How to integrate Workable MCP with CrewAI

This guide walks you through connecting Workable to CrewAI using the Composio tool router. By the end, you'll have a working Workable agent that can list all candidates for open roles, show scheduled interviews for this week, fetch all current job postings through natural language commands. This guide will help you understand how to give your CrewAI agent real control over a Workable account through Composio's Workable MCP server. Before we dive in, let's take a quick look at the key ideas and tools involved.

Workable logoWorkable
Oauth2Api Key

Workable is an all-in-one HR software platform that streamlines hiring, employee management, and payroll. It helps teams simplify recruiting, onboarding, and staff operations in one place.

37 Tools

Introduction

This guide walks you through connecting Workable to CrewAI using the Composio tool router. By the end, you'll have a working Workable agent that can list all candidates for open roles, show scheduled interviews for this week, fetch all current job postings through natural language commands.

This guide will help you understand how to give your CrewAI agent real control over a Workable account through Composio's Workable MCP server.

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

Also integrate Workable with

TL;DR

Here's what you'll learn:
  • Get a Composio API key and configure your Workable connection
  • Set up CrewAI with an MCP enabled agent
  • Create a Tool Router session or standalone MCP server for Workable
  • Build a conversational loop where your agent can execute Workable operations

What is CrewAI?

CrewAI is a powerful framework for building multi-agent AI systems. It provides primitives for defining agents with specific roles, creating tasks, and orchestrating workflows through crews.

Key features include:

  • Agent Roles: Define specialized agents with specific goals and backstories
  • Task Management: Create tasks with clear descriptions and expected outputs
  • Crew Orchestration: Combine agents and tasks into collaborative workflows
  • MCP Integration: Connect to external tools through Model Context Protocol

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

The Workable MCP server is an implementation of the Model Context Protocol that connects your AI agent and assistants like Claude, Cursor, etc directly to your Workable account. It provides structured and secure access to your hiring and HR data, so your agent can perform actions like listing jobs, managing candidates, retrieving background check info, and organizing departments on your behalf.

  • Comprehensive candidate management: Instantly retrieve and aggregate candidate data across all jobs, making it easy for your agent to analyze talent pipelines, track applicants, and surface top candidates.
  • Job and account insights: Let your agent list all open roles, access job details, and pull account-wide information to keep your hiring team up-to-date and organized.
  • Automated event and interview scheduling: Fetch all scheduled events, interviews, and meetings so your agent can help coordinate calendars and ensure everyone’s on the same page.
  • Background check integration: Retrieve available background check providers and packages, enabling your agent to streamline compliance and onboarding workflows.
  • Team and department organization: List or delete departments, fetch member rosters, and manage legal entities—helping your agent automate org chart updates and keep your HR records tidy.

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 step08 STEPS
1

Prerequisites

Before starting, make sure you have:
  • Python 3.9 or higher
  • A Composio account and API key
  • A Workable connection authorized in Composio
  • An OpenAI API key for the CrewAI LLM
  • Basic familiarity with Python
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
  • 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

bash
pip install composio crewai crewai-tools[mcp] python-dotenv
What's happening:
  • composio connects your agent to Workable via MCP
  • crewai provides Agent, Task, Crew, and LLM primitives
  • crewai-tools[mcp] includes MCP helpers
  • python-dotenv loads environment variables from .env
4

Set up environment variables

bash
COMPOSIO_API_KEY=your_composio_api_key_here
USER_ID=your_user_id_here
OPENAI_API_KEY=your_openai_api_key_here

Create a .env file in your project root.

What's happening:

  • COMPOSIO_API_KEY authenticates with Composio
  • USER_ID scopes the session to your account
  • OPENAI_API_KEY lets CrewAI use your chosen OpenAI model
5

Import dependencies

python
import os
from composio import Composio
from crewai import Agent, Task, Crew
from crewai_tools import MCPServerAdapter
import dotenv

dotenv.load_dotenv()

COMPOSIO_API_KEY = os.getenv("COMPOSIO_API_KEY")
COMPOSIO_USER_ID = os.getenv("COMPOSIO_USER_ID")

if not COMPOSIO_API_KEY:
    raise ValueError("COMPOSIO_API_KEY is not set")
if not COMPOSIO_USER_ID:
    raise ValueError("COMPOSIO_USER_ID is not set")
What's happening:
  • CrewAI classes define agents and tasks, and run the workflow
  • MCPServerHTTP connects the agent to an MCP endpoint
  • Composio will give you a short lived Workable MCP URL
6

Create a Composio Tool Router session for Workable

python
composio_client = Composio(api_key=COMPOSIO_API_KEY)
session = composio_client.create(user_id=COMPOSIO_USER_ID, toolkits=["workable"])

url = session.mcp.url
What's happening:
  • You create a Workable only session through Composio
  • Composio returns an MCP HTTP URL that exposes Workable tools
7

Initialize the MCP Server

python
server_params = {
    "url": url,
    "transport": "streamable-http",
    "headers": {"x-api-key": COMPOSIO_API_KEY},
}

with MCPServerAdapter(server_params) as tools:
    agent = Agent(
        role="Search Assistant",
        goal="Help users search the internet effectively",
        backstory="You are a helpful assistant with access to search tools.",
        tools=tools,
        verbose=False,
        max_iter=10,
    )
What's Happening:
  • Server Configuration: The code sets up connection parameters including the MCP server URL, streamable HTTP transport, and Composio API key authentication.
  • MCP Adapter Bridge: MCPServerAdapter acts as a context manager that converts Composio MCP tools into a CrewAI-compatible format.
  • Agent Setup: Creates a CrewAI Agent with a defined role (Search Assistant), goal (help with internet searches), and access to the MCP tools.
  • Configuration Options: The agent includes settings like verbose=False for clean output and max_iter=10 to prevent infinite loops.
  • Dynamic Tool Usage: Once created, the agent automatically accesses all Composio Search tools and decides when to use them based on user queries.
8

Create a CLI Chatloop and define the Crew

python
print("Chat started! Type 'exit' or 'quit' to end.\n")

conversation_context = ""

while True:
    user_input = input("You: ").strip()

    if user_input.lower() in ["exit", "quit", "bye"]:
        print("\nGoodbye!")
        break

    if not user_input:
        continue

    conversation_context += f"\nUser: {user_input}\n"
    print("\nAgent is thinking...\n")

    task = Task(
        description=(
            f"Conversation history:\n{conversation_context}\n\n"
            f"Current request: {user_input}"
        ),
        expected_output="A helpful response addressing the user's request",
        agent=agent,
    )

    crew = Crew(agents=[agent], tasks=[task], verbose=False)
    result = crew.kickoff()
    response = str(result)

    conversation_context += f"Agent: {response}\n"
    print(f"Agent: {response}\n")
What's Happening:
  • Interactive CLI Setup: The code creates an infinite loop that continuously prompts for user input and maintains the entire conversation history in a string variable.
  • Input Validation: Empty inputs are ignored to prevent processing blank messages and keep the conversation clean.
  • Context Building: Each user message is appended to the conversation context, which preserves the full dialogue history for better agent responses.
  • Dynamic Task Creation: For every user input, a new Task is created that includes both the full conversation history and the current request as context.
  • Crew Execution: A Crew is instantiated with the agent and task, then kicked off to process the request and generate a response.
  • Response Management: The agent's response is converted to a string, added to the conversation context, and displayed to the user, maintaining conversational continuity.

Complete Code

Here's the complete code to get you started with Workable and CrewAI:

python
from crewai import Agent, Task, Crew, LLM
from crewai_tools import MCPServerAdapter
from composio import Composio
from dotenv import load_dotenv
import os

load_dotenv()

GOOGLE_API_KEY = os.getenv("GOOGLE_API_KEY")
COMPOSIO_API_KEY = os.getenv("COMPOSIO_API_KEY")
COMPOSIO_USER_ID = os.getenv("COMPOSIO_USER_ID")

if not GOOGLE_API_KEY:
    raise ValueError("GOOGLE_API_KEY is not set in the environment.")
if not COMPOSIO_API_KEY:
    raise ValueError("COMPOSIO_API_KEY is not set in the environment.")
if not COMPOSIO_USER_ID:
    raise ValueError("COMPOSIO_USER_ID is not set in the environment.")

# Initialize Composio and create a session
composio = Composio(api_key=COMPOSIO_API_KEY)
session = composio.create(
    user_id=COMPOSIO_USER_ID,
    toolkits=["workable"],
)
url = session.mcp.url

# Configure LLM
llm = LLM(
    model="gpt-5",
    api_key=os.getenv("OPENAI_API_KEY"),
)

server_params = {
    "url": url,
    "transport": "streamable-http",
    "headers": {"x-api-key": COMPOSIO_API_KEY},
}

with MCPServerAdapter(server_params) as tools:
    agent = Agent(
        role="Search Assistant",
        goal="Help users with internet searches",
        backstory="You are an expert assistant with access to Composio Search tools.",
        tools=tools,
        llm=llm,
        verbose=False,
        max_iter=10,
    )

    print("Chat started! Type 'exit' or 'quit' to end.\n")

    conversation_context = ""

    while True:
        user_input = input("You: ").strip()

        if user_input.lower() in ["exit", "quit", "bye"]:
            print("\nGoodbye!")
            break

        if not user_input:
            continue

        conversation_context += f"\nUser: {user_input}\n"
        print("\nAgent is thinking...\n")

        task = Task(
            description=(
                f"Conversation history:\n{conversation_context}\n\n"
                f"Current request: {user_input}"
            ),
            expected_output="A helpful response addressing the user's request",
            agent=agent,
        )

        crew = Crew(agents=[agent], tasks=[task], verbose=False)
        result = crew.kickoff()
        response = str(result)

        conversation_context += f"Agent: {response}\n"
        print(f"Agent: {response}\n")

Conclusion

You now have a CrewAI agent connected to Workable through Composio's Tool Router. The agent can perform Workable operations through natural language commands.

Next steps:

  • Add role-specific instructions to customize agent behavior
  • Plug in more toolkits for multi-app workflows
  • Chain tasks for complex multi-step operations
TOOLS

Supported Tools

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

Create Employee

Tool to create an employee in your Workable account.

Delete Department

Tool to delete a department.

Delete Subscription

Tool to unsubscribe from an event by deleting a webhook subscription.

Get Account

Tool to return the specified account.

Get Accounts

Retrieves all Workable accounts (organizations) accessible to the authenticated user.

Get Background Check Packages

Tool to retrieve a list of available background check packages from a specified provider.

Get Background Check Providers

Retrieves a list of background check providers integrated with your Workable account.

Get Candidates

Retrieve a list of candidates across all jobs in the organization.

Get Employee

Tool to retrieve detailed information for a specific employee by ID.

Get Events

Retrieve a collection of scheduled events (calls, interviews, meetings) from the Workable account.

Get Jobs

Retrieves a paginated list of jobs from your Workable account.

Get Legal Entities

Tool to retrieve a collection of your account legal entities.

Get Members

Retrieve a paginated list of Workable account members with their roles and permissions.

Get recruiters

Retrieves external recruiters from your Workable account.

Get Requisitions

Tool to retrieve a collection of requisitions in the account.

Get Stages

Tool to retrieve a collection of your recruitment pipeline stages.

Get Subscriptions

Retrieves all webhook subscriptions configured in your Workable account.

List Custom Attributes

Tool to retrieve all custom attributes configured in the Workable account.

List Departments

Tool to retrieve all departments from your Workable account.

List Disqualification Reasons

Tool to retrieve a collection of account's disqualification reasons.

List Employee Fields

Tool to retrieve a collection of your account's employee field definitions.

List Employees

Tool to retrieve a collection of account employees.

List Permission Sets

Tool to retrieve a collection of your account permission sets.

List Public Jobs

Tool to return a collection of public jobs for an account.

List Public Locations

Tool to retrieve a collection of locations where a Workable account has public job postings.

List Time Off Balances

Retrieves all time off balances for an employee across all time off categories.

List Time Off Categories

Tool to retrieve all time off categories configured for your account.

List Work Schedules

Tool to retrieve a collection of work schedules configured in your Workable account.

Update Background Check Status

Updates the status and results of an existing background check in a candidate's timeline.

Merge Department

Tool to merge a department into another.

Create Department

Tool to create a department in your account.

Enable Member

Enable (restore) a deactivated Workable account member to active status.

Invite Member

Tool to invite a member to your Workable account.

Update Department

Tool to update an existing department in your account.

Update Member

Updates a Workable account member's details including roles, name, headline, email, and collaboration rules.

Update Employee

Tool to update an existing employee in Workable.

Upload Employee Documents

Tool to upload a list of documents for a specific employee.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

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

Yes, you can. CrewAI 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 Workable tools.

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

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