How to integrate Helpwise MCP with CrewAI

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Introduction

This guide walks you through connecting Helpwise to CrewAI using the Composio tool router. By the end, you'll have a working Helpwise agent that can add note to open conversation with client, delete outdated contact from contact list, create new team for support agents through natural language commands.

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

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

Also integrate Helpwise with

TL;DR

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

The Helpwise MCP server is an implementation of the Model Context Protocol that connects your AI agent and assistants like Claude, Cursor, etc directly to your Helpwise account. It provides structured and secure access to your customer communication tools, so your agent can create conversations, manage notes, upload attachments, delete messages, and organize your Helpwise workspace on your behalf.

  • Attachment management and uploads: Easily upload files as attachments to conversations and retrieve attachment metadata for streamlined file sharing.
  • Conversation note automation: Let your agent add or remove notes to specific conversations, making it easy to document context or follow up actions.
  • Mailbox and conversation cleanup: Direct your agent to delete entire conversations, mailboxes, or individual messages for efficient workspace management.
  • Contact and signature management: Seamlessly delete contacts and email signatures, keeping your Helpwise account up to date and clutter-free.
  • Webhook and team setup: Have your agent create new webhooks for event notifications or set up Helpwise teams to organize your users for better collaboration.

Supported Tools & Triggers

Tools
Create attachmentTool to upload a new attachment.
Add note to conversationTool to add a note to a conversation.
Create Helpwise TeamCreates a new team in Helpwise to group users for collaboration and assignment purposes.
Create Helpwise WebhookCreates a new webhook subscription in Helpwise to receive real-time event notifications.
Delete ContactDeletes a contact from Helpwise by its unique identifier (ID).
Delete Helpwise ConversationAttempts to delete a conversation by ID from Helpwise.
Delete MailboxTool to delete a mailbox by its unique identifier.
Delete Helpwise MessageAttempts to delete a message from Helpwise.
Delete Helpwise NoteTool to delete a note from a conversation.
Delete Email SignatureDeletes an email signature from Helpwise.
Delete TagPermanently deletes a tag from Helpwise.
Delete TeamTool to delete a team.
Delete TemplateDeletes a Helpwise email template (saved reply) by its ID.
Delete Helpwise WebhookDelete a Helpwise webhook by its ID.
Get AttachmentRetrieves a specific attachment by its unique identifier.
Get Conversation AttachmentsRetrieves attachments from messages in a specific conversation.
Get Helpwise ContactRetrieves detailed information for a specific contact by ID.
Get ConversationRetrieves complete details of a specific conversation by ID from Helpwise.
Get ConversationsTool to retrieve a list of conversations.
Get Helpwise Custom FieldRetrieves details of a specific custom field by its ID.
Get Helpwise MailboxTool to retrieve details of a specific mailbox by its ID.
Get Helpwise MailboxesTool to retrieve mailboxes.
Get Conversation NoteTool to retrieve details of a specific note.
Get Conversation NotesRetrieves all notes associated with a specific conversation.
Get Helpwise TagRetrieves detailed information about a specific tag in Helpwise.
Get Helpwise TeamRetrieves details of a specific Helpwise team by its ID.
Get Helpwise TeamsTool to retrieve Helpwise teams.
Get Helpwise WhatsApp TemplatesTool to retrieve Helpwise WhatsApp message templates.
Get Helpwise UsersTool to retrieve Helpwise users list.
Get Helpwise WebhookRetrieve detailed configuration for a specific Helpwise webhook by its ID.
Get Helpwise WebhooksTool to retrieve Helpwise webhooks.
Search Helpwise ContactsTool to search contacts by term with pagination.
Update Helpwise ContactTool to update an existing Helpwise contact.
Update MailboxUpdates an existing Helpwise mailbox.
Update Helpwise MessageTool to update an existing message.
Update Helpwise TagUpdates an existing tag's name and/or color in Helpwise.
Update Helpwise TemplateUpdates an existing Helpwise email template by modifying its name, subject, and/or HTML content.

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 Helpwise 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 Helpwise 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 Helpwise MCP URL

Create a Composio Tool Router session for Helpwise

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

url = session.mcp.url
What's happening:
  • You create a Helpwise only session through Composio
  • Composio returns an MCP HTTP URL that exposes Helpwise 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 Helpwise 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=["helpwise"],
)
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 Helpwise through Composio's Tool Router. The agent can perform Helpwise 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

How to build Helpwise MCP Agent with another framework

FAQ

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

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

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

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

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