How to integrate Zoho inventory MCP with OpenAI Agents SDK

This guide walks you through connecting Zoho inventory to the OpenAI Agents SDK using the Composio tool router. By the end, you'll have a working Zoho inventory agent that can check current stock for a specific item, list all pending sales orders today, create a new purchase order for supplier through natural language commands. This guide will help you understand how to give your OpenAI Agents SDK agent real control over a Zoho inventory account through Composio's Zoho inventory MCP server. Before we dive in, let's take a quick look at the key ideas and tools involved.

Zoho inventory logoZoho inventory
Oauth2

Zoho Inventory is a cloud-based inventory and order management solution for businesses. It streamlines stock tracking, order fulfillment, and multi-channel inventory control.

58 Tools

Introduction

This guide walks you through connecting Zoho inventory to the OpenAI Agents SDK using the Composio tool router. By the end, you'll have a working Zoho inventory agent that can check current stock for a specific item, list all pending sales orders today, create a new purchase order for supplier through natural language commands.

This guide will help you understand how to give your OpenAI Agents SDK agent real control over a Zoho inventory account through Composio's Zoho inventory 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 Zoho inventory
  • Configure an AI agent that can use Zoho inventory as a tool
  • Run a live chat session where you can ask the agent to perform Zoho inventory 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 Zoho inventory MCP server, and what's possible with it?

The Zoho inventory 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 Inventory account. It provides structured and secure access to your inventory management system, so your agent can perform actions like tracking stock levels, managing sales and purchase orders, updating product details, and syncing inventory across sales channels on your behalf.

  • Real-time stock tracking and updates: Let your agent monitor inventory levels, adjust quantities, and receive alerts when items are running low or out of stock.
  • Order management automation: Have the agent create, update, or track sales and purchase orders, making it easy to keep tabs on every transaction.
  • Product catalog management: Direct your agent to add new products, update existing details, or manage pricing and SKU information to keep your catalog current and accurate.
  • Multi-channel inventory syncing: Enable your agent to synchronize inventory data across multiple online stores and marketplaces, ensuring consistency and reducing errors.
  • Shipment and fulfillment handling: Empower your agent to generate shipment orders, track deliveries, and manage warehouse operations for streamlined fulfillment.

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 Zoho inventory 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 Zoho inventory.
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 Zoho inventory
const session = await composio.create(userId as string, {
  toolkits: ['zoho_inventory'],
});
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 zoho_inventory.
  • The router checks the user's Zoho inventory connection and prepares the MCP endpoint.
  • The returned session.mcp.url is the MCP URL that your agent will use to access Zoho inventory.
  • This approach keeps things lightweight and lets the agent request Zoho inventory 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 Zoho inventory. Help users perform Zoho inventory 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 Zoho inventory 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 Zoho inventory 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 Zoho inventory.
  • 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 Zoho inventory 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: ['zoho_inventory'],
  });
  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 Zoho inventory. Help users perform Zoho inventory 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 Zoho inventory MCP with OpenAI Agents SDK to build a functional AI agent that can interact with Zoho inventory.

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 Zoho inventory action and event your agent gets out of the box.

Add Credit Note Comment

Tool to add a comment to a credit note in Zoho Inventory.

Add Invoice Attachment

Tool to upload an attachment to a specific invoice.

Add Invoice Comment

Tool to add a comment to a specific invoice in Zoho Inventory.

Apply Credits To Invoices

Tool to apply credits from a credit note to one or more invoices.

Bulk Delete Sales Orders

Tool to bulk delete sales orders.

Bulk Email Invoices

Sends multiple invoices by email to a contact in a single API call.

Bulk Export Invoices

Tool to bulk export invoices as a single PDF.

Bulk Print Invoices

Generate a consolidated PDF containing multiple invoices for printing or archiving.

Bulk Print Packages

Tool to bulk print package slips as a consolidated PDF.

Cancel Invoice Write Off

Tool to cancel write off for an invoice.

Create Bill

Tool to create a bill in Zoho Inventory.

Create Contact

Tool to create a new contact (customer or vendor) in Zoho Inventory.

Create Contact Person

Tool to create a contact person.

Create Credit Note

Tool to create a new credit note in Zoho Inventory.

Create Customer Payment

Tool to create a customer payment in Zoho Inventory.

Create Invoice

Tool to create a new invoice in Zoho Inventory.

Create Item

Tool to create a new item in Zoho Inventory.

Create Item Group

Tool to create an item group in Zoho Inventory.

Create Package

Tool to create a package for a sales order in Zoho Inventory.

Create Purchase Order

Tool to create a purchase order in Zoho Inventory.

Create Sales Order

Tool to create a sales order in Zoho Inventory.

Deactivate Contact

Tool to mark a contact as inactive in Zoho Inventory.

Deactivate Item

Tool to mark an item as inactive in Zoho Inventory.

Deactivate Item Group

Tool to mark an item group as inactive in Zoho Inventory.

Delete Composite Item

Permanently deletes a composite item from Zoho Inventory.

Delete Contact

Tool to delete a contact.

Delete Contact Person

Tool to delete a contact person.

Delete Invoice

Tool to delete an invoice.

Delete Invoice Attachment

Tool to delete an invoice attachment.

Delete Invoice Comment

Delete a specific comment from an invoice in Zoho Inventory.

Delete Item

Tool to delete an item.

Delete Item Group

Tool to delete an item group.

Delete Item Image

Tool to delete an image associated with an item.

Delete Package

Tool to delete a package.

Delete Sales Order

Tool to delete a sales order.

Disable Payment Reminder

Tool to disable payment reminders for an invoice.

Email Contact

Tool to email a contact in Zoho Inventory.

Email Contact Statement

Tool to email a statement of transactions to a contact.

Email Credit Note

Tool to email a credit note to customers.

Email Invoice

Tool to email a specific invoice to customers.

Enable Invoice Payment Reminder

Tool to enable payment reminders for an invoice.

Get Contact

Tool to retrieve a specific contact by ID from Zoho Inventory.

Get Contact Address

Tool to get contact address.

Get Credit Note

Tool to retrieve a credit note by ID.

Get Credit Note Email Content

Tool to get credit note email content including subject, body, recipients, and available templates.

Get Current User

Tool to get details of the currently authenticated user in Zoho Inventory.

Get Sales Order

Tool to retrieve the details of an existing sales order.

List Bills

Tool to list bills.

List Contacts

Tool to list all contacts (customers and vendors) in Zoho Inventory.

List Credit Notes

Tool to list all credit notes.

List Currencies

Tool to list all currencies configured in Zoho Inventory.

List Invoice Payments

Tool to list all payments received for a specific invoice.

List Invoices

Tool to list all invoices in Zoho Inventory.

List Item Groups

Tool to list all item groups in Zoho Inventory.

List Items

Tool to list all items in Zoho Inventory.

List Organizations

Tool to list all organizations the user has access to in Zoho Inventory.

List Purchase Orders

Tool to list purchase orders.

List Sales Orders

Tool to list sales orders.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

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

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

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