Workday CLI for AI Agents

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Introduction

CLIs are eating MCPs. The industry is converging on the very same idea. MCPs for all their merit can be token hungry, slow, and unreliable for complex tool chaining. However, coding agents have become incredibly good at working with CLIs, and in fact they are far more comfortable working with CLI tools than MCP.

With Composio's Universal CLI, your coding agents can talk to over 850+ SaaS applications. With Workday, agents can request vacation days for next week, check your current absence balance, find all open job postings i manage, and more — all without worrying about authentication.

This guide walks you through Composio Universal CLI and explains how you can connect it with coding agents like Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, etc, for end-to-end Workday automation.

Also integrate Workday with

What is Universal CLI and why use it?

The idea behind building the universal CLI is to give agents a single command interface to interact with all your external applications. Here's what you'll get with it:

  • Agent-friendly: Coding agents like Claude Code, Codex, and OpenCode can use CLI tools natively — no MCP setup required.
  • Authentication handled: Connect once via OAuth or API Key, and all CLI commands work with your credentials automatically.
  • Tool discovery: Search, inspect, and execute 20,000+ tools across 850+ apps from one interface.
  • Trigger support: Use triggers to listen for events across your apps, powered by real-time webhooks or polling under the hood.
  • Type generation: Generate typed schemas for autocomplete and type safety in your projects.

Prerequisites

Install the Composio CLI, authenticate, and initialize your project:

bash
# Install the Composio CLI
curl -fsSL https://composio.dev/install | bash

# Authenticate with Composio
composio login

During login you'll be redirected to sign in page, finish the complete flow and you're all set.

Composio CLI authentication flow

Connecting Workday to Coding Agents via Universal CLI

Once it is installed, it's essentially done. Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, OpenClaw, or any other agent will be able to access the CLI. A few steps to give agents access to your apps.

  1. Launch your Coding Agent — Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, anything you prefer.
  2. Prompt it to "Authenticate with Workday"
  3. Complete the authentication and authorization flow and your Workday integration is all set.
  4. Start asking anything you want.

Supported Tools & Triggers

Tools
Create Time Off RequestCreates a time off request for the specified worker id and initiates the business process.
Get Absence BalanceRetrieves the specified balance of all absence plan and leave of absence types.
Get Balance DetailsRetrieves the specified balance of all absence plan and leave of absence types.
Get Current UserRetrieves the current authenticated worker's profile information from workday.
Get Holiday EventsReturns the holiday events for the specified workers and time period.
Get Interview FeedbackRetrieves feedback entries for a specific interview to prepare debrief notes with highlights and lowlights.
Get Job PostingRetrieves detailed information about a specific job posting including job description.
Get Job Posting QuestionnaireRetrieves screening questions and questionnaires associated with a specific job posting.
Get Leave Status ValuesRetrieves instances that can be used as values for other endpoint parameters in this service.
Get My Job PostingsFinds all job postings assigned to a specific recruiter by analyzing interviews and job requisitions.
Get ProspectRetrieves a single prospect instance for talent matching and best-fit analysis.
Get Prospect EducationsRetrieves the education of a prospect for talent matching and best-fit analysis.
Get Prospect ExperiencesRetrieves the work experience of a prospect for talent matching and best-fit analysis.
Get Prospect Resume AttachmentsRetrieves resume attachments for a specific prospect to help prepare for upcoming interviews.
Get Prospect SkillsRetrieves the skills of a prospect for talent matching and best-fit analysis.
Get Time Off Status ValuesRetrieves instances that can be used as values for other endpoint parameters in this service.
Get Worker Eligible Absence TypesRetrieves a collection of eligible absence types for the specified worker.
Get Worker Leaves of AbsenceRetrieves the leaves of absence for the specified worker using the working absencemanagement v1 api.
Get Worker Time Off DetailsRetrieves a collection of time off details for the specified worker.
Get Worker Valid Time Off DatesRetrieves the valid time off dates for the specified worker id for the given dates.
List Absence BalancesRetrieves the balance of all absence plan and leave of absence type for the specified worker id.
List BalancesRetrieves the balance of all absence plan and leave of absence type for the specified worker id.
List InterviewsRetrieves a list of interviews with job requisition and recruiter assignment details.
List Job PostingsRetrieves a list of job postings from workday recruiting system with filtering options.
List WorkersRetrieves a collection of workers and current staffing information.

Universal CLI Commands for Workday

You can also manually execute CLI commands to interact with your Workday.

Connect your Workday account

Link your Workday account and verify the connection:

bash
# Connect your Workday account (opens OAuth flow)
composio connected-accounts link workday

# Verify the connection
composio connected-accounts list --toolkits workday

Discover Workday tools

Search and inspect available Workday tools:

bash
# List all available Workday tools
composio tools list --toolkit workday

# Search for Workday tools by action
composio tools search "workday"

# Inspect a tool's input schema
composio tools info WORKDAY_CREATE_TIME_OFF_REQUEST

Common Workday Actions

Create Time Off Request — Creates a time off request for the specified worker id and initiates the business process

bash
composio tools execute WORKDAY_CREATE_TIME_OFF_REQUEST \
  --ID "<string>" \
  --days "<array>" \
  --timeOffRequestEventView "<string>" \
  --businessProcessParameters "<object>"

Get Absence Balance — Retrieves the specified balance of all absence plan and leave of absence types

bash
composio tools execute WORKDAY_GET_ABSENCE_BALANCE \
  --ID "<string>"

Get Balance Details — Retrieves the specified balance of all absence plan and leave of absence types

bash
composio tools execute WORKDAY_GET_BALANCE_DETAILS \
  --ID "<string>"

Get Current User — Retrieves the current authenticated worker's profile information from workday

bash
composio tools execute WORKDAY_GET_CURRENT_USER

Set up Workday Triggers

Listen for events in real time using triggers:

Absence Balance Changed — Triggers when a worker's absence balance changes

bash
# Find your connected account ID
composio connected-accounts list --toolkits workday

# Create a trigger
composio triggers create WORKDAY_ABSENCE_BALANCE_CHANGED_TRIGGER \
  --connected-account-id <your-connected-account-id> \
  --trigger-config '{
  "interval": 2,
  "effective": "<string>",
  "absencePlan": "<string>"
}'

# Listen for trigger events in real time
composio triggers listen --toolkits workday --table

Balance Details Changed — Triggers when details of a specific balance change (quantity, accruals, adjustments, etc

bash
# Find your connected account ID
composio connected-accounts list --toolkits workday

# Create a trigger
composio triggers create WORKDAY_BALANCE_DETAILS_CHANGED_TRIGGER \
  --connected-account-id <your-connected-account-id> \
  --trigger-config '{
  "interval": 2,
  "effective": "<string>",
  "absencePlan": "<string>"
}'

# Listen for trigger events in real time
composio triggers listen --toolkits workday --table

Interview Feedback Submitted or Updated — Triggers when interview feedback is submitted or updated for a specific interview

bash
# Find your connected account ID
composio connected-accounts list --toolkits workday

# Create a trigger
composio triggers create WORKDAY_INTERVIEW_FEEDBACK_SUBMITTED_TRIGGER \
  --connected-account-id <your-connected-account-id> \
  --trigger-config '{
  "limit": 10,
  "interval": 2,
  "interview_id": "<string>"
}'

# Listen for trigger events in real time
composio triggers listen --toolkits workday --table

Generate Type Definitions

Generate typed schemas for Workday tools to get autocomplete and type safety in your project:

bash
# Auto-detect language
composio generate --toolkits workday

# TypeScript
composio ts generate --toolkits workday

# Python
composio py generate --toolkits workday

Tips & Tricks

  • Always inspect a tool's input schema before executing: composio tools info <TOOL_NAME>
  • Pipe output with jq for better readability: composio tools execute TOOL_NAME -d '{}' | jq
  • Set COMPOSIO_API_KEY as an environment variable for CI/CD pipelines
  • Use composio dev logs tools to inspect execution logs and debug issues

Next Steps

  • Try asking your coding agent to perform various Workday operations
  • Explore cross-app workflows by connecting more toolkits
  • Set up triggers for real-time automation
  • Use composio generate for typed schemas in your projects

How to build Workday MCP Agent with another framework

OpenAI Agents SDK

OpenAI Agents SDK

Use Workday MCP with OpenAI Agents SDK

Claude Agent SDK

Claude Agent SDK

Use Workday MCP with Claude Agent SDK

Claude Code

Claude Code

Use Workday MCP with Claude Code

Codex

Codex

Use Workday MCP with Codex

OpenClaw

OpenClaw

Use Workday MCP with OpenClaw

Google ADK

Google ADK

Use Workday MCP with Google ADK

LangChain

LangChain

Use Workday MCP with LangChain

Vercel AI SDK

Vercel AI SDK

Use Workday MCP with Vercel AI SDK

Mastra AI

Mastra AI

Use Workday MCP with Mastra AI

LlamaIndex

LlamaIndex

Use Workday MCP with LlamaIndex

CrewAI

CrewAI

Use Workday MCP with CrewAI

FAQ

What is the Composio Universal CLI?

The Composio Universal CLI is a single command-line interface that lets coding agents and developers interact with 850+ SaaS applications. It handles authentication, tool discovery, action execution, and trigger setup — all from the terminal, without needing to configure MCP servers.

Which coding agents work with the Composio CLI?

Any coding agent that can run shell commands works with the Composio CLI — including Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, OpenClaw, and others. Once the CLI is installed, agents automatically discover and use the composio commands to interact with Workday and other connected apps.

How is the CLI different from using an MCP server for Workday?

MCP servers require configuration and can be token-heavy for complex workflows. The CLI gives agents a direct, lightweight interface — no server setup needed. Agents simply call composio commands like any other shell tool. It's faster to set up, more reliable for multi-step tool chaining, and works natively with how coding agents already operate.

How safe is my Workday data when using the Composio CLI?

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 Workday data and credentials are handled as safely as possible. You can also bring your own OAuth credentials for full control.

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