OpenAI SDK

Use OpenAI with Civic tools via manual function calling

Overview

This recipe shows how to wire Civic MCP tools to the OpenAI Node SDK using manual function calling.

Want a simpler approach? The OpenAI Agents SDK recipe uses hostedMcpTool() — no manual tool looping required. Use this page if you need full control over the tool loop.

Prerequisites

• Civic account at app.civic.com with at least one MCP server connected
• OpenAI API key from platform.openai.com

Installation

npm install openai @modelcontextprotocol/sdk

Authentication

Backend / Script (Civic Token)

Generate a Civic Token

1. Log in to app.civic.com
2. Click your account name in the bottom left
3. Go to Install → MCP URL
4. Click Generate Token and copy it immediately — it won’t be shown again

Never commit your token to source control. Store it in environment variables or a secrets manager. Tokens expire after 30 days.

Set Environment Variables

CIVIC_TOKEN=your-civic-token-here
CIVIC_URL=https://app.civic.com/hub/mcp

For production agents, lock to a specific toolkit by appending a profile parameter:

CIVIC_URL=https://app.civic.com/hub/mcp?profile=your-toolkit-alias

Use the Token

Pass the token as a Bearer token in the Authorization header:

headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['CIVIC_TOKEN']}"}

headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.CIVIC_TOKEN}` }

Full credentials guide

Token generation, URL parameters, OAuth vs token comparison

# .env
OPENAI_API_KEY=your_openai_api_key
CIVIC_TOKEN=your-civic-token-here
CIVIC_URL=https://app.civic.com/hub/mcp

Next.js App (Civic Auth)

For web apps where each user has their own Civic session.

Install the additional auth package:

npm install @civic/auth

Why Civic Auth? Civic needs to identify which user is accessing tools and authorize their permissions. Civic Auth provides the secure access token. (Support for additional identity providers coming soon.)

1. next.config.ts

import { createCivicAuthPlugin } from "@civic/auth/nextjs"
import type { NextConfig } from "next";

const nextConfig: NextConfig = {};
const withCivicAuth = createCivicAuthPlugin({ clientId: "YOUR_CLIENT_ID" });
export default withCivicAuth(nextConfig)

2. API Route

File: src/app/api/auth/[...civicauth]/route.ts

import { handler } from "@civic/auth/nextjs"
export const GET = handler()
export const POST = handler()

3. Middleware

File: src/middleware.ts

import { authMiddleware } from "@civic/auth/nextjs/middleware"
export default authMiddleware();
export const config = { matcher: ['/((?!_next|favicon.ico|.*\\.png).*)',] };

4. Get Token

import { getTokens } from "@civic/auth/nextjs";
const { accessToken } = await getTokens();
// Use in headers:
headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${accessToken}` }

Full Integration Guide

Complete Next.js setup with frontend components, configuration options, and deployment details

AI Prompt for Next.js

Use Claude, ChatGPT, or other AI assistants to automatically set up Civic Auth

Get your Client ID at auth.civic.com

# .env.local
OPENAI_API_KEY=your_openai_api_key
CIVIC_AUTH_CLIENT_ID=your_client_id  # from auth.civic.com

Create an MCP Client

import { StreamableHTTPClientTransport } from '@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/client/streamableHttp.js';
import { Client } from '@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/client/index.js';

async function createMCP(token: string) {
  const transport = new StreamableHTTPClientTransport(
    new URL(process.env.CIVIC_URL!),
    {
      requestInit: {
        headers: {
          Authorization: `Bearer ${token}`,
          'Content-Type': 'application/json',
        },
      },
    }
  );
  const client = new Client(
    { name: 'my-app', version: '1.0.0' },
    { capabilities: {} }
  );
  await client.connect(transport);
  return client;
}

Call with Tool Functions

This example handles a single round of tool calling. Real agent loops need to iterate until the model stops requesting tools — see the multi-turn loop below.

import OpenAI from 'openai';

export async function chatWithTools(messages: any[], civicToken: string) {
  const openai = new OpenAI({ apiKey: process.env.OPENAI_API_KEY! });
  const mcp = await createMCP(civicToken);
  const { tools } = await mcp.listTools();

  const toolDefs = tools.map((t) => ({
    type: 'function' as const,
    function: {
      name: t.name,
      description: t.description,
      parameters: t.inputSchema,
    },
  }));

  // Multi-turn tool loop — runs until the model stops requesting tools
  let response = await openai.chat.completions.create({
    model: 'gpt-4o-mini',
    messages,
    tools: toolDefs,
    tool_choice: 'auto',
  });

  while (response.choices[0]?.finish_reason === 'tool_calls') {
    const toolCalls = response.choices[0].message.tool_calls ?? [];
    const toolResults = await Promise.all(
      toolCalls.map(async (call) => {
        const args = JSON.parse(call.function.arguments || '{}');
        const result = await mcp.callTool({ name: call.function.name, arguments: args });
        return {
          role: 'tool' as const,
          tool_call_id: call.id,
          content: JSON.stringify(result.content),
        };
      })
    );

    messages = [
      ...messages,
      response.choices[0].message,
      ...toolResults,
    ];

    response = await openai.chat.completions.create({
      model: 'gpt-4o-mini',
      messages,
      tools: toolDefs,
    });
  }

  await mcp.close();
  return response;
}

Usage

// Backend / Script
const result = await chatWithTools(
  [{ role: 'user', content: 'List my GitHub repositories' }],
  process.env.CIVIC_TOKEN!
);
console.log(result.choices[0].message.content);

OpenAI Agents SDK

Simpler approach — hostedMcpTool() handles the loop for you

Get Help

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