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Composio profile image Developer Harsh
Developer Harsh for Composio

Posted on • Originally published at composio.dev

How to unlock 850+ tools in OpenClaw

#openclaw #opensource #ai #mcp

OpenClaw Limitations Unlocked

Openclaw comes with pretty limited set of tools. They are powerful but restricts a lot of functionality.

What if a single one can give you access to plethora of tools that works at your command.

There is a hidden benefit too - you don't have to share your credentials with open claw, making your OpenClaw workflows secure.

Enter's Composio - a tool layer for OpenClaw and all ai agents that offer self-tool discovery and selection, e2e authentication and no vendor lock in.

Why use it?

Composio expand's capabilities while keeping authentication secure and data under your control.

So, it's just plug and play - you plug in, connect your tools, and start building things that actually matter.

Now Let's look at how to connect composio with OpenClaw in this short guide.

3 Ways to connect opne claw

Here are 3 ways to connect openclaw:

  • Direct prompt
  • Composio npm package
  • MCP Porter

Let's look at how to set it up

1. Direct Prompt

Best part about open claw is - it can auto execute tools and setup your tools using a single prompt.

You can use that to your advantage and open up the OpenClaw dashboard chat and paste the following prompt:

Add a new MCP server called "composio" with transport type HTTP. Use the URL https://connect.composio.dev/mcp and add the header "x-consumer-api-key: your-api-key".
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Make sure to replace your-api-key with actual composio api key. You can get that by:

  • Visiting to Composio Dashboard and sign up / login.

  • Then heading to the Connect to OpenClaw and copy the prompt.

Reference Image

If first time login and authenticate and you are done!

2. Composio npm package

Composio recently released their open claw plugin, this mean's, no config headache, simple one liner command does it all!

So, head to terminal and type:

openclaw plugins install @composio/openclaw-plugin
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Once done, setup your api key, following the steps:

  • Log in at **dashboard.composio.dev.**
  • Choose your preferred client (OpenClaw, Claude Code, Cursor, etc.).
  • Copy your consumer key (ck_...).

In terminal run:

openclaw config set plugins.entries.composio.config.consumerKey "ck_your_key_here"
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Finally restart the gateway:

openclaw gateway restart
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All this does is setup the open claw configuration with consumer key in the Composio MCP.

Or alternatively, you can directly setup the mcp server, for more granular control.

3. Using MCP Porter

MCP Porter is OpenClaw way to use mcp-server and comes inbuild. You can activate by going to: OpenClaw Dashboard -> Skills -> Search MCP -> MCP Porter (Install)

Note: if it doesn't open, restart the OpenClaw server.

Once you do that:

→ Go to home folder where OpenClaw is installed: /home/username/.openclaw/workspace/config

→ Open the mcporter.json in any ide and paste the following & save:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "composio": {
      "baseUrl": "url_from",
      "headers": {
        "x-api-key": "api_key"
      }
    }
  },
  "imports": []
}
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The url and api key are the one from the pre-require step.

or if you want a standard input output (stdio) server setup you can use:

npm install -g composio-mcp
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{
  "mcpServers": {
    "composio": {
      "command": "composio-mcp",
      "args": ["--api-key", "api_key"],
      "transport": "stdio"
    }
  }
}
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npx mcporter call --stdio "npx @composio/mcp@latest setup https://backend.composio.dev/tool_router/<api-key>/mcp" <tool_name> <arg1>=<value1>
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Now to make sure agent pick up the composio mcp servers perfectly you need to setup the skills file!

npx skills add https://github.com/composiohq/skills --skill composio --yes
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Now you are all setup to experience OpenClaw seamlessly.

💡Fact: Though you can do all the steps in section through prompt in OpenClaw Dashboard (section 1), but it causes security concerns as as it stores logs that are accessible to other, if they have your agent id!

Summary

Tools like open-claw seem amazing at first glance but can easily become a nightmare if not handled right - especially around security.

The moment you hand broad permissions or API keys to an agent; you've opened a door you might forget, but it is even there. It doesn't know what's sensitive, it just acts.

That’s where tool like Composio sidesteps this quietly by handling scoped access and managed credentials under the hood, so the agent does its job without holding the master keys to everything.

What other approach you find safeguards your privacy and sensitive data, do share in comments!

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