How to integrate Google Sheets MCP with OpenAI Agents SDK

Framework Integration Gradient
Google Sheets Logo
open-ai-agents-sdk Logo
divider

Introduction

This guide walks you through connecting Google Sheets to the OpenAI Agents SDK using the Composio tool router. By the end, you'll have a working Google Sheets agent that can add a new sheet named 'q3 sales', update all rows where status is 'pending', create a pie chart of expenses by category, clear values in the 'drafts' worksheet through natural language commands.

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

The Google Sheets MCP server is an implementation of the Model Context Protocol that connects your AI agent and assistants like Claude, Cursor, etc directly to your Google Sheets account. It provides structured and secure access to your spreadsheets, so your agent can perform actions like creating new sheets, updating data, generating charts, and automating spreadsheet workflows on your behalf.

  • Spreadsheet creation and management: Instantly create new Google Sheets and add new worksheets (tabs) to existing spreadsheets whenever you need extra space or organization.
  • Bulk data reading and updating: Retrieve specific data ranges, aggregate column data, or update multiple rows and cells at once—perfect for reporting or syncing external data.
  • Automated chart generation: Direct your agent to build charts from selected data, making visualization and analysis faster and easier right inside your sheets.
  • Smart filtering and data cleanup: Have the agent clear filters, remove cell contents, or append rows and columns to keep your sheets tidy and up to date.
  • Dynamic data manipulation: Use advanced features like batch updates with data filters and aggregate operations to transform, filter, or summarize spreadsheet data efficiently.

Supported Tools & Triggers

Tools
Triggers
Add Sheet to SpreadsheetAdds a new sheet (worksheet) to a spreadsheet.
Aggregate Column DataSearches for rows where a specific column matches a value and performs mathematical operations on data from another column.
Append DimensionTool to append new rows or columns to a sheet, increasing its size.
Batch get spreadsheetRetrieves data from specified cell ranges in a google spreadsheet; ensure the spreadsheet has at least one worksheet and any explicitly referenced sheet names in ranges exist.
Batch update spreadsheetUpdates a specified range in a google sheet with given values, or appends them as new rows if `first cell location` is omitted; ensure the target sheet exists and the spreadsheet contains at least one worksheet.
Batch Update Values by Data FilterTool to update values in ranges matching data filters.
Clear Basic FilterTool to clear the basic filter from a sheet.
Clear spreadsheet valuesClears cell content (preserving formatting and notes) from a specified a1 notation range in a google spreadsheet; the range must correspond to an existing sheet and cells.
Create Chart in Google SheetsCreate a chart in a google sheets spreadsheet using the specified data range and chart type.
Create a Google SheetCreates a new google spreadsheet in google drive using the provided title.
Create spreadsheet columnCreates a new column in a google spreadsheet, requiring a valid `spreadsheet id` and an existing `sheet id`; an out-of-bounds `insert index` may append/prepend the column.
Create spreadsheet rowInserts a new, empty row into a specified sheet of a google spreadsheet at a given index, optionally inheriting formatting from the row above.
Delete Dimension (Rows/Columns)Tool to delete specified rows or columns from a sheet in a google spreadsheet.
Delete SheetTool to delete a sheet (worksheet) from a spreadsheet.
Execute SQL on SpreadsheetExecute sql queries against google sheets tables.
Find worksheet by titleFinds a worksheet by its exact, case-sensitive title within a google spreadsheet; returns a boolean indicating if found and the complete metadata of the entire spreadsheet, regardless of whether the target worksheet is found.
Format cellApplies text and background cell formatting to a specified range in a google sheets worksheet.
Get sheet namesLists all worksheet names from a specified google spreadsheet (which must exist), useful for discovering sheets before further operations.
Get Spreadsheet by Data FilterReturns the spreadsheet at the given id, filtered by the specified data filters.
Get spreadsheet infoRetrieves comprehensive metadata for a google spreadsheet using its id, excluding cell data.
Get Table SchemaThis action is used to get the schema of a table in a google spreadsheet, call this action to get the schema of a table in a spreadsheet before you query the table.
Insert Dimension in Google SheetTool to insert new rows or columns into a sheet at a specified location.
List Tables in SpreadsheetThis action is used to list all tables in a google spreadsheet, call this action to get the list of tables in a spreadsheet.
Look up spreadsheet rowFinds the first row in a google spreadsheet where a cell's entire content exactly matches the query string, searching within a specified a1 notation range or the first sheet by default.
Query Spreadsheet TableThis action is used to query a table in a google spreadsheet, call this action to query a table in a spreadsheet.
Search Developer MetadataTool to search for developer metadata in a spreadsheet.
Search SpreadsheetsSearch for google spreadsheets using various filters including name, content, date ranges, and more.
Set Basic FilterTool to set a basic filter on a sheet in a google spreadsheet.
Create sheet from JSONCreates a new google spreadsheet and populates its first worksheet from `sheet json`, which must be non-empty as its first item's keys establish the headers.
Copy Sheet to Another SpreadsheetTool to copy a single sheet from a spreadsheet to another spreadsheet.
Append Values to SpreadsheetTool to append values to a spreadsheet.
Batch Clear Spreadsheet ValuesTool to clear one or more ranges of values from a spreadsheet.
Batch Clear Values By Data FilterClears one or more ranges of values from a spreadsheet using data filters.
Batch Get Spreadsheet Values by Data FilterTool to return one or more ranges of values from a spreadsheet that match the specified data filters.
Update Sheet PropertiesTool to update properties of a sheet (worksheet) within a google spreadsheet, such as its title, index, visibility, tab color, or grid properties.
Update Spreadsheet PropertiesTool to update properties of a spreadsheet, such as its title, locale, or auto-recalculation 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 Google Sheets 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 Google Sheets.

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 Google Sheets Tool Router session
session = composio.create(
    user_id=user_id,
    toolkits=["googlesheets"]
)

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 googlesheets.
  • The router checks the user's Google Sheets connection and prepares the MCP endpoint.
  • The returned session.mcp.url is the MCP URL that your agent will use to access Google Sheets.
  • This approach keeps things lightweight and lets the agent request Google Sheets 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 Google Sheets. "
        "Help users perform Google Sheets 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 Google Sheets 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 Google Sheets 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 Google Sheets.
  • 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 Google Sheets 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=["googlesheets"]
)
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 Google Sheets. "
        "Help users perform Google Sheets 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 Google Sheets MCP with OpenAI Agents SDK to build a functional AI agent that can interact with Google Sheets.

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 Google Sheets MCP Agent with another framework

FAQ

What are the differences in Tool Router MCP and Google Sheets MCP?

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

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

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

Used by agents from

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