How to integrate Openai MCP with Codex

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Introduction

Codex is one of the most popular coding harnesses out there. And MCP makes the experience even better. With Openai MCP integration, you can draft, triage, summarise emails, and much more, all without leaving the terminal or app, whichever you prefer.

Composio removes the Authentication handling completely from you. We handle the entire integration lifecycle, and all you need to do is just copy the URL below, authenticate inside Codex, and start using it.

Why use Composio?

Apart from a managed and hosted MCP server, you will get:

  • CodeAct: A dedicated workbench that allows GPT to write its code to handle complex tool chaining. Reduces to-and-fro with LLMs for frequent tool calling.
  • Large tool responses: Handle them to minimise context rot.
  • Dynamic just-in-time access to 20,000 tools across 870+ other Apps for cross-app workflows. It loads the tools you need, so GPTs aren't overwhelmed by tools you don't need.

How to install Openai MCP in Codex

Codex CLI

Run the command in your terminal.

Terminal

This will auto-redirect you to the Rube authentication page.

Rube authentication redirect page

Once you're authenticated, you will be able to access the tools.

Verify the installation by running:

codex mcp list

If you otherwise prefer to use config.toml, add the following URL to it. You can get the bearer token from rube.app → Use Rube → MCP URL → Generate token

[projects."/home/user/composio"]
trust_level = "untrusted"

[mcp_servers.rube]
bearer_token_env_var = "your bearer token"
enabled = true
url = "https://rube.app/mcp"

Codex in VS Code

If you have installed Codex in VS Code.

Then: ⚙️ → MCP Settings → + Add servers → Streamable HTTP:

Add the Rube MCP URL: https://rube.app/mcp and the bearer token.

VS Code MCP Settings

To verify, click on the Open config.toml

Open config toml in Codex

Make sure it's there:

[mcp_servers.composio_rube]
bearer_token_env_var = "your bearer token"
enabled = true
url = "https://rube.app/mcp"

Codex App

Codex App follows the same approach as VS Code.

  1. Click ⚙️ on the bottom left → MCP Servers → + Add servers → Streamable HTTP:
Codex App MCP Settings
  1. Restart and verify if it's there in .codex/config.toml
[mcp_servers.composio_rube]
bearer_token_env_var = "your bearer token"
enabled = true
url = "https://rube.app/mcp"
  1. Save, restart the extension, and start working.

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

The Openai MCP server is an implementation of the Model Context Protocol that connects your AI agent and assistants like Claude, Cursor, etc directly to your OpenAI account. It provides structured and secure access to your models, assistants, files, threads, and fine-tuning jobs, so your agent can perform actions like managing assistants, handling conversations, uploading or organizing files, and working with OpenAI models on your behalf.

  • Assistant and conversation management: Quickly create, update, or delete OpenAI assistants and manage threads or messages for seamless conversational flows.
  • File uploads and organization: Let your agent upload new files, list all uploaded documents, or delete unnecessary files to keep your workspace tidy.
  • Model discovery and utilization: Effortlessly list all available OpenAI models—including vision and multimodal—and retrieve their details to choose the best fit for your tasks.
  • Fine-tuning job insights: View a complete list of your organization's fine-tune jobs and track their progress or review results as needed.
  • Thread and run management: Create, modify, or inspect threads and run steps to fully control and monitor interactive agent conversations.

Supported Tools & Triggers

Tools
Create AssistantTool to create a new assistant with specified parameters.
Create MessageTool to create a new message in a specific thread.
Create ThreadTool to create a new thread.
Delete assistantTool to delete a specific assistant by its id.
Delete fileTool to delete a file.
List filesTool to retrieve a list of files.
List fine-tunesTool to list your organization's fine-tuning jobs.
List modelsTool to list available models.
List run stepsTool to retrieve all steps of a specific run.
Modify threadTool to modify an existing thread's metadata.
Retrieve assistantTool to retrieve details of a specific assistant.
Retrieve modelTool to retrieve details of a specific model.
Retrieve threadTool to retrieve details of a specific thread by its id.
Upload fileTool to upload a file for use across openai endpoints.

Conclusion

You've successfully integrated Openai with Codex using Composio's Rube MCP server. Now you can interact with Openai directly from your terminal, VS Code, or the Codex App using natural language commands.

Key benefits of this setup:

  • Seamless integration across CLI, VS Code, and standalone app
  • Natural language commands for Openai operations
  • Managed authentication through Composio's Rube
  • Access to 20,000+ tools across 870+ apps for cross-app workflows
  • CodeAct workbench for complex tool chaining

Next steps:

  • Try asking Codex to perform various Openai operations
  • Explore cross-app workflows by connecting more toolkits
  • Build automation scripts that leverage Codex's AI capabilities

How to build Openai MCP Agent with another framework

FAQ

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

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

Can I use Tool Router MCP with Codex?

Yes, you can. Codex 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 Openai tools.

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

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

Used by agents from

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HubSpot
Agent.ai
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Context
Letta
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HubSpot
Agent.ai
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Entelligence
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Never worry about agent reliability

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