How to integrate Smugmug MCP with Claude Agent SDK

This guide walks you through connecting Smugmug to the Claude Agent SDK using the Composio tool router. By the end, you'll have a working Smugmug agent that can show all albums in your travel folder, get details for the europe 2023 album, list all child folders under weddings through natural language commands. This guide will help you understand how to give your Claude Agent SDK agent real control over a Smugmug account through Composio's Smugmug MCP server. Before we dive in, let's take a quick look at the key ideas and tools involved.

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SmugMug is a photography platform for showcasing, sharing, and selling photos and videos. It lets creators organize, protect, and monetize their work in one place.

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Introduction

This guide walks you through connecting Smugmug to the Claude Agent SDK using the Composio tool router. By the end, you'll have a working Smugmug agent that can show all albums in your travel folder, get details for the europe 2023 album, list all child folders under weddings through natural language commands.

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

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

Also integrate Smugmug with

OpenAI Agents SDKClaude CodeClaude CoworkCodexOpenClawHermesCLIGoogle ADKLangChainVercel AI SDKMastra AILlamaIndexCrewAI

TL;DR

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

What is Claude Agent SDK?

The Claude Agent SDK is Anthropic's official framework for building AI agents powered by Claude. It provides a streamlined interface for creating agents with MCP tool support and conversation management.

Key features include:

  • Native MCP Support: Built-in support for Model Context Protocol servers
  • Permission Modes: Control tool execution permissions
  • Streaming Responses: Real-time response streaming for interactive applications
  • Context Manager: Clean async context management for sessions

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

The Smugmug MCP server is an implementation of the Model Context Protocol that connects your AI agent and assistants like Claude, Cursor, etc directly to your Smugmug account. It provides structured and secure access to your photo galleries and user profile, so your agent can perform actions like browsing folders, listing albums, retrieving photo details, and exploring your Smugmug structure on your behalf.

  • Retrieve folder and album details: Instantly fetch information about specific folders or albums, including creation dates, node IDs, and highlight albums.
  • Explore your Smugmug hierarchy: Ask your agent to list all child nodes—albums or folders—within any parent node, helping you navigate your photo organization with ease.
  • List albums in any folder: Let your agent pull comprehensive lists of albums within a designated folder, even handling large collections with pagination.
  • Get public user profile info: Retrieve your Smugmug public profile details to share or review your online photography presence.
  • Access node-specific data: Have your agent look up details for any node (album, folder, or page) using its unique identifier, supporting granular photo management and discovery.

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 Claude/Anthropic API Key
  • Primary know-how of Claude Agents SDK
  • A Smugmug account
  • Some knowledge of Python
2

Getting API Keys for Claude/Anthropic and Composio

Claude/Anthropic API Key
  • Go to the Anthropic Console and create an API key. You'll need credits to use the models.
  • Keep the API key safe.
Composio API Key
  • Log in to the Composio dashboard.
  • Navigate to your API settings and generate a new API key.
  • Store this key securely as you'll need it for authentication.
3

Install dependencies

npm install @anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk @composio/core dotenv

Install the Composio SDK and the Claude Agents SDK.

What's happening:

  • @composio/core provides Composio integration for Anthropic
  • @anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk is the core agent framework
  • dotenv/config loads environment variables
4

Set up environment variables

bash
COMPOSIO_API_KEY=your_composio_api_key_here
USER_ID=your_user_id_here
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your_anthropic_api_key_here

Create a .env file in your project root.

What's happening:

  • COMPOSIO_API_KEY authenticates with Composio
  • USER_ID identifies the user for session management
  • ANTHROPIC_API_KEY authenticates with Anthropic/Claude
5

Import dependencies

import 'dotenv/config';
import readline from 'node:readline';
import { Composio } from '@composio/core';
import { query, type Options } from "@anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk";

dotenv.config();
What's happening:
  • We're importing all necessary libraries including the Claude Agent SDK and Composio
  • The dotenv.config() function loads environment variables from your .env file
  • This setup prepares the foundation for connecting Claude with Smugmug functionality
6

Create a Composio instance and Tool Router session

async function chat() {
  const { COMPOSIO_API_KEY, USER_ID } = process.env;
  if (!COMPOSIO_API_KEY || !USER_ID) {
    throw new Error('COMPOSIO_API_KEY and USER_ID required in .env');
  }

  const composio = new Composio({ apiKey: COMPOSIO_API_KEY });

  // Create Tool Router session for Smugmug
  const session = await composio.create(USER_ID, {
    toolkits: ['smugmug'],
  });
  const mcpUrl = session?.mcp.url;
What's happening:
  • The function checks for the required COMPOSIO_API_KEY environment variable
  • We're creating a Composio instance using our API key
  • The create method creates a Tool Router session for Smugmug
  • The returned url is the MCP server URL that your agent will use
7

Configure Claude Agent with MCP

const options: Options = {
  permissionMode: 'bypassPermissions',
  mcpServers: {
    composio: {
      type: 'http',
      url: mcpUrl,
      headers: { 'x-api-key': COMPOSIO_API_KEY }
    }
  },
  systemPrompt: 'You are a helpful assistant with access to Smugmug tools via Composio.',
  maxTurns: 10,
};
What's happening:
  • We're configuring the Claude Agent options with the MCP server URL
  • permissionMode: 'bypassPermissions' allows the agent to execute operations without asking for permission each time
  • The system prompt instructs the agent that it has access to Smugmug
  • maxTurns: 10 limits the conversation length to prevent excessive API usage
8

Create client and start chat loop

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

  console.log('\nChat started. Type "exit" to quit.\n');

  let isProcessing = false;

  async function ask(prompt: string) {
    isProcessing = true;
    rl.pause();

    process.stdout.write('Claude is thinking...');
    const stream = query({ prompt, options });

    let firstChunk = true;
    for await (const msg of stream) {
      const content = (msg as any).message?.content || (msg as any).content;
      if (Array.isArray(content)) {
        for (const block of content) {
          if (block.type === 'text' && block.text) {
            if (firstChunk) {
              process.stdout.write('\r\x1b[K');
              process.stdout.write('Claude: ');
              firstChunk = false;
            }
            process.stdout.write(block.text);
          }
        }
      }
    }
    process.stdout.write('\n\n');

    isProcessing = false;
    rl.resume();
    rl.prompt();
  }

  rl.on('line', async (line) => {
    if (isProcessing) return;

    const input = line.trim();
    if (input === 'exit') {
      rl.close();
      process.exit(0);
    }
    if (input) await ask(input);
    else rl.prompt();
  });

  await ask('What can you help me with?');
}
What's happening:
  • The readline interface is created to handle user input and output
  • The query function is used to send the user's input to the agent
  • The chat loop continues until the user types 'exit' or 'quit'
9

Run the application

try {
  await chat();
} catch (error) {
  console.error(error);
  process.exit(1);
}
What's happening:
  • The chat function is the entry point for the application
  • The try-catch block is used to handle any errors that occur

Complete Code

Here's the complete code to get you started with Smugmug and Claude Agent SDK:

import 'dotenv/config';
import readline from 'node:readline';
import { Composio } from '@composio/core';
import { query, type Options } from "@anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk";

async function chat() {
  const { COMPOSIO_API_KEY, USER_ID } = process.env;
  if (!COMPOSIO_API_KEY || !USER_ID) {
    throw new Error('COMPOSIO_API_KEY and USER_ID required in .env');
  }

  const composio = new Composio({ apiKey: COMPOSIO_API_KEY });
  const session = await composio.create(USER_ID, {
    toolkits: ['smugmug']
  });
  const mcp_url = session?.mcp.url;

  const options: Options = {
    permissionMode: 'bypassPermissions',
    mcpServers: {
      composio: {
        type: 'http',
        url: mcp_url,
        headers: { 'x-api-key': COMPOSIO_API_KEY }
      }
    },
    systemPrompt: 'You are a helpful assistant with access to Smugmug tools via Composio.',
    maxTurns: 10,
  };

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

  console.log('\nChat started. Type "exit" to quit.\n');

  let isProcessing = false;

  async function ask(prompt: string) {
    isProcessing = true;
    rl.pause();

    process.stdout.write('Claude is thinking...');
    const stream = query({ prompt, options });

    let firstChunk = true;
    for await (const msg of stream) {
      const content = (msg as any).message?.content || (msg as any).content;
      if (Array.isArray(content)) {
        for (const block of content) {
          if (block.type === 'text' && block.text) {
            if (firstChunk) {
              process.stdout.write('\r\x1b[K');
              process.stdout.write('Claude: ');
              firstChunk = false;
            }
            process.stdout.write(block.text);
          }
        }
      }
    }
    process.stdout.write('\n\n');

    isProcessing = false;
    rl.resume();
    rl.prompt();
  }

  rl.on('line', async (line) => {
    if (isProcessing) return;

    const input = line.trim();
    if (input === 'exit') {
      rl.close();
      process.exit(0);
    }
    if (input) await ask(input);
    else rl.prompt();
  });

  await ask('What can you help me with?');
}

try {
  await chat();
} catch (error) {
  console.error(error);
  process.exit(1);
}

Conclusion

You've successfully built a Claude Agent SDK agent that can interact with Smugmug through Composio's Tool Router.

Key features:

  • Native MCP support through Claude's agent framework
  • Streaming responses for real-time interaction
  • Permission bypass for smooth automated workflows
You can extend this by adding more toolkits, implementing custom business logic, or building a web interface around the agent.
TOOLS

Supported Tools

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

Get Album

Retrieves detailed information about a SmugMug album using its album key.

Get Album Highlight Image

Retrieves the highlight/cover image for a SmugMug album.

Get Album Image

Get an image within a specific album context as an AlbumImage relationship object.

Get Album Images

Tool to retrieve all images in a SmugMug album as AlbumImage relationship objects.

Get Folder Albums

Tool to retrieve albums from a specific folder in a SmugMug user's account by nickname and folder path.

Get Folder by User and Path

Tool to retrieve folder details by user nickname and folder path.

Get Folder Details

Retrieves details of a specific folder in SmugMug using its Node ID.

Get Folder Subfolders

Retrieves all subfolders within a specified folder in a SmugMug user's account.

Get Image

Tool to retrieve details for a specific image (photo or video) by its image key.

Get Image Metadata

Tool to retrieve additional metadata from an image file including EXIF data, camera settings, GPS location, and other embedded information.

Get Image Size Details

Retrieve raw media URLs and dimensions for all available sizes of an image.

Get Image Sizes

Retrieves available image sizes and URLs for a SmugMug image by its unique image key.

Get Node Highlight Image

Tool to get the highlight/cover image for a node (folder, album, or page).

Get Node Parent

Tool to retrieve the parent node of a specified SmugMug node.

Get Node Parents

Tool to retrieve a node and all its ancestor nodes (breadcrumb trail).

Get User

Tool to get a SmugMug user account by their nickname.

Get User Bio Image

Tool to retrieve the bio image for a SmugMug user by their nickname (username).

Get User Featured Albums

Retrieves the featured albums for a SmugMug user by their nickname.

Get User Features

Tool to retrieve a list of features available to a SmugMug user based on their subscription plan.

Get User Profile

Retrieves the public profile information for a SmugMug user by their nickname (username).

Get User Root Node

Tool to retrieve the root node of a user's folder tree on SmugMug.

List Child Nodes

Lists all child nodes (folders and albums) under a specified parent node in SmugMug.

Search User Content

Search for images across a user's SmugMug content.

Unlock Album

Tool to unlock a password-protected SmugMug album.

Unlock User Site

Tool to unlock a user's password-protected SmugMug site.

FRAMEWORKS

How to build Smugmug MCP Agent with another framework

OpenAI Agents SDK logo

OpenAI Agents SDK

Use Smugmug MCP with OpenAI Agents SDK

Claude Code logo

Claude Code

Use Smugmug MCP with Claude Code

Claude Cowork logo

Claude Cowork

Use Smugmug MCP with Claude Cowork

Codex logo

Codex

Use Smugmug MCP with Codex

OpenClaw logo

OpenClaw

Use Smugmug MCP with OpenClaw

Hermes logo

Hermes

Use Smugmug MCP with Hermes

CLI logo

CLI

Use Smugmug MCP with CLI

Google ADK logo

Google ADK

Use Smugmug MCP with Google ADK

LangChain logo

LangChain

Use Smugmug MCP with LangChain

Vercel AI SDK logo

Vercel AI SDK

Use Smugmug MCP with Vercel AI SDK

Mastra AI logo

Mastra AI

Use Smugmug MCP with Mastra AI

LlamaIndex logo

LlamaIndex

Use Smugmug MCP with LlamaIndex

CrewAI logo

CrewAI

Use Smugmug MCP with CrewAI

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

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

Yes, you can. Claude Agent 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 Smugmug tools.

Yes, absolutely. You can configure which Smugmug 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 Smugmug data and credentials are handled as safely as possible.

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