How to integrate Smartlead MCP with Pydantic AI

This guide walks you through connecting Smartlead to Pydantic AI using the Composio tool router. By the end, you'll have a working Smartlead agent that can list your campaigns, create draft campaigns, check delivery tests, and review email accounts through natural language commands. This guide will help you understand how to give your Pydantic AI agent real control over a Smartlead account through Composio's Smartlead MCP server. Before we dive in, let's take a quick look at the key ideas and tools involved.

Smartlead logoSmartlead
Api Key

Smartlead is a sales engagement platform for cold email campaigns, leads, sending accounts, inbox activity, deliverability, prospecting, and sender provisioning. Use it to run outbound sales at scale while keeping campaign operations, replies, and sender health in one place.

19 Tools

Introduction

This guide walks you through connecting Smartlead to Pydantic AI using the Composio tool router. By the end, you'll have a working Smartlead agent that can list your campaigns, create draft campaigns, check delivery tests, and review email accounts through natural language commands.

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

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

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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 Smartlead
  • 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 Smartlead 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 Smartlead MCP server, and what's possible with it?

The Smartlead MCP server is an implementation of the Model Context Protocol that connects your AI agent and assistants like Claude, Cursor, etc directly to your Smartlead account. It provides structured and secure access to your campaigns, leads, inbox replies, sending accounts, deliverability tests, and prospecting tools, so your agent can manage campaigns, review performance, monitor replies, find prospects, and assess sender resources on your behalf.

  • Campaign creation and management: Have your agent create draft campaigns, review existing campaigns and their settings, or delete campaigns you no longer need.
  • Lead and performance monitoring: Let the agent list campaign leads, review email engagement statistics, remove unwanted leads, and resume paused leads.
  • Inbox and direct email actions: Instruct your agent to review lead replies across campaigns or send a single email from a connected Smartlead sending account.
  • Deliverability and account checks: Direct your agent to inspect sending account health, review spam and inbox placement tests, and organize tests with delivery folders.
  • Prospecting and sender research: Have your agent search prospect contacts, explore industries and saved searches, check prospect usage, compare sender vendors, and find available or purchased domains.

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 Smartlead
  • 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 Smartlead
  • MCPServerStreamableHTTP connects to the Smartlead 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 Smartlead
    composio = Composio(api_key=api_key)
    session = composio.create(
        user_id=user_id,
        toolkits=["smartlead"],
    )
    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 Smartlead 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
smartlead_mcp = MCPServerStreamableHTTP(url, headers={"x-api-key": COMPOSIO_API_KEY})
agent = Agent(
    "openai:gpt-5",
    toolsets=[smartlead_mcp],
    instructions=(
        "You are a Smartlead assistant. Use Smartlead tools to help users "
        "with their requests. Ask clarifying questions when needed."
    ),
)
What's happening:
  • The MCP client connects to the Smartlead endpoint
  • The agent uses GPT-5 to interpret user commands and perform Smartlead 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 Smartlead.\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
  • Smartlead 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 Smartlead 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 Smartlead
    composio = Composio(api_key=api_key)
    session = composio.create(
        user_id=user_id,
        toolkits=["smartlead"],
    )
    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
    smartlead_mcp = MCPServerStreamableHTTP(url, headers={"x-api-key": COMPOSIO_API_KEY})
    agent = Agent(
        "openai:gpt-5",
        toolsets=[smartlead_mcp],
        instructions=(
            "You are a Smartlead assistant. Use Smartlead 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 Smartlead.\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 Smartlead through Composio's Tool Router. With this setup, your agent can perform real Smartlead 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 + Smartlead 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 Smartlead action and event your agent gets out of the box.

Create Draft Campaign

Create a new campaign in DRAFTED status.

Create Smart Delivery Folder

Create an organizational folder for Smart Delivery tests.

Delete Campaign

Permanently delete a campaign and all associated sequences, mappings, and statistics.

Delete Smart Delivery Folder

Delete an empty Smart Delivery folder.

Get Campaign

Get configuration and performance summary for one Smartlead campaign by ID.

Get Campaigns

Get configuration and performance summaries for 1-20 Smartlead campaigns.

Get Smart Delivery Test

Get the documented configuration for one Smart Delivery spam test by ID.

Get Smart Prospect Usage

Get Smart Prospect lead-search metrics, fetch counts, daily limits, and available credit balance.

List Campaigns

List campaigns visible to the connected Smartlead account, optionally for one client.

List Smart Delivery Folders

List folders used to organize Smart Delivery tests.

List Smart Delivery Tests

List Smart Delivery spam and inbox-placement tests.

List Email Accounts

List connected sending accounts with health, warmup, usage, provider, and campaign filters.

List Inbox Replies

List lead replies across campaigns from Master Inbox using bounded filters and one page at a time.

List Smart Prospect Industries

List and search Smart Prospect industry filter values without searching contacts or consuming contact-fetch credits.

List Purchased Smart Senders Domains

List domains already purchased through Smart Senders.

List Saved Smart Prospect Searches

List saved Smart Prospect search definitions without executing them or consuming contact-search credits.

List Smart Senders Vendors

List Smart Senders marketplace vendors and current domain/mailbox pricing without placing an order.

Search Available Smart Senders Domains

Check Smart Senders marketplace domain availability for a vendor.

Search Smart Prospect Contacts (Consumes Credits)

Search one page of Smart Prospect contacts.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

With a standalone Smartlead MCP server, the agents and LLMs can only access a fixed set of Smartlead tools tied to that server. However, with the Composio Tool Router, agents can dynamically load tools from Smartlead 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 Smartlead tools.

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

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