How to integrate Shippo MCP with LlamaIndex

GET STARTED FOR FREE
Framework Integration Gradient
Shippo Logo
LlamaIndex Logo
divider

Introduction

This guide walks you through connecting Shippo to LlamaIndex using the Composio tool router. By the end, you'll have a working Shippo agent that can create shipping label for new order, track shipment status by tracking number, get shipping rates for a package through natural language commands.

This guide will help you understand how to give your LlamaIndex agent real control over a Shippo account through Composio's Shippo 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:
  • Set your OpenAI and Composio API keys
  • Install LlamaIndex and Composio packages
  • Create a Composio Tool Router session for Shippo
  • Connect LlamaIndex to the Shippo MCP server
  • Build a Shippo-powered agent using LlamaIndex
  • Interact with Shippo 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 Shippo MCP server, and what's possible with it?

The Shippo MCP server is an implementation of the Model Context Protocol that connects your AI agent and assistants like Claude, Cursor, etc directly to your Shippo account. It provides structured and secure access so your agent can perform Shippo operations on your behalf.

Supported Tools & Triggers

Tools
Create Shippo AddressTool to create a new address in Shippo.
Create BatchTool to create a batch of shipments for bulk label purchasing.
Create Carrier AccountTool to create a new carrier account in Shippo.
Create Customs ItemCreate a new customs item for international shipments.
Create Live RateTool to generate live shipping rates from multiple carriers for a given shipment.
Create ManifestTool to create a new shipping manifest with Shippo.
Create Merchant AddressTool to create a new address for a merchant using Shippo's Platform API.
Create Merchant BatchTool to create a batch for a merchant using the Shippo Platform API.
Create Merchant Carrier AccountTool to create a carrier account for a merchant using the Shippo Platform API.
Create Merchant Customs DeclarationTool to create a new customs declaration for a merchant using Shippo's Platform API.
Create Merchant Customs ItemTool to create a new customs item for a merchant using Shippo's Platform API.
Create Merchant OrderTool to create an order for a merchant using the Shippo Platform API.
Create Merchant ParcelTool to create a new parcel for a merchant using Shippo's Platform API.
Create Merchant RefundTool to create a refund for a merchant using the Shippo Platform API.
Create Merchant ShipmentTool to create a new shipment for a merchant using Shippo's Platform API.
Create Merchant TransactionTool to create a shipping label transaction for a merchant using the Shippo Platform API.
Create OrderTool to create a new order in Shippo.
Create ParcelTool to create a new parcel in Shippo with dimensions and weight specifications.
Create RefundTool to create a refund for a Shippo transaction.
Create Service GroupTool to create a new Shippo service group with specified pricing model and carrier service levels.
Create ShipmentTool to create a new shipment with Shippo.
Register Tracking WebhookTool to register a tracking webhook for a shipment.
Create TransactionTool to create a shipping label transaction with Shippo.
Create User Parcel TemplateTool to create a new user parcel template in Shippo with preset dimensions and weight specifications.
Create Shippo WebhookTool to create a new webhook subscription in Shippo.
Delete Default Parcel TemplateTool to clear the current default parcel template.
Delete User Parcel TemplateTool to delete a user-created parcel template.
Delete WebhookTool to delete a specific webhook from Shippo.
Get AddressTool to retrieve a previously created address from Shippo.
Get Carrier AccountTool to retrieve a carrier account by its ID.
Get Carrier Parcel TemplateTool to retrieve a specific carrier parcel template by its token.
Get Carrier Registration StatusTool to retrieve carrier registration status from Shippo.
Get Customs DeclarationTool to retrieve a customs declaration by its ID.
Get customs itemTool to retrieve a customs item from Shippo.
Get Default Parcel TemplateTool to retrieve the current default parcel template for live rates at checkout.
Get MerchantTool to retrieve a merchant from the Shippo Platform API.
Get Merchant AddressTool to retrieve a merchant address from Shippo Platform API.
Get Merchant BatchTool to retrieve a batch for a merchant from the Shippo Platform API.
Get Merchant Carrier AccountTool to retrieve a carrier account for a merchant using the Shippo Platform API.
Get Merchant Carrier Registration StatusTool to retrieve carrier registration status for a specific merchant using Shippo's Platform API.
Get Merchant Customs DeclarationTool to retrieve a specific customs declaration for a merchant using Shippo's Platform API.
Get Merchant Customs ItemTool to retrieve a customs item for a merchant using the Shippo Platform API.
Get Merchant ManifestTool to retrieve a manifest for a merchant from the Shippo Platform API.
Get Merchant OrderTool to retrieve an order for a merchant from the Shippo Platform API.
Get Merchant ParcelTool to retrieve a parcel for a merchant from the Shippo Platform API.
Get Merchant RateTool to retrieve a specific shipping rate for a merchant using the Shippo Platform API.
Get Merchant RefundTool to retrieve a merchant refund from Shippo Platform API.
Get Merchant ShipmentTool to retrieve a shipment for a merchant from the Shippo Platform API.
Get Merchant Tracking StatusTool to retrieve tracking status for a merchant from Shippo Platform API.
Get Merchant TransactionTool to retrieve a shipping label transaction for a merchant from the Shippo Platform API.
Get OrderTool to retrieve an order from Shippo.
Get ParcelTool to retrieve a parcel by its ID.
Get RateTool to retrieve a specific shipping rate by its ID.
Get RefundTool to retrieve a refund by its ID from Shippo.
Get ShipmentTool to retrieve a shipment by its ID.
Get Shippo AccountTool to retrieve a Shippo Account from the Shippo Platform API.
Get Tracking StatusTool to retrieve tracking status for a shipment from Shippo.
Get TransactionTool to retrieve a shipping label transaction by its ID.
Get User Parcel TemplateTool to retrieve a specific user-created parcel template by its object ID.
Get WebhookTool to retrieve a specific webhook subscription from Shippo.
List AddressesTool to list all addresses in the Shippo account with pagination support.
List Carrier AccountsTool to list all carrier accounts configured in the Shippo account with pagination support.
List Carrier Parcel TemplatesTool to list all carrier parcel templates available for creating shipments.
List Customs DeclarationsTool to list all customs declarations in the Shippo account with pagination support.
List Customs ItemsTool to list all customs items with pagination support.
List ManifestsTool to list all shipping manifests from Shippo.
List Merchant AddressesTool to list all addresses for a specific merchant using the Shippo Platform API.
List Merchant Carrier AccountsTool to list all carrier accounts for a specific merchant using the Shippo Platform API.
List Merchant Customs DeclarationsTool to list all customs declarations for a specific merchant using the Shippo Platform API.
List Merchant Customs ItemsTool to list all customs items for a specific merchant using the Shippo Platform API.
List Merchant ManifestsTool to list all manifests for a specific merchant using Shippo's Platform API.
List Merchant ParcelsTool to list all parcels for a specific merchant using the Shippo Platform API.
List MerchantsTool to list all merchants using the Shippo Platform API with pagination support.
List Merchant Shipment Rates by CurrencyTool to retrieve available shipping rates for a merchant's shipment filtered by currency code using the Shippo Platform API.
List Merchant ShipmentsTool to list all shipments for a specific merchant using Shippo's Platform API.
List Merchant TransactionsTool to list all shipping label transactions for a merchant using the Shippo Platform API.
List OrdersTool to list all orders in the Shippo account with pagination support.
List RefundsTool to retrieve a list of all refunds from Shippo.
List Service GroupsTool to retrieve all service groups configured in Shippo.
List Shipment RatesTool to retrieve available shipping rates for a specific shipment.
List Shipment Rates by CurrencyTool to retrieve available shipping rates for a specific shipment filtered by currency code.
List ShipmentsTool to list all shipments in the Shippo account with pagination support.
List Shippo AccountsTool to list all Managed Shippo Accounts.
List User Parcel TemplatesTool to list all user-created parcel templates.
Purchase Merchant BatchTool to purchase a batch for a merchant via the Shippo Platform API.
Remove Shipments From BatchTool to remove shipments from a batch for a merchant using the Shippo Platform API.
Update Carrier AccountTool to update an existing carrier account in Shippo.
Update Default Parcel TemplateTool to update the default parcel template for live rates at checkout in Shippo.
Update MerchantTool to update an existing merchant in Shippo Platform API.
Update Merchant Carrier AccountTool to update a carrier account for a merchant in Shippo Platform API.
Update Service GroupTool to update an existing Shippo service group.
Update User Parcel TemplateTool to update an existing user parcel template with new weight and carrier template settings.
Update WebhookTool to update an existing webhook in Shippo.
Validate AddressTool to validate an address using the Shippo API.
Validate Merchant AddressTool to validate a merchant address using the Shippo Platform API.

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 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 Shippo account and project
  • Basic familiarity with async Python/Typescript

Getting API Keys for OpenAI, Composio, and Shippo

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 Shippo 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 shippo_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=["shippo"],
    )

    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 Shippo actions."
    system_prompt = """
    You are a helpful assistant connected to Composio Tool Router.
    Use the available tools to answer user queries and perform Shippo 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, shippo)
  • 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 Shippo 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 Shippo 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 Shippo

Run the agent

npx ts-node llamaindex-agent.ts

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

Complete Code

Here's the complete code to get you started with Shippo 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=["shippo"],
    )

    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 Shippo actions."
    system_prompt = """
    You are a helpful assistant connected to Composio Tool Router.
    Use the available tools to answer user queries and perform Shippo 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 Shippo to LlamaIndex through Composio's Tool Router MCP layer. Key takeaways:
  • Tool Router dynamically exposes Shippo 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 Shippo MCP Agent with another framework

OpenAI Agents SDK

OpenAI Agents SDK

Use Shippo MCP with OpenAI Agents SDK

Claude Agent SDK

Claude Agent SDK

Use Shippo MCP with Claude Agent SDK

Google ADK

Google ADK

Use Shippo MCP with Google ADK

LangChain

LangChain

Use Shippo MCP with LangChain

Vercel AI SDK

Vercel AI SDK

Use Shippo MCP with Vercel AI SDK

Mastra AI

Mastra AI

Use Shippo MCP with Mastra AI

CrewAI

CrewAI

Use Shippo MCP with CrewAI

Claude Code

Claude Code

Use Shippo MCP with Claude Code

Codex

Codex

Use Shippo MCP with Codex

FAQ

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

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

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

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

Used by agents from

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

Book a call↗Get started for free