How to integrate Todoist MCP with Pydantic AI

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Introduction

This guide walks you through connecting Todoist to Pydantic AI using the Composio tool router. By the end, you'll have a working Todoist agent that can add a high-priority task for today, create a new project called 'team offsite', close all completed tasks from this week, add a comment to my 'marketing plan' task through natural language commands.

This guide will help you understand how to give your Pydantic AI agent real control over a Todoist account through Composio's Todoist 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:
  • How to set up your Composio API key and User ID
  • How to create a Composio Tool Router session for Todoist
  • How to attach an MCP Server to a Pydantic AI agent
  • How to stream responses and maintain chat history
  • How to build a simple REPL-style chat interface to test your Todoist workflows

What is Pydantic AI?

Pydantic AI is a Python framework for building AI agents with strong typing and validation. It leverages Pydantic's data validation capabilities to create robust, type-safe AI applications.

Key features include:

  • Type Safety: Built on Pydantic for automatic data validation
  • MCP Support: Native support for Model Context Protocol servers
  • Streaming: Built-in support for streaming responses
  • Async First: Designed for async/await patterns

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

The Todoist MCP server is an implementation of the Model Context Protocol that connects your AI agent and assistants like Claude, Cursor, etc directly to your Todoist account. It provides structured and secure access to your tasks, projects, and labels, so your agent can create tasks, manage projects, add comments, organize sections, and update your to-do lists on your behalf.

  • Task creation and scheduling: Instantly ask your agent to add new tasks with specific details, deadlines, priorities, or even as subtasks within projects or sections.
  • Project and workspace management: Let your agent create, organize, or delete projects and workspaces to keep your productivity system tidy and up-to-date.
  • Section and label organization: Direct your agent to create, delete, or update sections and labels, helping you structure your tasks and filter lists for better focus.
  • Task completion and commenting: Have your agent mark tasks as complete or add helpful comments and notes to specific tasks or projects for seamless collaboration.
  • Streamlined cleanup and maintenance: Empower your agent to remove unused projects, labels, or sections, ensuring your Todoist stays clutter-free and organized.

Supported Tools & Triggers

Tools
Triggers
Add WorkspaceTool to create a new workspace in todoist.
Close TaskThis tool marks an existing task as completed in todoist.
Create CommentTool to create a new comment in todoist.
Create LabelCreates a new label.
Create ProjectCreates a new project in todoist.
Create SectionTool to create a new section within a specific project.
Create taskCreate a new task in todoist.
Delete LabelTool to delete a specific label.
Delete ProjectTool to delete a specific todoist project.
Delete SectionTool to delete a specific section.
Delete taskDelete a task from todoist.
Get All CommentsThis tool retrieves all comments associated with a specific task or project in todoist.
Get all labelsGet all personal labels from todoist.
Get all projectsGet all projects from a user's todoist account.
Get All SectionsTool to retrieve all sections for a specific project in todoist.
Get All TasksFetches all tasks from todoist and returns their details.
Get BackupsTool to list all available backup archives for the user.
Get CommentTool to retrieve details of a specific comment by its comment id.
Get LabelTool to retrieve a specific label by its id.
Get ProjectTool to retrieve a specific project by its id.
Get SectionTool to retrieve a specific section by its id.
Get Special BackupsTool to list special backup archives for the user.
Get TaskTool to retrieve a specific task by its id.
List Archived Workspace ProjectsTool to list all archived projects in a workspace.
List FiltersTool to list all filters for the authenticated user.
List Pending Workspace InvitationsTool to list pending invitation emails in a workspace.
Reopen TaskThis tool reopens a previously completed task.
Update CommentTool to update a specific comment's content.
Update ProjectTool to update a specific project's attributes such as name, color, indent, and order.
Update SectionTool to update a specific section's attributes such as name and order.
Update TaskTool to update an existing task's properties.

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:
  • Python 3.9 or higher
  • A Composio account with an active API key
  • Basic familiarity with Python and async programming

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 pydantic-ai python-dotenv

Install the required libraries.

What's happening:

  • composio connects your agent to external SaaS tools like Todoist
  • pydantic-ai lets you create structured AI agents with tool support
  • python-dotenv loads your environment variables securely from a .env file

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

Create a .env file in your project root.

What's happening:

  • COMPOSIO_API_KEY authenticates your agent to Composio's API
  • USER_ID associates your session with your account for secure tool access
  • OPENAI_API_KEY to access OpenAI LLMs

Import dependencies

python
import asyncio
import os
from dotenv import load_dotenv
from composio import Composio
from pydantic_ai import Agent
from pydantic_ai.mcp import MCPServerStreamableHTTP

load_dotenv()
What's happening:
  • We load environment variables and import required modules
  • Composio manages connections to Todoist
  • MCPServerStreamableHTTP connects to the Todoist MCP server endpoint
  • Agent from Pydantic AI lets you define and run the AI assistant

Create a Tool Router Session

python
async def main():
    api_key = os.getenv("COMPOSIO_API_KEY")
    user_id = os.getenv("USER_ID")
    if not api_key or not user_id:
        raise RuntimeError("Set COMPOSIO_API_KEY and USER_ID in your environment")

    # Create a Composio Tool Router session for Todoist
    composio = Composio(api_key=api_key)
    session = composio.create(
        user_id=user_id,
        toolkits=["todoist"],
    )
    url = session.mcp.url
    if not url:
        raise ValueError("Composio session did not return an MCP URL")
What's happening:
  • We're creating a Tool Router session that gives your agent access to Todoist tools
  • The create method takes the user ID and specifies which toolkits should be available
  • The returned session.mcp.url is the MCP server URL that your agent will use

Initialize the Pydantic AI Agent

python
# Attach the MCP server to a Pydantic AI Agent
todoist_mcp = MCPServerStreamableHTTP(url, headers={"x-api-key": COMPOSIO_API_KEY})
agent = Agent(
    "openai:gpt-5",
    toolsets=[todoist_mcp],
    instructions=(
        "You are a Todoist assistant. Use Todoist tools to help users "
        "with their requests. Ask clarifying questions when needed."
    ),
)
What's happening:
  • The MCP client connects to the Todoist endpoint
  • The agent uses GPT-5 to interpret user commands and perform Todoist operations
  • The instructions field defines the agent's role and behavior

Build the chat interface

python
# Simple REPL with message history
history = []
print("Chat started! Type 'exit' or 'quit' to end.\n")
print("Try asking the agent to help you with Todoist.\n")

while True:
    user_input = input("You: ").strip()
    if user_input.lower() in {"exit", "quit", "bye"}:
        print("\nGoodbye!")
        break
    if not user_input:
        continue

    print("\nAgent is thinking...\n", flush=True)

    async with agent.run_stream(user_input, message_history=history) as stream_result:
        collected_text = ""
        async for chunk in stream_result.stream_output():
            text_piece = None
            if isinstance(chunk, str):
                text_piece = chunk
            elif hasattr(chunk, "delta") and isinstance(chunk.delta, str):
                text_piece = chunk.delta
            elif hasattr(chunk, "text"):
                text_piece = chunk.text
            if text_piece:
                collected_text += text_piece
        result = stream_result

    print(f"Agent: {collected_text}\n")
    history = result.all_messages()
What's happening:
  • The agent reads input from the terminal and streams its response
  • Todoist API calls happen automatically under the hood
  • The model keeps conversation history to maintain context across turns

Run the application

python
if __name__ == "__main__":
    asyncio.run(main())
What's happening:
  • The asyncio loop launches the agent and keeps it running until you exit

Complete Code

Here's the complete code to get you started with Todoist and Pydantic AI:

python
import asyncio
import os
from dotenv import load_dotenv
from composio import Composio
from pydantic_ai import Agent
from pydantic_ai.mcp import MCPServerStreamableHTTP

load_dotenv()

async def main():
    api_key = os.getenv("COMPOSIO_API_KEY")
    user_id = os.getenv("USER_ID")
    if not api_key or not user_id:
        raise RuntimeError("Set COMPOSIO_API_KEY and USER_ID in your environment")

    # Create a Composio Tool Router session for Todoist
    composio = Composio(api_key=api_key)
    session = composio.create(
        user_id=user_id,
        toolkits=["todoist"],
    )
    url = session.mcp.url
    if not url:
        raise ValueError("Composio session did not return an MCP URL")

    # Attach the MCP server to a Pydantic AI Agent
    todoist_mcp = MCPServerStreamableHTTP(url, headers={"x-api-key": COMPOSIO_API_KEY})
    agent = Agent(
        "openai:gpt-5",
        toolsets=[todoist_mcp],
        instructions=(
            "You are a Todoist assistant. Use Todoist tools to help users "
            "with their requests. Ask clarifying questions when needed."
        ),
    )

    # Simple REPL with message history
    history = []
    print("Chat started! Type 'exit' or 'quit' to end.\n")
    print("Try asking the agent to help you with Todoist.\n")

    while True:
        user_input = input("You: ").strip()
        if user_input.lower() in {"exit", "quit", "bye"}:
            print("\nGoodbye!")
            break
        if not user_input:
            continue

        print("\nAgent is thinking...\n", flush=True)

        async with agent.run_stream(user_input, message_history=history) as stream_result:
            collected_text = ""
            async for chunk in stream_result.stream_output():
                text_piece = None
                if isinstance(chunk, str):
                    text_piece = chunk
                elif hasattr(chunk, "delta") and isinstance(chunk.delta, str):
                    text_piece = chunk.delta
                elif hasattr(chunk, "text"):
                    text_piece = chunk.text
                if text_piece:
                    collected_text += text_piece
            result = stream_result

        print(f"Agent: {collected_text}\n")
        history = result.all_messages()

if __name__ == "__main__":
    asyncio.run(main())

Conclusion

You've built a Pydantic AI agent that can interact with Todoist through Composio's Tool Router. With this setup, your agent can perform real Todoist actions through natural language. You can extend this further by:
  • Adding other toolkits like Gmail, HubSpot, or Salesforce
  • Building a web-based chat interface around this agent
  • Using multiple MCP endpoints to enable cross-app workflows (for example, Gmail + Todoist for workflow automation)
This architecture makes your AI agent "agent-native", able to securely use APIs in a unified, composable way without custom integrations.

How to build Todoist MCP Agent with another framework

FAQ

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

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

Can I use Tool Router MCP with Pydantic AI?

Yes, you can. Pydantic AI 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 Todoist tools.

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

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

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

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