How to integrate Cradl AI MCP with Claude Code

Manage your Cradl AI directly from Claude Code with zero worries about OAuth hassles, API-breaking issues, or reliability and security concerns. You can do this in two different ways: Via Composio Connect - Direct and easiest approach Via Composio SDK - Programmatic approach with more control

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Cradl AI is an API-first platform for AI-powered document extraction workflows. Use it to turn invoices, forms, and PDFs into structured data at scale.

11 Tools

Introduction

Manage your Cradl AI directly from Claude Code with zero worries about OAuth hassles, API-breaking issues, or reliability and security concerns.

You can do this in two different ways:

  1. Via Composio Connect - Direct and easiest approach
  2. Via Composio SDK - Programmatic approach with more control

Also integrate Cradl AI with

Why use Composio?

  • Only one MCP URL to connect multiple apps with Claude Code with zero auth hassles.
  • Programmatic tool calling allows LLMs to write its code in a remote workbench to handle complex tool chaining. Reduces to-and-fro with LLMs for frequent tool calling.
  • Handling Large tool responses out of LLM context to minimize 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 LLMs aren't overwhelmed by tools you don't need.

Connecting Cradl AI to Claude Code using Composio

1. Add the Composio MCP to Claude

Terminal

2. Start Claude Code

bash
claude

3. Open your MCP list

bash
/mcp

4. Select Composio and click on Authenticate

Select Composio and click Authenticate

5. This will redirect you to the Composio OAuth page. Complete the flow by authorizing Composio and you're all set.

Composio OAuth authorization page
Composio authorization complete
Ask Claude to connect to your account and authenticate via the link

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

The Cradl AI MCP server is an implementation of the Model Context Protocol that connects your AI agent and assistants like Claude, Cursor, etc directly to your Cradl AI account. It provides structured and secure access to your document extraction workflows, so your agent can upload and process documents, start and monitor processing runs, review extracted predictions, and download results on your behalf.

  • Document processing: Have your agent submit a PDF, image, or email to a selected document processing agent for asynchronous extraction.
  • Agent and document discovery: Let the agent list available document processing agents and browse documents in your connected workspace.
  • Processing run management: Direct your agent to start processing runs, list past runs, filter them by status or time, and check their current state and outputs.
  • Prediction review: Instruct your agent to list extracted predictions and inspect their status, extracted fields, errors, and output references.
  • File retrieval: Have your agent download document content, OCR results, annotations, predictions, or processing variables returned by Cradl AI.

Connecting Cradl AI via Composio SDK

Composio SDK is the underlying tech that powers Rube. It's a universal gateway that does everything Rube does but with much more programmatic control. You can programmatically generate an MCP URL with the app you need (here Cradl AI) for even more tool search precision. It's secure and reliable.

How the Composio SDK works

The Composio SDK 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

Step by step10 STEPS
1

Prerequisites

Before starting, make sure you have:
  • Claude Pro, Max, or API billing enabled Anthropic account
  • Composio API Key
  • A Cradl AI account
  • Basic knowledge of Python or TypeScript
2

Install Claude Code

bash
# macOS, Linux, WSL
curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash

# Windows PowerShell
irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex

# Windows CMD
curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.cmd -o install.cmd && install.cmd && del install.cmd

To install Claude Code, use one of the following methods based on your operating system:

3

Set up Claude Code

bash
cd your-project-folder
claude

Open a terminal, go to your project folder, and start Claude Code:

  • Claude Code will open in your terminal
  • Follow the prompts to sign in with your Anthropic account
  • Complete the authentication flow
  • Once authenticated, you can start using Claude Code
Claude Code initial setup showing sign-in prompt
Claude Code terminal after successful login
4

Set up environment variables

bash
COMPOSIO_API_KEY=your_composio_api_key_here
USER_ID=your_user_id_here

Create a .env file in your project root with the following variables:

  • COMPOSIO_API_KEY authenticates with Composio (get it from Composio dashboard)
  • USER_ID identifies the user for session management (use any unique identifier)
5

Install Composio library

npm install @composio/core dotenv

Install the Composio TypeScript library to create MCP sessions.

  • @composio/core provides the core Composio functionality
  • dotenv loads environment variables from your .env file
6

Generate Composio MCP URL

import 'dotenv/config';
import { Composio } from '@composio/core';

const { COMPOSIO_API_KEY, USER_ID } = process.env;

if (!COMPOSIO_API_KEY || !USER_ID) {
  throw new Error('COMPOSIO_API_KEY and USER_ID required in .env');
}

const composioClient = new Composio({ apiKey: COMPOSIO_API_KEY });

const composioSession = await composioClient.create(USER_ID, {
  toolkits: ['cradl_ai'],
});

const composioMcpUrl = composioSession?.mcp.url;

console.log(`MCP URL: ${composioMcpUrl}`);
console.log(`\nUse this command to add to Claude Code:`);
console.log(`claude mcp add --transport http cradl_ai-composio "${composioMcpUrl}" --headers "X-API-Key:${COMPOSIO_API_KEY}"`);

Create a script to generate a Composio MCP URL for Cradl AI. This URL will be used to connect Claude Code to Cradl AI.

What's happening

  • We import the Composio client and load environment variables
  • Create a Composio instance with your API key
  • Call create() to create a Tool Router session for Cradl AI
  • The returned mcp.url is the MCP server URL that Claude Code will use
  • The script prints this URL so you can copy it
7

Run the script and copy the MCP URL

node --loader ts-node/esm generate_mcp_url.ts
# or if using tsx
tsx generate_mcp_url.ts

Run your TypeScript script to generate the MCP URL.

  • The script connects to Composio and creates a Tool Router session
  • It prints the MCP URL and the exact command you need to run
  • Copy the entire claude mcp add command from the output
8

Add Cradl AI MCP to Claude Code

bash
claude mcp add --transport http cradl_ai-composio "YOUR_MCP_URL_HERE" --headers "X-API-Key:YOUR_COMPOSIO_API_KEY"

# Then restart Claude Code
exit
claude

In your terminal, add the MCP server using the command from the previous step. The command format is:

  • claude mcp add registers a new MCP server with Claude Code
  • --transport http specifies that this is an HTTP-based MCP server
  • The server name (cradl_ai-composio) is how you'll reference it
  • The URL points to your Composio Tool Router session
  • --headers includes your Composio API key for authentication

After running the command, close the current Claude Code session and start a new one for the changes to take effect.

9

Verify the installation

bash
claude mcp list

Check that your Cradl AI MCP server is properly configured.

  • This command lists all MCP servers registered with Claude Code
  • You should see your cradl_ai-composio entry in the list
  • This confirms that Claude Code can now access Cradl AI tools

If everything is wired up, you should see your cradl_ai-composio entry listed:

Claude Code MCP list showing the toolkit MCP server
10

Authenticate Cradl AI

The first time you try to use Cradl AI tools, you'll be prompted to authenticate.

  • Claude Code will detect that you need to authenticate with Cradl AI
  • It will show you an authentication link
  • Open the link in your browser (or copy/paste it)
  • Complete the Cradl AI authorization flow
  • Return to the terminal and start using Cradl AI through Claude Code

Once authenticated, you can ask Claude Code to perform Cradl AI operations in natural language. For example:

  • "Extract invoice totals from uploaded PDFs"
  • "List failed Cradl AI extraction jobs"
  • "Review purchase order extraction results"

Complete Code

Here's the complete code to get you started with Cradl AI and Claude Code:

import 'dotenv/config';
import { Composio } from '@composio/core';

const { COMPOSIO_API_KEY, USER_ID } = process.env;

if (!COMPOSIO_API_KEY || !USER_ID) {
  throw new Error('COMPOSIO_API_KEY and USER_ID required in .env');
}

const composioClient = new Composio({ apiKey: COMPOSIO_API_KEY });

const composioSession = await composioClient.create(USER_ID, {
  toolkits: ['cradl_ai'],
});

const composioMcpUrl = composioSession?.mcp.url;

console.log(`MCP URL: ${composioMcpUrl}`);
console.log(`\nUse this command to add to Claude Code:`);
console.log(`claude mcp add --transport http cradl_ai-composio "${composioMcpUrl}" --headers "X-API-Key:${COMPOSIO_API_KEY}"`);

Conclusion

You've successfully integrated Cradl AI with Claude Code using Composio's MCP server. Now you can interact with Cradl AI directly from your terminal using natural language commands.

Key features of this setup:

  • Terminal-native experience without switching contexts
  • Natural language commands for Cradl AI operations
  • Secure authentication through Composio's managed MCP
  • Tool Router for dynamic tool discovery and execution

Next steps:

  • Try asking Claude Code to perform various Cradl AI operations
  • Add more toolkits to your Tool Router session for multi-app workflows
  • Integrate this setup into your development workflow for increased productivity

You can extend this by adding more toolkits, implementing custom workflows, or building automation scripts that leverage Claude Code's capabilities.

TOOLS

Supported Tools

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

Download File

Download document, OCR, annotation, prediction, or run-variable content from a Cradl AI file URL returned by another Cradl AI tool.

Get Agent Run

Get the current state and outputs of one Cradl AI agent run.

Get Document

Get metadata, processing links, and annotations for one Cradl AI document by ID.

Get Prediction

Get one extracted prediction, including its status, fields, errors, and downloadable output references.

List Agent Runs

List processing runs for an agent, optionally filtered by status or creation/update time.

List Agents

List document-processing agents available to the connected Cradl AI workspace.

List Documents

List documents in the connected Cradl AI workspace and discover document IDs and content/output file URLs.

List Predictions

List extracted predictions, optionally filtered by model, and discover prediction IDs and output file URLs.

Process Document

Create a persistent Cradl agent run and document, then upload one document for asynchronous extraction in a single call.

Start Agent Run

Create a processing run for an existing Cradl AI agent.

Upload Document to Run

Create a document attached to a Cradl AI agent run and upload its PDF, image, or email bytes.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

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

Yes, you can. Claude Code 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 Cradl AI tools.

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

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