How to integrate Everhour MCP with OpenAI Agents SDK

This guide walks you through connecting Everhour to the OpenAI Agents SDK using the Composio tool router. By the end, you'll have a working Everhour agent that can list all clients for this workspace, retrieve expense categories for new report, get your everhour user profile details through natural language commands. This guide will help you understand how to give your OpenAI Agents SDK agent real control over a Everhour account through Composio's Everhour MCP server. Before we dive in, let's take a quick look at the key ideas and tools involved.

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Everhour is a time tracking and expense management platform for teams and individuals. Gain insight into hours, costs, and budgets for smarter planning and resource allocation.

38 Tools

Introduction

This guide walks you through connecting Everhour to the OpenAI Agents SDK using the Composio tool router. By the end, you'll have a working Everhour agent that can list all clients for this workspace, retrieve expense categories for new report, get your everhour user profile details through natural language commands.

This guide will help you understand how to give your OpenAI Agents SDK agent real control over a Everhour account through Composio's Everhour MCP server.

Before we dive in, let's take a quick look at the key ideas and tools involved.

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TL;DR

Here's what you'll learn:
  • Get and set up your OpenAI and Composio API keys
  • Install the necessary dependencies
  • Initialize Composio and create a Tool Router session for Everhour
  • Configure an AI agent that can use Everhour as a tool
  • Run a live chat session where you can ask the agent to perform Everhour operations

What is OpenAI Agents SDK?

The OpenAI Agents SDK is a lightweight framework for building AI agents that can use tools and maintain conversation state. It provides a simple interface for creating agents with hosted MCP tool support.

Key features include:

  • Hosted MCP Tools: Connect to external services through hosted MCP endpoints
  • SQLite Sessions: Persist conversation history across interactions
  • Simple API: Clean interface with Agent, Runner, and tool configuration
  • Streaming Support: Real-time response streaming for interactive applications

What is the Everhour MCP server, and what's possible with it?

The Everhour MCP server is an implementation of the Model Context Protocol that connects your AI agent and assistants like Claude, Cursor, etc directly to your Everhour account. It provides structured and secure access to your time tracking, client, and expense data, so your agent can perform actions like listing clients, retrieving expenses, managing projects, and fetching user profiles on your behalf.

  • Comprehensive client management: Ask your agent to list, create, or delete clients to keep your workspace organized and up-to-date.
  • Expense tracking and review: Effortlessly retrieve all expenses or list available expense categories to monitor spending and streamline expense management.
  • Project and section insights: Have your agent fetch detailed information about specific projects or sections using their IDs for better resource planning.
  • Personalized user profile access: Enable your agent to fetch the authenticated user's profile for quick access to account details and preferences.
  • Webhook configuration overview: List all configured webhooks to monitor integrations and automate notifications within your Everhour environment.

What is the Composio tool router, and how does it fit here?

What is Composio SDK?

Composio's Composio SDK helps agents find the right tools for a task at runtime. You can plug in multiple toolkits (like Gmail, HubSpot, and GitHub), and the agent will identify the relevant app and action to complete multi-step workflows. This can reduce token usage and improve the reliability of tool calls. Read more here: Getting started with Composio SDK

The tool router generates a secure MCP URL that your agents can access to perform actions.

How the Composio SDK works

The Composio SDK follows a three-phase workflow:

  1. Discovery: Searches for tools matching your task and returns relevant toolkits with their details.
  2. Authentication: Checks for active connections. If missing, creates an auth config and returns a connection URL via Auth Link.
  3. Execution: Executes the action using the authenticated connection.

Step-by-step Guide

Step by step09 STEPS
1

Prerequisites

Before starting, make sure you have:
  • Composio API Key and OpenAI API Key
  • Primary know-how of OpenAI Agents SDK
  • A live Everhour project
  • Some knowledge of Python or Typescript
2

Getting API Keys for OpenAI and Composio

OpenAI API Key
  • Go to the OpenAI dashboard and create an API key. You'll need credits to use the models, or you can connect to another model provider.
  • Keep the API key safe.
Composio API Key
3

Install dependencies

npm install @composio/openai-agents @openai/agents dotenv

Install the Composio SDK and the OpenAI Agents SDK.

4

Set up environment variables

bash
OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...your-api-key
COMPOSIO_API_KEY=your-api-key
USER_ID=composio_user@gmail.com

Create a .env file and add your OpenAI and Composio API keys.

5

Import dependencies

import 'dotenv/config';
import { Composio } from '@composio/core';
import { OpenAIAgentsProvider } from '@composio/openai-agents';
import { Agent, hostedMcpTool, run, OpenAIConversationsSession } from '@openai/agents';
import * as readline from 'readline';
What's happening:
  • You're importing all necessary libraries.
  • The Composio and OpenAIAgentsProvider classes are imported to connect your OpenAI agent to Composio tools like Everhour.
6

Set up the Composio instance

dotenv.config();

const composioApiKey = process.env.COMPOSIO_API_KEY;
const userId = process.env.USER_ID;

if (!composioApiKey) {
  throw new Error('COMPOSIO_API_KEY is not set. Create a .env file with COMPOSIO_API_KEY=your_key');
}
if (!userId) {
  throw new Error('USER_ID is not set');
}

// Initialize Composio
const composio = new Composio({
  apiKey: composioApiKey,
  provider: new OpenAIAgentsProvider(),
});
What's happening:
  • dotenv.config() loads your .env file so COMPOSIO_API_KEY and USER_ID are available as environment variables.
  • Creating a Composio instance using the API Key and OpenAIAgentsProvider class.
7

Create a Tool Router session

// Create Tool Router session for Everhour
const session = await composio.create(userId as string, {
  toolkits: ['everhour'],
});
const mcpUrl = session.mcp.url;

What is happening:

  • You give the Tool Router the user id and the toolkits you want available. Here, it is only everhour.
  • The router checks the user's Everhour connection and prepares the MCP endpoint.
  • The returned session.mcp.url is the MCP URL that your agent will use to access Everhour.
  • This approach keeps things lightweight and lets the agent request Everhour tools only when needed during the conversation.
8

Configure the agent

// Configure agent with MCP tool
const agent = new Agent({
  name: 'Assistant',
  model: 'gpt-5',
  instructions:
    'You are a helpful assistant that can access Everhour. Help users perform Everhour operations through natural language.',
  tools: [
    hostedMcpTool({
      serverLabel: 'tool_router',
      serverUrl: mcpUrl,
      headers: { 'x-api-key': composioApiKey },
      requireApproval: 'never',
    }),
  ],
});
What's happening:
  • We're creating an Agent instance with a name, model (gpt-5), and clear instructions about its purpose.
  • The agent's instructions tell it that it can access Everhour and help with queries, inserts, updates, authentication, and fetching database information.
  • The tools array includes a hostedMcpTool that connects to the MCP server URL we created earlier.
  • The headers object includes the Composio API key for secure authentication with the MCP server.
  • requireApproval: 'never' means the agent can execute Everhour operations without asking for permission each time, making interactions smoother.
9

Start chat loop and handle conversation

// Keep conversation state across turns
const conversationSession = new OpenAIConversationsSession();

// Simple CLI
const rl = readline.createInterface({
  input: process.stdin,
  output: process.stdout,
  prompt: 'You: ',
});

console.log('\nComposio Tool Router session created.');
console.log('\nChat started. Type your requests below.');
console.log("Commands: 'exit', 'quit', or 'q' to end\n");

try {
  const first = await run(agent, 'What can you help me with?', { session: conversationSession });
  console.log(`Assistant: ${first.finalOutput}\n`);
} catch (e) {
  console.error('Error:', e instanceof Error ? e.message : e, '\n');
}

rl.prompt();

rl.on('line', async (userInput) => {
  const text = userInput.trim();

  if (['exit', 'quit', 'q'].includes(text.toLowerCase())) {
    console.log('Goodbye!');
    rl.close();
    process.exit(0);
  }

  if (!text) {
    rl.prompt();
    return;
  }

  try {
    const result = await run(agent, text, { session: conversationSession });
    console.log(`\nAssistant: ${result.finalOutput}\n`);
  } catch (e) {
    console.error('Error:', e instanceof Error ? e.message : e, '\n');
  }

  rl.prompt();
});

rl.on('close', () => {
  console.log('\n👋 Session ended.');
  process.exit(0);
});
What's happening:
  • The program prints a session URL that you visit to authorize Everhour.
  • After authorization, the chat begins.
  • Each message you type is processed by the agent using run().
  • The responses are printed to the console.
  • Typing exit, quit, or q cleanly ends the chat.

Complete Code

Here's the complete code to get you started with Everhour and OpenAI Agents SDK:

import 'dotenv/config';
import { Composio } from '@composio/core';
import { OpenAIAgentsProvider } from '@composio/openai-agents';
import { Agent, hostedMcpTool, run, OpenAIConversationsSession } from '@openai/agents';
import * as readline from 'readline';

const composioApiKey = process.env.COMPOSIO_API_KEY;
const userId = process.env.USER_ID;

if (!composioApiKey) {
  throw new Error('COMPOSIO_API_KEY is not set. Create a .env file with COMPOSIO_API_KEY=your_key');
}
if (!userId) {
  throw new Error('USER_ID is not set');
}

// Initialize Composio
const composio = new Composio({
  apiKey: composioApiKey,
  provider: new OpenAIAgentsProvider(),
});

async function main() {
  // Create Tool Router session
  const session = await composio.create(userId as string, {
    toolkits: ['everhour'],
  });
  const mcpUrl = session.mcp.url;

  // Configure agent with MCP tool
  const agent = new Agent({
    name: 'Assistant',
    model: 'gpt-5',
    instructions:
      'You are a helpful assistant that can access Everhour. Help users perform Everhour operations through natural language.',
    tools: [
      hostedMcpTool({
        serverLabel: 'tool_router',
        serverUrl: mcpUrl,
        headers: { 'x-api-key': composioApiKey },
        requireApproval: 'never',
      }),
    ],
  });

  // Keep conversation state across turns
  const conversationSession = new OpenAIConversationsSession();

  // Simple CLI
  const rl = readline.createInterface({
    input: process.stdin,
    output: process.stdout,
    prompt: 'You: ',
  });

  console.log('\nComposio Tool Router session created.');
  console.log('\nChat started. Type your requests below.');
  console.log("Commands: 'exit', 'quit', or 'q' to end\n");

  try {
    const first = await run(agent, 'What can you help me with?', { session: conversationSession });
    console.log(`Assistant: ${first.finalOutput}\n`);
  } catch (e) {
    console.error('Error:', e instanceof Error ? e.message : e, '\n');
  }

  rl.prompt();

  rl.on('line', async (userInput) => {
    const text = userInput.trim();

    if (['exit', 'quit', 'q'].includes(text.toLowerCase())) {
      console.log('Goodbye!');
      rl.close();
      process.exit(0);
    }

    if (!text) {
      rl.prompt();
      return;
    }

    try {
      const result = await run(agent, text, { session: conversationSession });
      console.log(`\nAssistant: ${result.finalOutput}\n`);
    } catch (e) {
      console.error('Error:', e instanceof Error ? e.message : e, '\n');
    }

    rl.prompt();
  });

  rl.on('close', () => {
    console.log('\nSession ended.');
    process.exit(0);
  });
}

main().catch((err) => {
  console.error('Fatal error:', err);
  process.exit(1);
});

Conclusion

This was a starter code for integrating Everhour MCP with OpenAI Agents SDK to build a functional AI agent that can interact with Everhour.

Key features:

  • Hosted MCP tool integration through Composio's Tool Router
  • SQLite session persistence for conversation history
  • Simple async chat loop for interactive testing
You can extend this by adding more toolkits, implementing custom business logic, or building a web interface around the agent.
TOOLS

Supported Tools

Every Everhour action and event your agent gets out of the box.

Create Client

Creates a new client in Everhour for tracking billable work, invoicing, and project organization.

Delete a client

Tool to delete a client.

List Clients

Retrieves all clients in the Everhour workspace.

Clock In User

Tool to clock in a user for time tracking.

Clock Out User

Tool to clock out a user for time tracking.

Create Webhook

Tool to create a new webhook for event notifications in Everhour.

Delete Webhook

Tool to delete a webhook.

Delete a timecard

Tool to delete a timecard for a user on a specific date.

Discard Timesheet Approval

Tool to discard a pending timesheet approval request.

List Expenses

Lists expense records from your Everhour workspace.

Get Client by ID

Tool to retrieve a specific client by ID.

Get Project

Tool to retrieve a specific project.

Get Section

Retrieve details of a specific section by its ID.

Get Timecard

Tool to retrieve a specific timecard for a user on a date.

Get Authenticated User Profile

Tool to retrieve profile information of the authenticated user.

Get Webhook

Retrieve details of a specific webhook by its ID.

List Expense Categories

Lists all expense categories available in your Everhour account.

List Webhooks

Lists all webhooks configured for the Everhour account.

List Invoices

Retrieves all invoices from your Everhour workspace.

List projects

List all Everhour projects accessible by the authenticated user.

List Sections

Lists all sections within a specific Everhour project.

List Tags

List all tags in the Everhour workspace.

List Team Members

Retrieves all team members in the authenticated Everhour workspace.

List Teams

Retrieves information about the authenticated team/workspace in Everhour.

List Timecards

Tool to retrieve all team timecards with optional date filtering.

List User Timecards

Tool to retrieve timecards for a specific user with optional date filtering.

List User Timesheets

Tool to retrieve timesheets for a specific user.

Create Project

Tool to create a new project in Everhour.

Delete a project

Tool to delete a project.

Request Timesheet Approval

Tool to request approval for a timesheet or approve a week (for admins).

Create Section

Tool to create a new section in a project.

Delete a section

Tool to delete a section.

Create Task

Creates a new task in an Everhour project.

Start Timer

Tool to start a new timer for a task.

Update Client

Tool to update an existing client in Everhour.

Update an existing project

Updates an existing Everhour project's settings.

Update Timecard

Tool to update a timecard for a user on a specific date.

Update Webhook

Tool to update an existing webhook configuration in Everhour.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

With a standalone Everhour MCP server, the agents and LLMs can only access a fixed set of Everhour tools tied to that server. However, with the Composio Tool Router, agents can dynamically load tools from Everhour and many other apps based on the task at hand, all through a single MCP endpoint.

Yes, you can. OpenAI Agents SDK fully supports MCP integration. You get structured tool calling, message history handling, and model orchestration while Tool Router takes care of discovering and serving the right Everhour tools.

Yes, absolutely. You can configure which Everhour scopes and actions are allowed when connecting your account to Composio. You can also bring your own OAuth credentials or API configuration so you keep full control over what the agent can do.

All sensitive data such as tokens, keys, and configuration is fully encrypted at rest and in transit. Composio is SOC 2 Type 2 compliant and follows strict security practices so your Everhour data and credentials are handled as safely as possible.

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