How to integrate Gift up MCP with Pydantic AI

This guide walks you through connecting Gift up to Pydantic AI using the Composio tool router. By the end, you'll have a working Gift up agent that can list all active gift cards sold this week, show available items for sale by group, get recent transaction reports for your store through natural language commands. This guide will help you understand how to give your Pydantic AI agent real control over a Gift up account through Composio's Gift up MCP server. Before we dive in, let's take a quick look at the key ideas and tools involved.

Gift up logoGift up
Api Key

Gift Up! is a digital platform for selling, managing, and redeeming gift cards online. It streamlines promotions and gift card transactions for businesses and their customers.

44 Tools

Introduction

This guide walks you through connecting Gift up to Pydantic AI using the Composio tool router. By the end, you'll have a working Gift up agent that can list all active gift cards sold this week, show available items for sale by group, get recent transaction reports for your store through natural language commands.

This guide will help you understand how to give your Pydantic AI agent real control over a Gift up account through Composio's Gift up MCP server.

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

Also integrate Gift up with

TL;DR

Here's what you'll learn:
  • How to set up your Composio API key and User ID
  • How to create a Composio Tool Router session for Gift up
  • How to attach an MCP Server to a Pydantic AI agent
  • How to stream responses and maintain chat history
  • How to build a simple REPL-style chat interface to test your Gift up workflows

What is Pydantic AI?

Pydantic AI is a Python framework for building AI agents with strong typing and validation. It leverages Pydantic's data validation capabilities to create robust, type-safe AI applications.

Key features include:

  • Type Safety: Built on Pydantic for automatic data validation
  • MCP Support: Native support for Model Context Protocol servers
  • Streaming: Built-in support for streaming responses
  • Async First: Designed for async/await patterns

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

The Gift up MCP server is an implementation of the Model Context Protocol that connects your AI agent and assistants like Claude, Cursor, etc directly to your Gift Up! account. It provides structured and secure access to your gift card operations, so your agent can list available gift cards, fetch company or checkout details, generate transaction reports, and manage users or webhook subscriptions on your behalf.

  • Gift card inventory management: Instantly list, filter, and audit all gift cards issued or available in your account, including status and details.
  • Sales item and group retrieval: Let your agent fetch all items for sale and organize them by item groups, making it easy to manage or present products.
  • Company and checkout settings access: Retrieve current company details and checkout configuration to audit or display your store's gift card setup.
  • Transaction reporting and analytics: Generate and filter transaction reports for deep insights into gift card sales, redemptions, and trends.
  • User and webhook management: List all users with account access or subscribe to webhook events, enabling automated notifications and streamlined team management.

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 step09 STEPS
1

Prerequisites

Before starting, make sure you have:
  • Python 3.9 or higher
  • A Composio account with an active API key
  • Basic familiarity with Python and async programming
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 pydantic-ai python-dotenv

Install the required libraries.

What's happening:

  • composio connects your agent to external SaaS tools like Gift up
  • pydantic-ai lets you create structured AI agents with tool support
  • python-dotenv loads your environment variables securely from a .env file
4

Set up environment variables

bash
COMPOSIO_API_KEY=your_composio_api_key_here
USER_ID=your_user_id_here
OPENAI_API_KEY=your_openai_api_key

Create a .env file in your project root.

What's happening:

  • COMPOSIO_API_KEY authenticates your agent to Composio's API
  • USER_ID associates your session with your account for secure tool access
  • OPENAI_API_KEY to access OpenAI LLMs
5

Import dependencies

python
import asyncio
import os
from dotenv import load_dotenv
from composio import Composio
from pydantic_ai import Agent
from pydantic_ai.mcp import MCPServerStreamableHTTP

load_dotenv()
What's happening:
  • We load environment variables and import required modules
  • Composio manages connections to Gift up
  • MCPServerStreamableHTTP connects to the Gift up MCP server endpoint
  • Agent from Pydantic AI lets you define and run the AI assistant
6

Create a Tool Router Session

python
async def main():
    api_key = os.getenv("COMPOSIO_API_KEY")
    user_id = os.getenv("USER_ID")
    if not api_key or not user_id:
        raise RuntimeError("Set COMPOSIO_API_KEY and USER_ID in your environment")

    # Create a Composio Tool Router session for Gift up
    composio = Composio(api_key=api_key)
    session = composio.create(
        user_id=user_id,
        toolkits=["gift_up"],
    )
    url = session.mcp.url
    if not url:
        raise ValueError("Composio session did not return an MCP URL")
What's happening:
  • We're creating a Tool Router session that gives your agent access to Gift up tools
  • The create method takes the user ID and specifies which toolkits should be available
  • The returned session.mcp.url is the MCP server URL that your agent will use
7

Initialize the Pydantic AI Agent

python
# Attach the MCP server to a Pydantic AI Agent
gift_up_mcp = MCPServerStreamableHTTP(url, headers={"x-api-key": COMPOSIO_API_KEY})
agent = Agent(
    "openai:gpt-5",
    toolsets=[gift_up_mcp],
    instructions=(
        "You are a Gift up assistant. Use Gift up tools to help users "
        "with their requests. Ask clarifying questions when needed."
    ),
)
What's happening:
  • The MCP client connects to the Gift up endpoint
  • The agent uses GPT-5 to interpret user commands and perform Gift up operations
  • The instructions field defines the agent's role and behavior
8

Build the chat interface

python
# Simple REPL with message history
history = []
print("Chat started! Type 'exit' or 'quit' to end.\n")
print("Try asking the agent to help you with Gift up.\n")

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", flush=True)

    async with agent.run_stream(user_input, message_history=history) as stream_result:
        collected_text = ""
        async for chunk in stream_result.stream_output():
            text_piece = None
            if isinstance(chunk, str):
                text_piece = chunk
            elif hasattr(chunk, "delta") and isinstance(chunk.delta, str):
                text_piece = chunk.delta
            elif hasattr(chunk, "text"):
                text_piece = chunk.text
            if text_piece:
                collected_text += text_piece
        result = stream_result

    print(f"Agent: {collected_text}\n")
    history = result.all_messages()
What's happening:
  • The agent reads input from the terminal and streams its response
  • Gift up API calls happen automatically under the hood
  • The model keeps conversation history to maintain context across turns
9

Run the application

python
if __name__ == "__main__":
    asyncio.run(main())
What's happening:
  • The asyncio loop launches the agent and keeps it running until you exit

Complete Code

Here's the complete code to get you started with Gift up and Pydantic AI:

python
import asyncio
import os
from dotenv import load_dotenv
from composio import Composio
from pydantic_ai import Agent
from pydantic_ai.mcp import MCPServerStreamableHTTP

load_dotenv()

async def main():
    api_key = os.getenv("COMPOSIO_API_KEY")
    user_id = os.getenv("USER_ID")
    if not api_key or not user_id:
        raise RuntimeError("Set COMPOSIO_API_KEY and USER_ID in your environment")

    # Create a Composio Tool Router session for Gift up
    composio = Composio(api_key=api_key)
    session = composio.create(
        user_id=user_id,
        toolkits=["gift_up"],
    )
    url = session.mcp.url
    if not url:
        raise ValueError("Composio session did not return an MCP URL")

    # Attach the MCP server to a Pydantic AI Agent
    gift_up_mcp = MCPServerStreamableHTTP(url, headers={"x-api-key": COMPOSIO_API_KEY})
    agent = Agent(
        "openai:gpt-5",
        toolsets=[gift_up_mcp],
        instructions=(
            "You are a Gift up assistant. Use Gift up tools to help users "
            "with their requests. Ask clarifying questions when needed."
        ),
    )

    # Simple REPL with message history
    history = []
    print("Chat started! Type 'exit' or 'quit' to end.\n")
    print("Try asking the agent to help you with Gift up.\n")

    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", flush=True)

        async with agent.run_stream(user_input, message_history=history) as stream_result:
            collected_text = ""
            async for chunk in stream_result.stream_output():
                text_piece = None
                if isinstance(chunk, str):
                    text_piece = chunk
                elif hasattr(chunk, "delta") and isinstance(chunk.delta, str):
                    text_piece = chunk.delta
                elif hasattr(chunk, "text"):
                    text_piece = chunk.text
                if text_piece:
                    collected_text += text_piece
            result = stream_result

        print(f"Agent: {collected_text}\n")
        history = result.all_messages()

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

Conclusion

You've built a Pydantic AI agent that can interact with Gift up through Composio's Tool Router. With this setup, your agent can perform real Gift up actions through natural language. You can extend this further by:
  • Adding other toolkits like Gmail, HubSpot, or Salesforce
  • Building a web-based chat interface around this agent
  • Using multiple MCP endpoints to enable cross-app workflows (for example, Gmail + Gift up for workflow automation)
This architecture makes your AI agent "agent-native", able to securely use APIs in a unified, composable way without custom integrations.
TOOLS

Supported Tools

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

Add Note to Order

Tool to add a note to an existing order.

Create Item

Tool to create a new item for sale in the Gift Up checkout.

Create Item Group

Tool to create a new item group for organizing items in the Gift Up checkout.

Create Order

Tool to create a new order which generates one or more gift cards.

Delete Item

Tool to delete an item from the Gift Up checkout.

Delete Item Group

Tool to delete an item group by its ID.

Delete Webhook

Tool to delete a webhook subscription by its ID.

Get Checkout Settings

Tool to retrieve the current checkout settings.

Get Company Details

Tool to retrieve company details.

Get Email Settings

Tool to retrieve email settings for the Gift Up account.

Get Gift Card by Code

Tool to retrieve a gift card by its code.

Get Gift Card Settings

Tool to retrieve gift card settings including code format, expiration rules, and display options.

Get Item by ID

Tool to retrieve detailed information about a specific item by its ID.

Get Order by ID

Tool to retrieve a specific order by ID.

API Health Check

Tool to perform a health check on the Gift Up!

Get Report Transaction

Tool to retrieve a specific transaction report by its ID.

Get Shipping Settings

Tool to retrieve shipping settings for physical gift cards.

Get Stripe Connection

Tool to retrieve current Stripe integration connection settings.

Get Webhook

Tool to retrieve a specific webhook by its ID.

List Gift Card Artwork

Tool to list all gift card artwork available for use on gift cards.

List Gift Cards

Tool to list gift cards.

List Item Groups

Tool to list item groups.

List Items

Lists all items (gift cards, passes, etc.

List Locations

Retrieves all physical locations where gift cards are sold and/or redeemed.

List Promotions

Tool to list all promotions that allow discounts to be applied on the Gift Up checkout.

List Report Transactions

Tool to list report transactions with optional filters.

List GiftUp Users

Tool to list all users.

List Webhooks

Tool to list all webhooks configured for the account.

Health Check (POST)

Tool to perform a health check using POST /ping endpoint.

Reactivate Gift Card

Tool to reactivate a voided gift card.

Redeem Gift Card

Tool to redeem a specified amount or units from a gift card.

Redeem Gift Card In Full

Tool to redeem a gift card in full.

Subscribe to Webhook

Subscribe to Gift Up!

Top Up Gift Card

Tool to add value to an existing gift card.

Undo Gift Card Redemption

Tool to undo a previous redemption on a gift card, restoring the redeemed amount to the gift card balance.

Update Email Settings

Tool to update email settings using JSON Patch operations.

Update Gift Card

Tool to update gift card properties using JSON Patch operations.

Update Gift Card Settings

Tool to update gift card settings using JSON Patch operations.

Update Item

Update an item's properties using JSON Patch operations.

Update Item Group

Tool to update an item group's properties using JSON Patch operations.

Update Order

Tool to update an order's properties using JSON Patch operations.

Update Stripe Connection

Tool to update Stripe integration connection settings for the Gift Up account.

Upload Gift Card Artwork

Tool to upload new gift card artwork.

Void Gift Card

Tool to void a gift card making it invalid for future redemptions.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

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

Yes, you can. Pydantic AI 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 Gift up tools.

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

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