How to integrate Ashby MCP with CrewAI

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Introduction

This guide walks you through connecting Ashby to CrewAI using the Composio tool router. By the end, you'll have a working Ashby agent that can list all candidates for open roles, post a new job opening for engineering, summarize candidates in interview stage through natural language commands.

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

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

Also integrate Ashby with

TL;DR

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

The Ashby MCP server is an implementation of the Model Context Protocol that connects your AI agent and assistants like Claude, Cursor, etc directly to your Ashby account. It provides structured and secure access to your recruiting data, so your agent can perform actions like managing job postings, tracking candidate progress, scheduling interviews, and generating hiring reports on your behalf.

  • Automated job posting management: Easily create, update, or close job listings across your organization with direct agent assistance.
  • Candidate pipeline tracking: Have your agent fetch, organize, and update candidate progress through every stage of the hiring process.
  • Interview scheduling and coordination: Let your agent schedule interviews, send calendar invites, and manage interviewer assignments to streamline the process.
  • Data-driven hiring analytics: Generate reports and insights about your hiring funnel, candidate sources, and time-to-hire with a simple agent request.
  • Centralized communication with applicants: Enable your agent to send status updates, feedback, or reminders to candidates, keeping everyone in the loop automatically.

Supported Tools & Triggers

Tools
Add Candidate to ProjectAdd a candidate to a project in Ashby.
Add Candidate TagAdd a tag to a candidate in Ashby.
Add Hiring Team MemberAdd an Ashby user to a hiring team at the application, job, or opening level.
Add User to Interviewer PoolAdd a user to an interviewer pool.
Add Opening JobAdds a job to an opening (job requisition) in Ashby ATS.
Add Opening LocationTool to add a location to an opening (job requisition).
Anonymize CandidateAnonymize a candidate by removing personally identifiable information.
Approve OfferApprove an offer or a specific approval step within an offer's approval process.
Archive DepartmentArchive a department by its unique identifier.
Archive Interviewer PoolArchive an interviewer pool in Ashby.
Archive LocationArchives a location or location hierarchy in Ashby.
Change Application SourceChange the source attribution of an application.
Change Application StageMove an application to a different interview stage in the hiring pipeline.
Create ApplicationCreate a new job application by associating a candidate with a job opening in Ashby ATS.
Create CandidateCreate a new candidate in the system.
Create Candidate NoteCreate a note on a candidate profile.
Create Candidate TagCreate a new candidate tag in Ashby for categorizing and organizing candidates.
Create Custom FieldCreate a new custom field in Ashby.
Create DepartmentCreate a new department.
Create Interviewer PoolCreate a new interviewer pool.
Create JobCreate a new job opening in Ashby ATS.
Create LocationCreate a new location or location hierarchy.
Create OfferCreate a new offer for a candidate in Ashby ATS.
Create OpeningCreate a new opening (job requisition) in Ashby ATS.
Create ReferralCreate a referral in Ashby ATS by submitting a referral form with candidate information.
Create Survey RequestGenerate a survey request and receive a survey URL to send to a candidate.
Create Survey SubmissionCreate a new survey submission for a candidate's application.
Get API Key InfoRetrieve information about the current API key, including associated organization, user details, and permissions.
Get Application InfoRetrieve detailed information about a specific application by its ID.
Get Candidate InfoRetrieve detailed information about a specific candidate by their ID.
Get Custom Field InfoRetrieve detailed information about a specific custom field by its ID.
Get Department InfoRetrieve detailed information about a specific department by its ID.
Get Feedback Form DefinitionRetrieve detailed information about a specific feedback form definition by its ID.
Get File InfoRetrieve the URL of a file associated with a candidate.
Get Interviewer Pool InfoRetrieve detailed information about a specific interviewer pool by its ID.
Get Interviewer User SettingsGet interviewer settings for a specific user by their ID.
Get Interview InfoRetrieve detailed information about a specific interview type by its ID.
Get Interview Stage InfoTool to fetch interview stage details by ID.
Get Job InfoRetrieve detailed information about a specific job by its ID.
Get Job Interview Plan InfoRetrieve the interview plan information for a specific job.
Get Job Posting InfoRetrieve detailed information about a specific job posting by its ID.
Get Location InfoRetrieve detailed information about a specific location by its ID.
Get Offer InfoRetrieve detailed information about a specific offer by its ID.
Get Opening InfoRetrieve detailed information about a specific opening (job requisition) by its ID.
Get Referral FormFetches the default referral form or creates a default referral form if none exists.
Get Survey Form DefinitionRetrieve detailed information about a specific survey form definition by its ID.
Get User InfoRetrieve detailed information about a specific user by their ID.
List Application Criteria EvaluationsRetrieve AI-generated criteria evaluations for an application.
List Application FeedbackRetrieve all feedback submissions for an application.
List Application Hiring Team RolesRetrieve all available hiring team roles for applications in the organization.
List Application HistoryRetrieve the complete history of stage transitions for an application.
List ApplicationsRetrieve a list of applications with optional pagination and sync-token filtering for incremental updates.
List ApprovalsRetrieve a list of approvals (offer approvals, job approvals, etc.
List Archive ReasonsRetrieve a list of all archive reasons.
List BrandsRetrieve a list of all brands for the organization.
List Candidate Client InfoRetrieve all client info records for a specific candidate with pagination support.
List Candidate NotesRetrieve all notes for a specific candidate in Ashby.
List Candidate ProjectsRetrieve all projects associated with a candidate.
List CandidatesRetrieve a list of candidates.
List Candidate TagsRetrieve a list of all candidate tags in your Ashby account.
List Close ReasonsLists all close reasons for jobs or openings.
List Communication TemplatesRetrieve a list of all communication templates.
List Custom FieldsRetrieve a list of all custom field definitions configured in Ashby.
List DepartmentsRetrieve a list of all departments in the organization.
List Feedback Form DefinitionsRetrieve all feedback form definitions from your Ashby organization.
List Hiring Team RolesRetrieve a list of possible hiring team roles in the organization.
List Interviewer PoolsRetrieve a list of all interviewer pools.
List Interview EventsRetrieves all interview events for a specific interview schedule.
List Interview PlansRetrieve a list of interview plans.
List Interview TypesList all interview types defined in Ashby.
List Interview SchedulesRetrieve a list of interview schedules.
List Interview Stage GroupsRetrieve a list of interview stage groups.
List Interview StagesRetrieve all interview stages for an interview plan in order.
List Job BoardsRetrieve a list of job boards.
List Job PostingsRetrieve a list of job postings.
List JobsRetrieve a list of all jobs from Ashby ATS (Applicant Tracking System).
List Job TemplatesRetrieve a list of all job templates from Ashby ATS.
List LocationsRetrieve a list of all locations.
List OffersRetrieve a list of job offers with their latest versions.
List OpeningsRetrieve a list of openings (job requisitions).
List ProjectsRetrieve a list of all projects.
List SourcesRetrieve a list of all candidate sources.
List Source Tracking LinksRetrieve all source tracking links configured in Ashby.
List Survey Form DefinitionsRetrieve a list of all survey form definitions from Ashby.
List Survey SubmissionsLists all survey submissions of a given survey type from Ashby.
List UsersRetrieve a list of all users in the organization.
Move DepartmentTool to move a department to another parent in the organizational hierarchy.
Move LocationTool to move a location to a different parent in the location hierarchy.
Remove Hiring Team MemberRemove an Ashby user from a hiring team at the application, job, or opening level.
Remove User from Interviewer PoolRemove a user from an interviewer pool.
Remove Opening JobRemove a job from an opening (job requisition) in Ashby ATS.
Remove Opening LocationTool to remove a location from an opening (job requisition).
Restore DepartmentRestore an archived department by its unique identifier.
Restore Interviewer PoolRestore an archived interviewer pool in Ashby.
Restore LocationRestores an archived location or location hierarchy in Ashby.
Search CandidatesSearch for candidates by email or name.
Search JobsSearch for jobs by title in Ashby ATS (Applicant Tracking System).
Search OpeningSearch for openings by identifier.
Search ProjectsSearch for projects by title in Ashby.
Search UsersSearch for an Ashby user by email address.
Set Custom Field ValueSet the value of a custom field for a given object (candidate, application, job, etc.
Set Custom Field ValuesSet the values of multiple custom fields for a given object in a single call.
Set Job StatusSet the status of a job in Ashby ATS (Applicant Tracking System).
Set Opening ArchivedSets the archived state of an opening.
Set Opening StateSet the workflow state of an opening (job requisition).
Start OfferCreate a new offer version instance for an in-progress offer process.
Start Offer ProcessStart an offer process for a candidate's application in Ashby ATS.
Submit Application FeedbackSubmit structured feedback for an application using a feedback form.
Transfer ApplicationTransfer an application to a different job position in Ashby ATS.
Update ApplicationUpdate an application's properties in Ashby.
Update Application HistoryUpdate the complete history of an application's stage transitions.
Update CandidateUpdate an existing candidate's profile information in Ashby ATS.
Update Job CompensationUpdate a job's compensation tiers in Ashby ATS.
Update DepartmentUpdate an existing department's information such as its name.
Update Interviewer PoolUpdate an existing interviewer pool's title or training requirements.
Update JobUpdate an existing job's properties in Ashby ATS.
Update Job PostingUpdate an existing job posting's details including title, description, and visibility status.
Update Location AddressUpdate the address of a location or location hierarchy.
Update Location External NameUpdate a location's external (candidate-facing) name.
Update Location NameUpdate a location's name.
Update Location Remote StatusTool to update a location's remote status.
Update Location Workplace TypeTool to update a location's workplace type (OnSite, Remote, or Hybrid).
Update OpeningUpdate properties of an existing opening (job requisition).
Update Selectable Values Custom FieldUpdate the selectable values for a ValueSelect or MultiValueSelect custom field.
Update User Interviewer SettingsUpdate interviewer settings for a user, including daily and weekly interview limits.

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

Prerequisites

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

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.

Install dependencies

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

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

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 Ashby MCP URL

Create a Composio Tool Router session for Ashby

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

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

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.

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 Ashby 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=["ashby"],
)
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 Ashby through Composio's Tool Router. The agent can perform Ashby 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

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FAQ

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

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

Can I use Tool Router MCP with CrewAI?

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 Ashby tools.

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

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

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