Zoho CLI for AI Agents

Use Composio Universal CLI with Zoho. Convert new leads to contacts in crm, add a note to an existing zoho deal, and more using natural language, with authentication handled for you.

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Zoho is a suite of cloud business apps for CRM, email marketing, and collaboration. It helps teams automate workflows and scale operations effortlessly.

102 Tools

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 1500+ SaaS applications. With Zoho, agents can create and convert leads, track deals, manage contacts and accounts, add notes and events, and search your CRM records, 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 Zoho automation.

Also integrate Zoho 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 1500+ 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 Zoho 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 Zoho"
  3. Complete the authentication and authorization flow and your Zoho integration is all set.
  4. Start asking anything you want.

Universal CLI Commands for Zoho

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

Connect your Zoho account

Link your Zoho account and verify the connection:

bash
# Connect your Zoho account (opens OAuth flow)
composio connected-accounts link zoho

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

Discover Zoho tools

Search and inspect available Zoho tools:

bash
# List all available Zoho tools
composio tools list --toolkit zoho

# Search for Zoho tools by action
composio tools search "zoho"

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

Common Zoho Actions

Convert Zoho CRM Lead — Converts a lead into a contact, account, and optionally a deal in zoho crm

bash
composio tools execute ZOHO_CONVERT_ZOHO_LEAD \
  --lead_id "<string>"

Create Zoho CRM Record — Creates new records in a specified module in zoho crm

bash
composio tools execute ZOHO_CREATE_ZOHO_RECORD \
  --data '[{"id":"660867000000539002","Email":"updatedemail@example.com","Phone":"555-6789"}]' \
  --module_api_name "<string>"

Create Zoho CRM Tag — Creates new tags in zoho crm

bash
composio tools execute ZOHO_CREATE_ZOHO_TAG \
  --name "<string>" \
  --module_api_name "<string>"

Get Zoho CRM Records — Retrieves records from a specified module in zoho crm

bash
composio tools execute ZOHO_GET_ZOHO_RECORDS \
  --module_api_name "<string>"

Generate Type Definitions

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

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

# TypeScript
composio ts generate --toolkits zoho

# Python
composio py generate --toolkits zoho

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 Zoho 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
TOOLS

Supported Tools

Every Zoho action and event your agent gets out of the box.

Add Tags to Zoho CRM Records

Apply one or more existing tags to up to 500 records in a Zoho CRM module.

Associate Email with Zoho CRM Record

Add an existing sent or received email to a Zoho CRM record's history.

Convert Zoho CRM Lead

Converts a lead into a contact, account, and optionally a deal in Zoho CRM.

Count Zoho CRM Records

Count all records or records matching one filter in a Zoho CRM module.

Create Zoho CRM Automation Task

Create an automation task with typed static, merge, date, or datetime mappings.

Create Contact in Zoho CRM

Creates a new contact record in Zoho CRM.

Create Zoho CRM Custom Fields

Create one to five custom fields in a Zoho CRM module.

Create Zoho CRM Custom View

Create one custom view for a Zoho CRM module.

Create Deal in Zoho CRM

Creates a new deal in Zoho CRM representing a sales opportunity with deal name, stage, amount, and closing date.

Create Email Draft in Zoho CRM

Creates email drafts for a specific record in Zoho CRM.

Create Zoho Event

Creates a new Event record in Zoho CRM.

Create Lead in Zoho CRM

Creates a new lead record in Zoho CRM with the specified details.

Create Note in Zoho CRM

Creates a new note attached to a specific record in Zoho CRM.

Create Zoho CRM Record

Creates new records in a specified module in Zoho CRM.

Create Zoho CRM Tag

Creates a new tag in Zoho CRM for a specific module.

Delete Zoho Account

Deletes an existing account record from Zoho CRM.

Delete Zoho CRM Contact

Deletes a contact from Zoho CRM.

Delete Zoho CRM Deal

Deletes a deal record from Zoho CRM.

Delete Zoho CRM Email Draft

Delete one unsent email draft associated with a Zoho CRM record.

Delete Zoho CRM Event

Move one Zoho CRM Event record to the recycle bin.

Delete Zoho CRM Lead

Move one Zoho CRM Lead record to the recycle bin.

Delete Zoho CRM Note

Move one Zoho CRM note to the recycle bin.

Delete Zoho CRM Records

Move up to 100 records from a Zoho CRM module to the recycle bin.

Delete Zoho CRM Tag

Delete one Zoho CRM tag definition by its tag ID.

Download Zoho CRM Record Attachment

Download one attachment from a Zoho CRM record as a file.

Download Zoho CRM Record Photo

Download the binary profile photo attached to a supported CRM record.

Get Zoho CRM Account

Retrieves a specific Account record from Zoho CRM by its unique identifier.

Get Zoho CRM Assignment Rule

Retrieve one assignment rule and its module-specific configuration.

Get Zoho CRM Automation Task

Retrieve one configured Zoho CRM automation task and its field mappings.

Get Zoho CRM Blueprint

Retrieve one Zoho CRM blueprint and optional configuration details.

Get Call

Retrieves a specific Call record by its unique identifier from Zoho CRM.

Get Zoho CRM Contact

Retrieves a single contact record by ID from Zoho CRM.

Get Zoho CRM Custom Views

List custom views for a Zoho CRM module or inspect one view by ID.

Get Zoho CRM Deal

Retrieve one Zoho CRM Deal by record ID without a field projection.

Get Email Drafts for Zoho CRM Record

Retrieves email drafts associated with a specific record in Zoho CRM.

Get Zoho Event

Retrieves a specific event record from Zoho CRM by its unique identifier.

Get From Addresses

Retrieves the list of from addresses configured for email operations in Zoho CRM.

Get Zoho CRM Kiosk States

List a kiosk's states or retrieve one state and its associated elements.

Get Zoho CRM Layouts

List layouts for a CRM module or retrieve one complete layout definition.

Get Zoho CRM Module Fields Metadata

Retrieves field metadata for a Zoho CRM module including API names, data types, permissions, and configuration details.

Get Zoho CRM Note

Retrieves a single note by its unique identifier from Zoho CRM.

Get Zoho CRM Pipelines

Retrieve pipeline and stage configuration for a Zoho CRM Deals layout.

Get Zoho CRM Product

Retrieve one Zoho CRM Product by record ID.

Get Zoho CRM Profile

Retrieve one Zoho CRM permission profile and its expanded permissions.

Get Zoho CRM Record

Retrieve one record from a standard or custom Zoho CRM module by ID.

Get Zoho CRM Record Email

Retrieve one email associated with a Zoho CRM record, including its body.

Get Zoho CRM Record Emails

Retrieves a page of emails associated with a specific record in Zoho CRM.

Get Zoho CRM Record Timeline

Retrieve chronological field and related-record history for a Zoho CRM record.

Get Zoho CRM Related Lists Metadata

Retrieves related list metadata for a Zoho CRM module to discover correct api_name values.

Get Zoho CRM Related Records

Fetch related-list records (e.

Get Zoho CRM Task

Retrieves a specific task record by its ID from Zoho CRM.

Get Zoho CRM User

Retrieves a Zoho CRM user by ID, including name, email, role, profile, status, and preferences.

Get Zoho CRM Webform

Retrieve one configured Zoho CRM webform by ID.

Get Zoho CRM Workflow Rule

Retrieve one Zoho CRM workflow rule and its complete configuration.

Get Zoho CRM Records

Retrieves records from a specified module in Zoho CRM.

Get Zoho CRM Users

Tool to retrieve users from Zoho CRM.

List Zoho CRM Access Settings

List roles or permission profiles configured in Zoho CRM.

List Zoho CRM Accounts

Retrieves a list of account records from Zoho CRM with pagination and filtering support.

List Zoho CRM Cadences

List Zoho CRM cadence definitions using optional filters.

List Zoho CRM Calls

Retrieves Call activity records from Zoho CRM with pagination support.

List Zoho CRM Connected Workflow Rules

List trigger conditions for a module's rules in a connected workflow.

List Contacts

Retrieves contact records from Zoho CRM with support for pagination, filtering, and sorting.

List Deals

Retrieves a list of deals from Zoho CRM with support for filtering, sorting, and pagination.

List Zoho CRM Events

Lists events (meetings) from Zoho CRM with pagination and filtering support.

List Zoho CRM Functions

List configured Zoho CRM functions and their metadata.

List Zoho CRM Leads

Retrieves lead records from Zoho CRM's Leads module with pagination support.

List Zoho CRM Modules

Lists all available Zoho CRM modules (standard + custom) to reliably select module API names/IDs for operations.

List Zoho CRM Notes

Retrieves one paginated list of notes from Zoho CRM across all modules.

List Attachments for Zoho CRM Record

Tool to list attachment metadata (id, File_Name, Size, Created_Time, etc.

List Zoho CRM Tags

List the tags available for a Zoho CRM module.

List Zoho CRM Tasks

Retrieves tasks from the Tasks module in Zoho CRM with support for filtering, pagination, and sorting.

List Zoho CRM Variables

List Zoho CRM configuration variables and their current values.

List Zoho CRM Workflow Rules

List and filter workflow rules configured in Zoho CRM.

Merge Zoho CRM Leads

Merge duplicate leads into a retained master lead and delete the child leads.

Search Zoho CRM Accounts

Search for Account records within Zoho CRM using server-side queries.

Search Zoho CRM Calls

Search for Call records in Zoho CRM using server-side queries.

Search Zoho CRM Contacts

Search for contacts in Zoho CRM using server-side queries by criteria, email, phone, or keyword.

Search Deals in Zoho CRM

Search for Deal records in Zoho CRM using server-side queries.

Search Events

Search for Events in Zoho CRM using server-side queries.

Search Leads

Search for lead records in Zoho CRM using server-side queries.

Search Notes

Search for notes in Zoho CRM using server-side queries.

Search Zoho CRM Tasks

Search for tasks in Zoho CRM using flexible criteria.

Search Zoho CRM Records

Search for records within a Zoho CRM module using server-side queries.

Update Zoho CRM Account

Updates an existing Account record in Zoho CRM with the specified field values.

Update Zoho CRM Call

Updates existing call records in the Calls module in Zoho CRM.

Update Zoho CRM Custom Fields

Update custom-field definitions; some changes can alter existing record values.

Update Zoho CRM Custom View

Update the configuration of one Zoho CRM custom view.

Update Zoho CRM Deal

Updates an existing deal in Zoho CRM.

Update Zoho CRM Email Draft

Updates an existing email draft associated with a record in Zoho CRM.

Update Zoho CRM Event

Updates existing events in Zoho CRM.

Update Zoho CRM Layout

Update a custom layout's metadata, profile access, sections, or fields.

Update Lead

Updates existing lead records in Zoho CRM.

Update Zoho CRM Note

Updates an existing note in Zoho CRM.

Update Related Records in Zoho CRM

Associates or updates relationships between records across different modules in Zoho CRM.

Update Zoho CRM User

Update a Zoho CRM user's name, email, contact details, locale, time preferences, role, profile, or status by ID.

Update Zoho CRM Webform

Replace one Zoho CRM webform configuration using the V8 path-ID route.

Update Zoho CRM Workflow Rule

Update a Zoho CRM workflow rule's name, description, or activation status by ID.

Update Zoho CRM Record

Updates existing records in a specified module in Zoho CRM.

Upload Attachment to Zoho CRM Record

Tool to upload a file as an Attachment to a specific Zoho CRM record.

Upload Zoho CRM Record Photo

Set or replace the photo on a supported Zoho CRM record.

Upsert Zoho CRM Records

Insert or update up to 100 records using Zoho CRM duplicate matching.

Validate Zoho CRM Credentials

Validates Zoho CRM credentials by retrieving current user information.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

The Composio Universal CLI is a single command-line interface that lets coding agents and developers interact with 1500+ SaaS applications. It handles authentication, tool discovery, action execution, and trigger setup — all from the terminal, without needing to configure MCP servers.

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 Zoho and other connected apps.

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.

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

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