How to integrate Cronly MCP with Autogen

This guide walks you through connecting Cronly to AutoGen using the Composio tool router. By the end, you'll have a working Cronly agent that can list failed cron jobs today, check ssl certificates expiring soon, summarize active cronly server alerts through natural language commands. This guide will help you understand how to give your AutoGen agent real control over a Cronly account through Composio's Cronly MCP server. Before we dive in, let's take a quick look at the key ideas and tools involved.

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Cronly is an operations monitoring service for cron jobs, SSL certificates, servers, and crontab backups. It helps teams catch failures and expiry risks early with clear operational alerts.

10 Tools

Introduction

This guide walks you through connecting Cronly to AutoGen using the Composio tool router. By the end, you'll have a working Cronly agent that can list failed cron jobs today, check ssl certificates expiring soon, summarize active cronly server alerts through natural language commands.

This guide will help you understand how to give your AutoGen agent real control over a Cronly account through Composio's Cronly MCP server.

Before we dive in, let's take a quick look at the key ideas and tools involved.

Also integrate Cronly with

OpenAI Agents SDKClaude Agent SDKClaude CodeClaude CoworkCodexOpenClawHermesCLIGoogle ADKLangChainVercel AI SDKMastra AILlamaIndexCrewAI

TL;DR

Here's what you'll learn:
  • Get and set up your OpenAI and Composio API keys
  • Install the required dependencies for Autogen and Composio
  • Initialize Composio and create a Tool Router session for Cronly
  • Wire that MCP URL into Autogen using McpWorkbench and StreamableHttpServerParams
  • Configure an Autogen AssistantAgent that can call Cronly tools
  • Run a live chat loop where you ask the agent to perform Cronly operations

What is AutoGen?

Autogen is a framework for building multi-agent conversational AI systems from Microsoft. It enables you to create agents that can collaborate, use tools, and maintain complex workflows.

Key features include:

  • Multi-Agent Systems: Build collaborative agent workflows
  • MCP Workbench: Native support for Model Context Protocol tools
  • Streaming HTTP: Connect to external services through streamable HTTP
  • AssistantAgent: Pre-built agent class for tool-using assistants

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

The Cronly MCP server is an implementation of the Model Context Protocol that connects your AI agent and assistants like Claude, Cursor, etc directly to your Cronly account. It provides structured and secure access to your cron monitors, certificate checks, projects, operational notifications, servers, backups, and account details, so your agent can create monitoring checks, review resources, report successful cron runs, organize monitors, and remove checks on your behalf.

  • Cron job monitoring: Have your agent create heartbeat monitors for cron jobs, report successful runs, and review existing monitors.
  • Certificate expiry checks: Let the agent create SSL and TLS certificate monitors for your hostnames, inspect current checks, or remove checks you no longer need.
  • Project organization: Direct your agent to create projects for grouping your monitoring work, review existing projects, and delete obsolete ones.
  • Operational resource review: Instruct your agent to list and inspect notifications, servers, crontab backups, users, monitors, projects, and certificates.
  • Account overview: Have your agent retrieve your organization details, timezone, and subscription summary without exposing billing or integration secrets.

What is the Composio tool router, and how does it fit here?

What is Composio SDK?

Composio's Composio SDK 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 Composio SDK

The tool router generates a secure MCP URL that your agents can access to perform actions.

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 step08 STEPS
1

Prerequisites

You will need:

  • A Composio API key
  • An OpenAI API key (used by Autogen's OpenAIChatCompletionClient)
  • A Cronly account you can connect to Composio
  • Some basic familiarity with Autogen and Python async
2

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.
3

Install dependencies

bash
pip install composio python-dotenv
pip install autogen-agentchat autogen-ext-openai autogen-ext-tools

Install Composio, Autogen extensions, and dotenv.

What's happening:

  • composio connects your agent to Cronly via MCP
  • autogen-agentchat provides the AssistantAgent class
  • autogen-ext-openai provides the OpenAI model client
  • autogen-ext-tools provides MCP workbench support

4

Set up environment variables

bash
COMPOSIO_API_KEY=your-composio-api-key
OPENAI_API_KEY=your-openai-api-key
USER_ID=your-user-identifier@example.com

Create a .env file in your project folder.

What's happening:

  • COMPOSIO_API_KEY is required to talk to Composio
  • OPENAI_API_KEY is used by Autogen's OpenAI client
  • USER_ID is how Composio identifies which user's Cronly connections to use
5

Import dependencies and create Tool Router session

python
import asyncio
import os
from dotenv import load_dotenv
from composio import Composio

from autogen_agentchat.agents import AssistantAgent
from autogen_ext.models.openai import OpenAIChatCompletionClient
from autogen_ext.tools.mcp import McpWorkbench, StreamableHttpServerParams

load_dotenv()

async def main():
    # Initialize Composio and create a Cronly session
    composio = Composio(api_key=os.getenv("COMPOSIO_API_KEY"))
    session = composio.create(
        user_id=os.getenv("USER_ID"),
        toolkits=["cronly"]
    )
    url = session.mcp.url
What's happening:
  • load_dotenv() reads your .env file
  • Composio(api_key=...) initializes the SDK
  • create(...) creates a Tool Router session that exposes Cronly tools
  • session.mcp.url is the MCP endpoint that Autogen will connect to
6

Configure MCP parameters for Autogen

python
# Configure MCP server parameters for Streamable HTTP
server_params = StreamableHttpServerParams(
    url=url,
    timeout=30.0,
    sse_read_timeout=300.0,
    terminate_on_close=True,
    headers={"x-api-key": os.getenv("COMPOSIO_API_KEY")}
)

Autogen expects parameters describing how to talk to the MCP server. That is what StreamableHttpServerParams is for.

What's happening:

  • url points to the Tool Router MCP endpoint from Composio
  • timeout is the HTTP timeout for requests
  • sse_read_timeout controls how long to wait when streaming responses
  • terminate_on_close=True cleans up the MCP server process when the workbench is closed
7

Create the model client and agent

python
# Create model client
model_client = OpenAIChatCompletionClient(
    model="gpt-5",
    api_key=os.getenv("OPENAI_API_KEY")
)

# Use McpWorkbench as context manager
async with McpWorkbench(server_params) as workbench:
    # Create Cronly assistant agent with MCP tools
    agent = AssistantAgent(
        name="cronly_assistant",
        description="An AI assistant that helps with Cronly operations.",
        model_client=model_client,
        workbench=workbench,
        model_client_stream=True,
        max_tool_iterations=10
    )

What's happening:

  • OpenAIChatCompletionClient wraps the OpenAI model for Autogen
  • McpWorkbench connects the agent to the MCP tools
  • AssistantAgent is configured with the Cronly tools from the workbench
8

Run the interactive chat loop

python
print("Chat started! Type 'exit' or 'quit' to end the conversation.\n")
print("Ask any Cronly related question or task to the agent.\n")

# Conversation loop
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")

    # Run the agent with streaming
    try:
        response_text = ""
        async for message in agent.run_stream(task=user_input):
            if hasattr(message, "content") and message.content:
                response_text = message.content

        # Print the final response
        if response_text:
            print(f"Agent: {response_text}\n")
        else:
            print("Agent: I encountered an issue processing your request.\n")

    except Exception as e:
        print(f"Agent: Sorry, I encountered an error: {str(e)}\n")
What's happening:
  • The script prompts you in a loop with You:
  • Autogen passes your input to the model, which decides which Cronly tools to call via MCP
  • agent.run_stream(...) yields streaming messages as the agent thinks and calls tools
  • Typing exit, quit, or bye ends the loop

Complete Code

Here's the complete code to get you started with Cronly and AutoGen:

python
import asyncio
import os
from dotenv import load_dotenv
from composio import Composio

from autogen_agentchat.agents import AssistantAgent
from autogen_ext.models.openai import OpenAIChatCompletionClient
from autogen_ext.tools.mcp import McpWorkbench, StreamableHttpServerParams

load_dotenv()

async def main():
    # Initialize Composio and create a Cronly session
    composio = Composio(api_key=os.getenv("COMPOSIO_API_KEY"))
    session = composio.create(
        user_id=os.getenv("USER_ID"),
        toolkits=["cronly"]
    )
    url = session.mcp.url

    # Configure MCP server parameters for Streamable HTTP
    server_params = StreamableHttpServerParams(
        url=url,
        timeout=30.0,
        sse_read_timeout=300.0,
        terminate_on_close=True,
        headers={"x-api-key": os.getenv("COMPOSIO_API_KEY")}
    )

    # Create model client
    model_client = OpenAIChatCompletionClient(
        model="gpt-5",
        api_key=os.getenv("OPENAI_API_KEY")
    )

    # Use McpWorkbench as context manager
    async with McpWorkbench(server_params) as workbench:
        # Create Cronly assistant agent with MCP tools
        agent = AssistantAgent(
            name="cronly_assistant",
            description="An AI assistant that helps with Cronly operations.",
            model_client=model_client,
            workbench=workbench,
            model_client_stream=True,
            max_tool_iterations=10
        )

        print("Chat started! Type 'exit' or 'quit' to end the conversation.\n")
        print("Ask any Cronly related question or task to the agent.\n")

        # Conversation loop
        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")

            # Run the agent with streaming
            try:
                response_text = ""
                async for message in agent.run_stream(task=user_input):
                    if hasattr(message, 'content') and message.content:
                        response_text = message.content

                # Print the final response
                if response_text:
                    print(f"Agent: {response_text}\n")
                else:
                    print("Agent: I encountered an issue processing your request.\n")

            except Exception as e:
                print(f"Agent: Sorry, I encountered an error: {str(e)}\n")

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

Conclusion

You now have an Autogen assistant wired into Cronly through Composio's Tool Router and MCP. From here you can:
  • Add more toolkits to the toolkits list, for example notion or hubspot
  • Refine the agent description to point it at specific workflows
  • Wrap this script behind a UI, Slack bot, or internal tool
Once the pattern is clear for Cronly, you can reuse the same structure for other MCP-enabled apps with minimal code changes.
TOOLS

Supported Tools

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

Create Certificate Monitor

Create an SSL/TLS certificate-expiry monitor for a hostname and port.

Create Monitor

Create a cron-job heartbeat monitor and return its ID and sensitive pulse token.

Create Project

Create a project for organizing Cronly monitors and certificate checks.

Delete Certificate Monitor

Permanently delete an SSL/TLS certificate monitor by numeric ID.

Delete Monitor

Permanently delete a cron-job monitor by numeric ID.

Delete Project

Permanently delete a Cronly project by numeric ID.

Get Company

Return safe organization, timezone, and subscription-summary fields for the connected Cronly account without exposing billing or integration secrets.

Get Resource

Get one monitor, project, certificate, user, server, or backup by its resource identity.

List Resources

List notifications, monitors, projects, certificates, users, servers, or backups.

Pulse Monitor

Record a successful heartbeat for a monitor using its sensitive pulse token.

FRAMEWORKS

How to build Cronly MCP Agent with another framework

OpenAI Agents SDK logo

OpenAI Agents SDK

Use Cronly MCP with OpenAI Agents SDK

Claude Agent SDK logo

Claude Agent SDK

Use Cronly MCP with Claude Agent SDK

Claude Code logo

Claude Code

Use Cronly MCP with Claude Code

Claude Cowork logo

Claude Cowork

Use Cronly MCP with Claude Cowork

Codex logo

Codex

Use Cronly MCP with Codex

OpenClaw logo

OpenClaw

Use Cronly MCP with OpenClaw

Hermes logo

Hermes

Use Cronly MCP with Hermes

CLI logo

CLI

Use Cronly MCP with CLI

Google ADK logo

Google ADK

Use Cronly MCP with Google ADK

LangChain logo

LangChain

Use Cronly MCP with LangChain

Vercel AI SDK logo

Vercel AI SDK

Use Cronly MCP with Vercel AI SDK

Mastra AI logo

Mastra AI

Use Cronly MCP with Mastra AI

LlamaIndex logo

LlamaIndex

Use Cronly MCP with LlamaIndex

CrewAI logo

CrewAI

Use Cronly MCP with CrewAI

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

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

Yes, you can. Autogen 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 Cronly tools.

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

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Co-founder, Slashy

A lot of students tell us that the moment their connected tools start talking to each other inside Opennote feels almost magical. The agent just knows them, and it's immensely helped keep new users on the platform.

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As a solo builder, shipping fast is life or death. The only way I can outcompete incumbents is by outmanoeuvring them. Getting bogged down managing agent auth would have been a death sentence.

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Before Composio, adding tool integrations was slow and resource-intensive. Each one could take weeks of engineering time, and maintaining them meant constantly keeping up with API changes.

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With hands-on help from their founder, we integrated Gmail and Google Drive in just 30 minutes. This level of personal support and commitment is exactly what startups should strive for.

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