How to integrate Zoho MCP with Claude Agent SDK

This guide walks you through connecting Zoho to the Claude Agent SDK using the Composio tool router. By the end, you'll have a working Zoho agent that can convert new leads to contacts in crm, add a note to an existing zoho deal, list all contacts added this week through natural language commands. This guide will help you understand how to give your Claude Agent SDK agent real control over a Zoho account through Composio's Zoho MCP server. Before we dive in, let's take a quick look at the key ideas and tools involved.

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Zoho is a suite of cloud business apps for CRM, email marketing, and collaboration. It helps teams automate workflows and scale operations effortlessly.

14 Tools

Introduction

This guide walks you through connecting Zoho to the Claude Agent SDK using the Composio tool router. By the end, you'll have a working Zoho agent that can convert new leads to contacts in crm, add a note to an existing zoho deal, list all contacts added this week through natural language commands.

This guide will help you understand how to give your Claude Agent SDK agent real control over a Zoho account through Composio's Zoho 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 Claude/Anthropic and Composio API keys
  • Install the necessary dependencies
  • Initialize Composio and create a Tool Router session for Zoho
  • Configure an AI agent that can use Zoho as a tool
  • Run a live chat session where you can ask the agent to perform Zoho 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 Zoho MCP server, and what's possible with it?

The Zoho MCP server is an implementation of the Model Context Protocol that connects your AI agent and assistants like Claude, Cursor, etc directly to your Zoho account. It provides structured and secure access to your Zoho CRM data, so your agent can perform actions like creating leads, updating records, tagging entries, and managing relationships between your contacts and accounts automatically.

  • Automated lead conversion: Instantly convert Zoho CRM leads into contacts, accounts, and even deals without manual effort.
  • Effortless CRM record creation: Direct your agent to add new records to any Zoho CRM module—like leads, contacts, or deals—in seconds.
  • Bulk record retrieval and updates: Let your agent fetch lists of records or update details across multiple modules to keep your CRM up to date.
  • Tag and organize CRM data: Have your agent create and apply new tags for streamlined segmentation and easier tracking of customers or activities.
  • Manage cross-module relationships: Enable your agent to associate or update related records between contacts, accounts, and other CRM modules for richer data connections.

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 Zoho 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 Zoho 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 Zoho
  const session = await composio.create(USER_ID, {
    toolkits: ['zoho'],
  });
  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 Zoho
  • 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 Zoho 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 Zoho
  • 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 Zoho 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: ['zoho']
  });
  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 Zoho 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 Zoho 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 Zoho action and event your agent gets out of the box.

Convert Zoho CRM Lead

Converts a lead into a contact, account, and optionally a deal in Zoho CRM.

Create Zoho CRM Record

Creates new records in a specified module in Zoho CRM.

Create Zoho CRM Tag

Creates a new tag in Zoho CRM for a specific module.

Get Zoho CRM Module Fields Metadata

Retrieves field metadata for a Zoho CRM module including API names, data types, permissions, and configuration details.

Get Zoho CRM Related Lists Metadata

Retrieves related list metadata for a Zoho CRM module to discover correct api_name values.

Get Zoho CRM Related Records

Fetch related-list records (e.

Get Zoho CRM Records

Retrieves records from a specified module in Zoho CRM.

Get Zoho CRM Users

Tool to retrieve users from Zoho CRM.

List Zoho CRM Modules

Lists all available Zoho CRM modules (standard + custom) to reliably select module API names/IDs for operations.

List Attachments for Zoho CRM Record

Tool to list attachment metadata (id, File_Name, Size, Created_Time, etc.

Search Zoho CRM Records

Search for records within a Zoho CRM module using server-side queries.

Update Related Records in Zoho CRM

Associates or updates relationships between records across different modules in Zoho CRM.

Update Zoho CRM Record

Updates existing records in a specified module in Zoho CRM.

Upload Attachment to Zoho CRM Record

Tool to upload a file or attach a URL as an Attachment to a specific Zoho CRM record.

FRAMEWORKS

How to build Zoho MCP Agent with another framework

OpenAI Agents SDK logo

OpenAI Agents SDK

Use Zoho MCP with OpenAI Agents SDK

Claude Code logo

Claude Code

Use Zoho MCP with Claude Code

Claude Cowork logo

Claude Cowork

Use Zoho MCP with Claude Cowork

Codex logo

Codex

Use Zoho MCP with Codex

OpenClaw logo

OpenClaw

Use Zoho MCP with OpenClaw

Hermes logo

Hermes

Use Zoho MCP with Hermes

CLI logo

CLI

Use Zoho MCP with CLI

Google ADK logo

Google ADK

Use Zoho MCP with Google ADK

LangChain logo

LangChain

Use Zoho MCP with LangChain

Vercel AI SDK logo

Vercel AI SDK

Use Zoho MCP with Vercel AI SDK

Mastra AI logo

Mastra AI

Use Zoho MCP with Mastra AI

LlamaIndex logo

LlamaIndex

Use Zoho MCP with LlamaIndex

CrewAI logo

CrewAI

Use Zoho MCP with CrewAI

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

With a standalone Zoho MCP server, the agents and LLMs can only access a fixed set of Zoho tools tied to that server. However, with the Composio Tool Router, agents can dynamically load tools from Zoho 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 Zoho tools.

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

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A lot of students tell us that the moment their connected tools start talking to each other inside Opennote feels almost magical. The agent just knows them, and it's immensely helped keep new users on the platform.

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