How to integrate Brex MCP with LlamaIndex

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Introduction

This guide walks you through connecting Brex to LlamaIndex using the Composio tool router. By the end, you'll have a working Brex agent that can create a new card for our intern, get the latest account statement pdf, add an expense for last week's conference through natural language commands.

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

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

Also integrate Brex with

TL;DR

Here's what you'll learn:
  • Set your OpenAI and Composio API keys
  • Install LlamaIndex and Composio packages
  • Create a Composio Tool Router session for Brex
  • Connect LlamaIndex to the Brex MCP server
  • Build a Brex-powered agent using LlamaIndex
  • Interact with Brex through natural language

What is LlamaIndex?

LlamaIndex is a data framework for building LLM applications. It provides tools for connecting LLMs to external data sources and services through agents and tools.

Key features include:

  • ReAct Agent: Reasoning and acting pattern for tool-using agents
  • MCP Tools: Native support for Model Context Protocol
  • Context Management: Maintain conversation context across interactions
  • Async Support: Built for async/await patterns

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

The Brex MCP server is an implementation of the Model Context Protocol that connects your AI agent and assistants like Claude, Cursor, etc directly to your Brex account. It provides structured and secure access to your company's financial tools, so your agent can perform actions like managing cards, tracking expenses, creating budgets, and retrieving account details on your behalf.

  • Card creation and management: Instantly issue new cards, assign them to users or vendors, and control spending limits via your agent.
  • Automated expense tracking: Let your agent create and log expenses, helping you keep company finances organized and up to date.
  • Budget and department setup: Quickly create budgets for teams or projects and set up new departments without manual effort.
  • Account and statement retrieval: Fetch detailed account information and download statements whenever you need financial insights or records.
  • User and location management: Add new users or locations to your Brex account, making it easy to scale as your business grows.

Supported Tools & Triggers

Tools
Add Webhook Group MembersAdd webhook subscription members to a webhook group.
Archive BudgetArchive a budget to mark it as inactive and prevent future expenses.
Archive Spend LimitArchive a spend limit in Brex.
Create BudgetCreate a new budget for departments or projects.
Create Spend Limit (Budget V1)Tool to create a new Spend Limit (Budget) in Brex.
Create CardCreate a new card and assign it to a user.
Create DepartmentCreate a new department.
Create Document Upload for ReferralCreate a document upload URL for a referral and return a pre-signed S3 upload URL.
Create ExpenseCreate a new expense.
Create Custom FieldCreate a new custom field in Brex.
Create Field ValuesCreate custom field values for a specific Brex field.
Create LocationCreate a new location.
Create Referral RequestTool to create a new referral to Brex for onboarding.
Create Spend LimitTool to create a spend limit in Brex.
Create Job TitleCreate a new job title.
Create UserCreate a new user in the Brex account.
Create VendorCreate a new vendor in Brex for payment operations.
Create Webhook GroupTool to create a webhook group for targeting webhook subscriptions.
Create Webhook SubscriptionRegister a new webhook subscription to receive real-time notifications for Brex events.
Delete FieldTool to delete a custom field by Brex ID.
Delete Field ValuesDelete custom field values for a specific field.
Delete VendorDelete a vendor by ID.
Get Account StatementsGet finalized statements for the primary cash account.
Get Budget DetailsGet detailed information about a specific budget.
Get Card DetailsGet detailed information about a specific card.
Get Card ExpenseTool to retrieve detailed information about a specific card expense by its ID.
Get Card NumberGet card number, CVV, and expiration date for a specific card.
Get Card TransactionsGet settled card transactions for the primary card account.
Get Company Cash AccountsRetrieve all cash (deposit) accounts for the company.
Get Company DetailsGet company information associated with the OAuth2 access token.
Get Department By IDGet detailed information about a specific department by ID.
Get ExpenseTool to get details of a specific expense by ID.
Get Field By IDTool to retrieve a custom field by its Brex ID.
Get Field Value By IDTool to retrieve a specific field value by field ID and field value ID.
Get Legal EntityTool to retrieve a legal entity by its ID from Brex.
Get Location By IDGet detailed information about a specific location by ID.
Get Referral By IDTool to retrieve a specific referral by its ID from Brex.
Get Spend Limit By IDTool to get detailed information about a specific spend limit by its ID.
Get Spend LimitsGet spend limits configuration.
Get Title by IDGet detailed information about a specific job title by ID.
Get Transaction by IDGet details of a specific transaction by ID.
Get Card TransactionsGet card transactions from the primary Brex account.
Get Transactions by Amount RangeGet card transactions filtered by amount range and date period.
Search Transactions by DescriptionSearch and filter card transactions by description text.
Get User LimitRetrieves the monthly spending limit and available balance for a specific Brex user.
Get User ProfileGet user profile information from Brex Team API.
Get Vendor By IDTool to get vendor details by ID.
Get Webhook GroupTool to retrieve details of a specific webhook group by ID.
Get Webhook SubscriptionTool to retrieve details of a specific webhook subscription by ID.
List Budget ProgramsTool to list all budget programs in the organization.
List BudgetsList all budgets and show available amounts across all cards.
List Card AccountsTool to list all card accounts for the company.
List CardsList all cards associated with the account.
List Card StatementsTool to list finalized statements for primary card accounts.
List DepartmentsList all departments in the organization.
List ExpensesTool to list expenses from the Brex platform.
List Field ValuesTool to list values under a custom field.
List Legal EntitiesTool to list all legal entities in the Brex account with pagination support.
List LocationsList all locations in the organization.
List ReferralsTool to list all referrals created in the Brex account.
List Job TitlesList all job titles in the organization.
List TransfersLists transfers for the account.
List TripsLists trips according to the filters passed in the query string.
List UsersList all users in the Brex account.
List VendorsList all vendors.
List Webhook Group MembersTool to list all members of a webhook group.
List Webhook GroupsTool to list all webhook groups.
List Webhook SecretsTool to retrieve webhook signing secrets for validating incoming webhook messages from Brex.
List Webhook SubscriptionsTool to list all registered webhook subscriptions.
Create Receipt MatchCreates a receipt match request and returns a pre-signed S3 upload URI.
Create Receipt Upload for ExpenseCreates a receipt upload request for a specific card expense and returns a pre-signed S3 upload URL.
Set User LimitSet or update the monthly spending limit for a Brex user.
Transfer CardTransfer a card to a different user.
Update BudgetUpdate an existing budget's configuration in Brex.
Update Spend Limit (V1)Tool to update a Spend Limit (budget) using the v1 API.
Update Card LimitsUpdate spending limits and controls for a Brex card.
Update Card StatusUpdate the status of a Brex card by locking, unlocking, or terminating it.
Update ExpenseTool to update an expense by its ID.
Update FieldTool to update a custom field in Brex.
Update Field ValuesTool to update custom field values in Brex for a specific field.
Update Spend LimitUpdates an existing Brex spend limit by its ID.
Update UserUpdate user details.
Update VendorTool to update vendor information in Brex.
Update Webhook SubscriptionUpdates an existing Brex webhook subscription's configuration.

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 you begin, make sure you have:
  • Python 3.8/Node 16 or higher installed
  • A Composio account with the API key
  • An OpenAI API key
  • A Brex account and project
  • Basic familiarity with async Python/Typescript

Getting API Keys for OpenAI, Composio, and Brex

OpenAI API key (OPENAI_API_KEY)
  • Go to the OpenAI dashboard
  • Create an API key if you don't have one
  • Assign it to OPENAI_API_KEY in .env
Composio API key and user ID
  • Log into the Composio dashboard
  • Copy your API key from Settings
    • Use this as COMPOSIO_API_KEY
  • Pick a stable user identifier (email or ID)
    • Use this as COMPOSIO_USER_ID

Installing dependencies

pip install composio-llamaindex llama-index llama-index-llms-openai llama-index-tools-mcp python-dotenv

Create a new Python project and install the necessary dependencies:

  • composio-llamaindex: Composio's LlamaIndex integration
  • llama-index: Core LlamaIndex framework
  • llama-index-llms-openai: OpenAI LLM integration
  • llama-index-tools-mcp: MCP client for LlamaIndex
  • python-dotenv: Environment variable management

Set environment variables

bash
OPENAI_API_KEY=your-openai-api-key
COMPOSIO_API_KEY=your-composio-api-key
COMPOSIO_USER_ID=your-user-id

Create a .env file in your project root:

These credentials will be used to:

  • Authenticate with OpenAI's GPT-5 model
  • Connect to Composio's Tool Router
  • Identify your Composio user session for Brex access

Import modules

import asyncio
import os
import dotenv

from composio import Composio
from composio_llamaindex import LlamaIndexProvider
from llama_index.core.agent.workflow import ReActAgent
from llama_index.core.workflow import Context
from llama_index.llms.openai import OpenAI
from llama_index.tools.mcp import BasicMCPClient, McpToolSpec

dotenv.load_dotenv()

Create a new file called brex_llamaindex_agent.py and import the required modules:

Key imports:

  • asyncio: For async/await support
  • Composio: Main client for Composio services
  • LlamaIndexProvider: Adapts Composio tools for LlamaIndex
  • ReActAgent: LlamaIndex's reasoning and action agent
  • BasicMCPClient: Connects to MCP endpoints
  • McpToolSpec: Converts MCP tools to LlamaIndex format

Load environment variables and initialize Composio

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

if not OPENAI_API_KEY:
    raise ValueError("OPENAI_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")

What's happening:

This ensures missing credentials cause early, clear errors before the agent attempts to initialise.

Create a Tool Router session and build the agent function

async def build_agent() -> ReActAgent:
    composio_client = Composio(
        api_key=COMPOSIO_API_KEY,
        provider=LlamaIndexProvider(),
    )

    session = composio_client.create(
        user_id=COMPOSIO_USER_ID,
        toolkits=["brex"],
    )

    mcp_url = session.mcp.url
    print(f"Composio MCP URL: {mcp_url}")

    mcp_client = BasicMCPClient(mcp_url, headers={"x-api-key": COMPOSIO_API_KEY})
    mcp_tool_spec = McpToolSpec(client=mcp_client)
    tools = await mcp_tool_spec.to_tool_list_async()

    llm = OpenAI(model="gpt-5")

    description = "An agent that uses Composio Tool Router MCP tools to perform Brex actions."
    system_prompt = """
    You are a helpful assistant connected to Composio Tool Router.
    Use the available tools to answer user queries and perform Brex actions.
    """
    return ReActAgent(tools=tools, llm=llm, description=description, system_prompt=system_prompt, verbose=True)

What's happening here:

  • We create a Composio client using your API key and configure it with the LlamaIndex provider
  • We then create a tool router MCP session for your user, specifying the toolkits we want to use (in this case, brex)
  • The session returns an MCP HTTP endpoint URL that acts as a gateway to all your configured tools
  • LlamaIndex will connect to this endpoint to dynamically discover and use the available Brex tools.
  • The MCP tools are mapped to LlamaIndex-compatible tools and plug them into the Agent.

Create an interactive chat loop

async def chat_loop(agent: ReActAgent) -> None:
    ctx = Context(agent)
    print("Type 'quit', 'exit', or Ctrl+C to stop.")

    while True:
        try:
            user_input = input("\nYou: ").strip()
        except (KeyboardInterrupt, EOFError):
            print("\nBye!")
            break

        if not user_input or user_input.lower() in {"quit", "exit"}:
            print("Bye!")
            break

        try:
            print("Agent: ", end="", flush=True)
            handler = agent.run(user_input, ctx=ctx)

            async for event in handler.stream_events():
                # Stream token-by-token from LLM responses
                if hasattr(event, "delta") and event.delta:
                    print(event.delta, end="", flush=True)
                # Show tool calls as they happen
                elif hasattr(event, "tool_name"):
                    print(f"\n[Using tool: {event.tool_name}]", flush=True)

            # Get final response
            response = await handler
            print()  # Newline after streaming
        except KeyboardInterrupt:
            print("\n[Interrupted]")
            continue
        except Exception as e:
            print(f"\nError: {e}")

What's happening here:

  • We're creating a direct terminal interface to chat with your Brex database
  • The LLM's responses are streamed to the CLI for faster interaction.
  • The agent uses context to maintain conversation history
  • You can type 'quit' or 'exit' to stop the chat loop gracefully
  • Agent responses and any errors are displayed in a clear, readable format

Define the main entry point

async def main() -> None:
    agent = await build_agent()
    await chat_loop(agent)

if __name__ == "__main__":
    # Handle Ctrl+C gracefully
    signal.signal(signal.SIGINT, lambda s, f: (print("\nBye!"), exit(0)))
    try:
        asyncio.run(main())
    except KeyboardInterrupt:
        print("\nBye!")

What's happening here:

  • We're orchestrating the entire application flow
  • The agent gets built with proper error handling
  • Then we kick off the interactive chat loop so you can start talking to Brex

Run the agent

npx ts-node llamaindex-agent.ts

When prompted, authenticate and authorise your agent with Brex, then start asking questions.

Complete Code

Here's the complete code to get you started with Brex and LlamaIndex:

import asyncio
import os
import signal
import dotenv

from composio import Composio
from composio_llamaindex import LlamaIndexProvider
from llama_index.core.agent.workflow import ReActAgent
from llama_index.core.workflow import Context
from llama_index.llms.openai import OpenAI
from llama_index.tools.mcp import BasicMCPClient, McpToolSpec

dotenv.load_dotenv()

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

if not OPENAI_API_KEY:
    raise ValueError("OPENAI_API_KEY is not set")
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")

async def build_agent() -> ReActAgent:
    composio_client = Composio(
        api_key=COMPOSIO_API_KEY,
        provider=LlamaIndexProvider(),
    )

    session = composio_client.create(
        user_id=COMPOSIO_USER_ID,
        toolkits=["brex"],
    )

    mcp_url = session.mcp.url
    print(f"Composio MCP URL: {mcp_url}")

    mcp_client = BasicMCPClient(mcp_url, headers={"x-api-key": COMPOSIO_API_KEY})
    mcp_tool_spec = McpToolSpec(client=mcp_client)
    tools = await mcp_tool_spec.to_tool_list_async()

    llm = OpenAI(model="gpt-5")
    description = "An agent that uses Composio Tool Router MCP tools to perform Brex actions."
    system_prompt = """
    You are a helpful assistant connected to Composio Tool Router.
    Use the available tools to answer user queries and perform Brex actions.
    """
    return ReActAgent(
        tools=tools,
        llm=llm,
        description=description,
        system_prompt=system_prompt,
        verbose=True,
    );

async def chat_loop(agent: ReActAgent) -> None:
    ctx = Context(agent)
    print("Type 'quit', 'exit', or Ctrl+C to stop.")

    while True:
        try:
            user_input = input("\nYou: ").strip()
        except (KeyboardInterrupt, EOFError):
            print("\nBye!")
            break

        if not user_input or user_input.lower() in {"quit", "exit"}:
            print("Bye!")
            break

        try:
            print("Agent: ", end="", flush=True)
            handler = agent.run(user_input, ctx=ctx)

            async for event in handler.stream_events():
                # Stream token-by-token from LLM responses
                if hasattr(event, "delta") and event.delta:
                    print(event.delta, end="", flush=True)
                # Show tool calls as they happen
                elif hasattr(event, "tool_name"):
                    print(f"\n[Using tool: {event.tool_name}]", flush=True)

            # Get final response
            response = await handler
            print()  # Newline after streaming
        except KeyboardInterrupt:
            print("\n[Interrupted]")
            continue
        except Exception as e:
            print(f"\nError: {e}")

async def main() -> None:
    agent = await build_agent()
    await chat_loop(agent)

if __name__ == "__main__":
    # Handle Ctrl+C gracefully
    signal.signal(signal.SIGINT, lambda s, f: (print("\nBye!"), exit(0)))
    try:
        asyncio.run(main())
    except KeyboardInterrupt:
        print("\nBye!")

Conclusion

You've successfully connected Brex to LlamaIndex through Composio's Tool Router MCP layer. Key takeaways:
  • Tool Router dynamically exposes Brex tools through an MCP endpoint
  • LlamaIndex's ReActAgent handles reasoning and orchestration; Composio handles integrations
  • The agent becomes more capable without increasing prompt size
  • Async Python provides clean, efficient execution of agent workflows
You can easily extend this to other toolkits like Gmail, Notion, Stripe, GitHub, and more by adding them to the toolkits parameter.

How to build Brex MCP Agent with another framework

FAQ

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

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

Can I use Tool Router MCP with LlamaIndex?

Yes, you can. LlamaIndex 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 Brex tools.

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

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

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