How to integrate Algolia MCP with OpenAI Agents SDK

BOOK A CALLGET STARTED FOR FREE
Framework Integration Gradient
Algolia Logo
open-ai-agents-sdk Logo
divider

Introduction

This guide walks you through connecting Algolia to the OpenAI Agents SDK using the Composio tool router. By the end, you'll have a working Algolia agent that can export all records from products index, clear all objects from blog_posts index, copy index settings from staging to production, create an ab test comparing two search configs through natural language commands.

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

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

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 Algolia
  • Configure an AI agent that can use Algolia as a tool
  • Run a live chat session where you can ask the agent to perform Algolia operations

What is open-ai-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 Algolia MCP server, and what's possible with it?

The Algolia MCP server is an implementation of the Model Context Protocol that connects your AI agent and assistants like Claude, Cursor, etc directly to your Algolia account. It provides structured and secure access to your search indices, so your agent can perform actions like browsing records, managing index settings, running A/B tests, copying configurations, and tracking search events on your behalf.

  • Comprehensive index browsing and export: Easily direct your agent to retrieve and iterate through all records in any Algolia index for analysis, backup, or migration tasks.
  • Automated A/B test management: Set up, launch, and monitor A/B tests to compare search performance between different index variants or configurations—all without manual coding.
  • Index and rule duplication: Quickly copy entire indices, settings, or query rules from one index to another, streamlining your search deployment and versioning workflows.
  • Bulk index cleanup and resets: Instruct your agent to clear all objects or rules in an index while keeping configurations intact, letting you efficiently manage large data updates or reindexing processes.
  • Real-time event tracking: Capture user interactions like clicks and conversions, enabling your agent to report search analytics and optimize relevance based on actual user behavior.

Supported Tools & Triggers

Tools
Add AB TestTool to create an ab test comparing search performance between two variants.
Browse Algolia IndexTool to retrieve all records from an index.
Clear ObjectsTool to clear records of an index without affecting settings.
Clear RulesTool to delete all rules in an index.
Clicked Object IDsTool to send a click event to algolia to capture clicked items.
Clicked Object IDs After SearchTool to send a click event after a search response.
Converted Object IDsTool to send a conversion event for items outside of search context.
Copy IndexTool to copy the specified index to a new index.
Copy RulesTool to copy rules from one index to another.
Copy Index SettingsTool to copy the settings from one index to another.
Delete IndexTool to delete the specified index and all its records.
Delete Multiple RecordsTool to delete multiple records from an algolia index.
Delete RuleTool to delete the specified rule from an index.
Delete SynonymTool to delete a synonym from a specified index.
Export RulesTool to export all rules defined on an index.
Find ObjectTool to find the first object matching a query or filter in an index.
Get Object PositionTool to retrieve an object’s position in a result set.
Get multiple objectsTool to retrieve multiple records from an index.
Get Index SettingsTool to retrieve the settings of a specified index.
Index ExistsTool to check if an algolia index exists.
Init Insights API ClientTool to initialize the algolia insights api client.
List IndicesTool to list all indices and their metadata.
Partial Update ObjectsTool to partially update multiple records in the specified index.
Replace All RulesTool to push a new set of rules, erasing previous ones.
Save SynonymTool to add or update a synonym in the specified index.
Search Algolia IndexTool to perform a search on a specified algolia index.
Search Multiple IndicesTool to perform searches across multiple indices in a single call.
Search RulesTool to search for rules in the specified index.
Search SynonymsTool to search for synonyms in the specified index.
Set Index SettingsTool to update an algolia index's settings.

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

What is Tool Router?

Composio's Tool Router 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 Tool Router

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

How the Tool Router works

The Tool Router 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

Prerequisites

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

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

Install dependencies

pip install composio_openai_agents openai-agents python-dotenv

Install the Composio SDK and the OpenAI Agents SDK.

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.

Import dependencies

import asyncio
import os
from dotenv import load_dotenv

from composio import Composio
from composio_openai_agents import OpenAIAgentsProvider
from agents import Agent, Runner, HostedMCPTool, SQLiteSession
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 Algolia.

Set up the Composio instance

load_dotenv()

api_key = os.getenv("COMPOSIO_API_KEY")
user_id = os.getenv("USER_ID")

if not api_key:
    raise RuntimeError("COMPOSIO_API_KEY is not set. Create a .env file with COMPOSIO_API_KEY=your_key")

# Initialize Composio
composio = Composio(api_key=api_key, provider=OpenAIAgentsProvider())
What's happening:
  • load_dotenv() loads your .env file so OPENAI_API_KEY and COMPOSIO_API_KEY are available as environment variables.
  • Creating a Composio instance using the API Key and OpenAIAgentsProvider class.

Create a Tool Router session

# Create a Algolia Tool Router session
session = composio.create(
    user_id=user_id,
    toolkits=["algolia"]
)

mcp_url = session.mcp.url

What is happening:

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

Configure the agent

# Configure agent with MCP tool
agent = Agent(
    name="Assistant",
    model="gpt-5",
    instructions=(
        "You are a helpful assistant that can access Algolia. "
        "Help users perform Algolia operations through natural language."
    ),
    tools=[
        HostedMCPTool(
            tool_config={
                "type": "mcp",
                "server_label": "tool_router",
                "server_url": mcp_url,
                "headers": {"x-api-key": api_key},
                "require_approval": "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 Algolia 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 dict includes the Composio API key for secure authentication with the MCP server.
  • require_approval: 'never' means the agent can execute Algolia operations without asking for permission each time, making interactions smoother.

Start chat loop and handle conversation

print("\nComposio Tool Router session created.")

chat_session = SQLiteSession("conversation_openai_toolrouter")

print("\nChat started. Type your requests below.")
print("Commands: 'exit', 'quit', or 'q' to end\n")

async def main():
    try:
        result = await Runner.run(
            agent,
            "What can you help me with?",
            session=chat_session
        )
        print(f"Assistant: {result.final_output}\n")
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"Error: {e}\n")

    while True:
        user_input = input("You: ").strip()
        if user_input.lower() in {"exit", "quit", "q"}:
            print("Goodbye!")
            break

        result = await Runner.run(
            agent,
            user_input,
            session=chat_session
        )
        print(f"Assistant: {result.final_output}\n")

asyncio.run(main())
What's happening:
  • The program prints a session URL that you visit to authorize Algolia.
  • After authorization, the chat begins.
  • Each message you type is processed by the agent using Runner.run().
  • The responses are printed to the console, and conversations are saved locally using SQLite.
  • Typing exit, quit, or q cleanly ends the chat.

Complete Code

Here's the complete code to get you started with Algolia and open-ai-agents-sdk:

import asyncio
import os
from dotenv import load_dotenv

from composio import Composio
from composio_openai_agents import OpenAIAgentsProvider
from agents import Agent, Runner, HostedMCPTool, SQLiteSession

load_dotenv()

api_key = os.getenv("COMPOSIO_API_KEY")
user_id = os.getenv("USER_ID")

if not api_key:
    raise RuntimeError("COMPOSIO_API_KEY is not set. Create a .env file with COMPOSIO_API_KEY=your_key")

# Initialize Composio
composio = Composio(api_key=api_key, provider=OpenAIAgentsProvider())

# Create Tool Router session
session = composio.create(
    user_id=user_id,
    toolkits=["algolia"]
)
mcp_url = session.mcp.url

# Configure agent with MCP tool
agent = Agent(
    name="Assistant",
    model="gpt-5",
    instructions=(
        "You are a helpful assistant that can access Algolia. "
        "Help users perform Algolia operations through natural language."
    ),
    tools=[
        HostedMCPTool(
            tool_config={
                "type": "mcp",
                "server_label": "tool_router",
                "server_url": mcp_url,
                "headers": {"x-api-key": api_key},
                "require_approval": "never",
            }
        )
    ],
)

print("\nComposio Tool Router session created.")

chat_session = SQLiteSession("conversation_openai_toolrouter")

print("\nChat started. Type your requests below.")
print("Commands: 'exit', 'quit', or 'q' to end\n")

async def main():
    try:
        result = await Runner.run(
            agent,
            "What can you help me with?",
            session=chat_session
        )
        print(f"Assistant: {result.final_output}\n")
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"Error: {e}\n")

    while True:
        user_input = input("You: ").strip()
        if user_input.lower() in {"exit", "quit", "q"}:
            print("Goodbye!")
            break

        result = await Runner.run(
            agent,
            user_input,
            session=chat_session
        )
        print(f"Assistant: {result.final_output}\n")

asyncio.run(main())

Conclusion

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

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.

How to build Algolia MCP Agent with another framework

Claude Agent SDK

Claude Agent SDK

Use Algolia MCP with Claude Agent SDK

Google ADK

Google ADK

Use Algolia MCP with Google ADK

LangChain

LangChain

Use Algolia MCP with LangChain

Vercel AI SDK

Vercel AI SDK

Use Algolia MCP with Vercel AI SDK

Mastra AI

Mastra AI

Use Algolia MCP with Mastra AI

LlamaIndex

LlamaIndex

Use Algolia MCP with LlamaIndex

CrewAI

CrewAI

Use Algolia MCP with CrewAI

FAQ

What are the differences in Tool Router MCP and Algolia MCP?

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

Can I use Tool Router MCP with OpenAI Agents SDK?

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 Algolia tools.

Can I manage the permissions and scopes for Algolia while using Tool Router?

Yes, absolutely. You can configure which Algolia 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.

How safe is my data with Composio Tool Router?

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 Algolia data and credentials are handled as safely as possible.

Used by agents from

Context
Letta
glean
HubSpot
Agent.ai
Altera
DataStax
Entelligence
Rolai
Context
Letta
glean
HubSpot
Agent.ai
Altera
DataStax
Entelligence
Rolai
Context
Letta
glean
HubSpot
Agent.ai
Altera
DataStax
Entelligence
Rolai

Never worry about agent reliability

We handle tool reliability, observability, and security so you never have to second-guess an agent action.

Book a call↗Get started for free