How to integrate Are.na MCP with Codex

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

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Api Key

Are.na is a creative research platform for collecting images, links, notes, and ideas in channels. Use it to organize inspiration, build knowledge maps, and connect research across projects.

10 Tools

Introduction

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

Also integrate Are.na with

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 1000+ 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 Are.na MCP in Codex

Run the setup command

Run this command in your terminal to add the Composio MCP server to Codex.

Terminal

It will initiate the authentication in a browser window, authorize Codex to access your Composio account.

Composio authentication page

(Optional) Authenticate with OAuth

To authenticate manually, run the login command to open a browser window and authorize Codex to access your Composio account.

bash
codex mcp login composio

Verify the connection

Run codex mcp list to confirm Composio appears as a registered MCP server.

bash
codex mcp list

Codex App

Codex App follows the same approach as VS Code.

  1. Click ⚙️ on the bottom left → MCP Servers → + Add servers → Streamable HTTP:
  2. Fill the header and Key fields with { "x-consumer-api-key" = "ck_*******" }.
  3. The Key is the Composio API key, that you can find on dashboard.composio.dev
  4. Click on Authenticate and authorize Codex to your Composio account and you're all set.
Codex App MCP setup
  1. Restart and verify if it's there in .codex/config.toml
bash
[mcp_servers.composio]
url = "https://connect.composio.dev/mcp"
http_headers = { "x-consumer-api-key" = "ck_*******" }

What is the Are.na MCP server, and what's possible with it?

The Are.na MCP server is an implementation of the Model Context Protocol that connects your AI agent and assistants like Claude, Cursor, etc directly to your Are.na account. It provides structured and secure access to your channels, blocks, profile, and activity feed, so your agent can create and edit channels, explore saved research, organize blocks, review activity, and remove unwanted content on your behalf.

  • Channel creation and management: Have your agent create new channels, review their details, update their names, descriptions, or visibility, and delete channels you no longer need.
  • Creative research exploration: Let the agent browse the contents of your channels and inspect individual blocks to understand their content, sources, creators, and related details.
  • Block and channel organization: Direct your agent to add existing blocks or channels to one or more channels, without duplicating the original resources.
  • Channel cleanup: Instruct your agent to remove blocks or nested channels from a channel when they no longer fit your collection.
  • Account and activity review: Have your agent check your Are.na account details and review the latest activity in your personalized feed.

Conclusion

You've successfully integrated Are.na with Codex using Composio's MCP server. Now you can interact with Are.na 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 Are.na operations
  • Managed authentication through Composio
  • Access to 20,000+ tools across 1000+ apps for cross-app workflows
  • CodeAct workbench for complex tool chaining

Next steps:

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

Supported Tools

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

Add To Channels

Add an existing Are.

Create Channel

Create a user-owned Are.

Delete Channel

Permanently delete one Are.

Get Block

Get the details of one Are.

Get Channel

Get an Are.

Get Current User

Return the identity and account details for the authenticated Are.

Get My Feed

Return one page of the authenticated user's personalized Are.

List Channel Contents

Return one page of blocks and nested channels from an Are.

Remove From Channel

Remove one block or nested channel placement from an Are.

Update Channel

Update selected fields of an Are.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

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

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 Are.na tools.

Yes, absolutely. You can configure which Are.na 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.

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 Are.na data and credentials are handled as safely as possible.

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