_TOOL
   | Execute tools with schema-compliant arguments
   | Process inline results or note remote file paths

5. COMPOSIO_REMOTE_WORKBENCH / COMPOSIO_REMOTE_BASH_TOOL (if needed)
   | Process large outputs saved to remote files
   | Run bulk operations or multi-tool scripts
   | Upload artifacts via upload_local_file

Example — complete "send email" workflow:

# Step 1: Search for email tools
curl -X POST "$COMPOSIO_BASE/tools/execute/COMPOSIO_SEARCH_TOOLS" \
  -H "x-api-key: $COMPOSIO_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "arguments": {
      "queries": [{"use_case": "send an email via gmail", "known_fields": "recipient: john@example.com"}],
      "session": {"generate_id": true}
    }
  }'
# -> Returns GMAIL_SEND_EMAIL tool with schema
# -> Check toolkit_connection_statuses for gmail
# -> Save session.id from response (e.g., "abcd")

# Step 2: Connect gmail (if not active)
curl -X POST "$COMPOSIO_BASE/tools/execute/COMPOSIO_MANAGE_CONNECTIONS" \
  -H "x-api-key: $COMPOSIO_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "arguments": {
      "toolkits": ["gmail"],
      "session_id": "abcd"
    }
  }'
# -> If status is "initiated", present redirect_url to user for OAuth

# Step 3: Execute the tool
curl -X POST "$COMPOSIO_BASE/tools/execute/COMPOSIO_MULTI_EXECUTE_TOOL" \
  -H "x-api-key: $COMPOSIO_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "arguments": {
      "tools": [{
        "tool_slug": "GMAIL_SEND_EMAIL",
        "arguments": {
          "to": "john@example.com",
          "subject": "Welcome!",
          "body": "Welcome to the team, John!",
          "user_id": "me"
        }
      }],
      "sync_response_to_workbench": false,
      "session_id": "abcd"
    }
  }'

---

Best Practices

Session Management

• Pass session: {generate_id: true} on your first SEARCH_TOOLS call to get a session ID.
• Pass that session_id into all subsequent tool calls within the same workflow.
• Generate a new session when the user pivots to a different task.

Tool Discovery

• Always call SEARCH_TOOLS first — never guess tool slugs or argument fields.
• Re-run SEARCH_TOOLS when you need additional tools due to errors or changed requirements.
• Review recommended_plan_steps and known_pitfalls before executing.

Connections

• Never execute a toolkit tool without an active connection.
• Use exact toolkit names from SEARCH_TOOLS — never invent names.
• If a connection fails, present the auth URL to the user.

Execution

• Use schema-compliant arguments only — check input_schema before every call.
• Batch independent tools into a single MULTI_EXECUTE call.
• For large responses, set sync_response_to_workbench: true and process in the workbench.

Workbench

• Only use the workbench for remote file processing or bulk scripting — not for data already visible inline.
• Keep code concise; split long operations into multiple workbench calls.
• Use ThreadPoolExecutor for parallelism within the 4-minute timeout.

---

Quick Reference

Action	Tool Slug	Key Arguments
Discover tools	COMPOSIO_SEARCH_TOOLS	queries, session
Get input schemas	COMPOSIO_GET_TOOL_SCHEMAS	tool_slugs
Connect to apps	COMPOSIO_MANAGE_CONNECTIONS	toolkits, reinitiate_all
Execute tools	COMPOSIO_MULTI_EXECUTE_TOOL	tools, sync_response_to_workbench
Run Python code	COMPOSIO_REMOTE_WORKBENCH	code_to_execute, thought
Run bash commands	COMPOSIO_REMOTE_BASH_TOOL	command

Endpoint for all tools:

POST /api/v3/tools/execute/{TOOL_SLUG}

Common errors:

Error	Meaning
401	Invalid or missing API key
403	Forbidden — insufficient permissions
404	Tool or resource not found
422	Invalid arguments (check input schema)
429	Rate limited — back off and retry
500	Internal server error

Rate limits: Respect 429 responses with exponential backoff.

---

Agent Notes

Gotchas and non-obvious behavior discovered during testing.

• Some tools return schemaRef instead of input_schema. When you see "hasFullSchema": false, you MUST call COMPOSIO_GET_TOOL_SCHEMAS before executing that tool.
• Response nesting: Tool execution results live at response.data.results[].response.data — two levels of data. Parse carefully.
• Workbench state persists across calls. Variables, imports, and files in /tmp/ survive between executions within the same sandbox session.
• String formatting in workbench code: Avoid f-strings with nested quotes when sending code via JSON. Use string concatenation instead to prevent quoting issues.
• invoke_llm works well for classification and analysis of tool output. Request explicit JSON format for structured results.