square-automation

Square Automation via Rube MCP

Automate Square payment processing, order management, and invoicing through Composio's Square toolkit via Rube MCP.

Prerequisites

• Rube MCP must be connected (RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS available)
• Active Square connection via RUBE_MANAGE_CONNECTIONS with toolkit square
• Always call RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS first to get current tool schemas

Setup

Get Rube MCP: Add https://rube.app/mcp as an MCP server in your client configuration. No API keys needed — just add the endpoint and it works.

1. Verify Rube MCP is available by confirming RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS responds
2. Call RUBE_MANAGE_CONNECTIONS with toolkit square
3. If connection is not ACTIVE, follow the returned auth link to complete Square OAuth
4. Confirm connection status shows ACTIVE before running any workflows

Core Workflows

1. List and Monitor Payments

When to use: User wants to view payment history or check payment status

Tool sequence:

1. SQUARE_LIST_PAYMENTS - Retrieve payments with optional filters [Required]
2. SQUARE_CANCEL_PAYMENT - Cancel a pending payment if needed [Optional]

Key parameters:

• begin_time / end_time: RFC 3339 timestamps for date range filtering
• sort_order: 'ASC' or 'DESC' for chronological ordering
• cursor: Pagination cursor from previous response
• location_id: Filter payments by specific location

Pitfalls:

• Timestamps must be RFC 3339 format (e.g., '2024-01-01T00:00:00Z')
• Pagination required for large result sets; follow cursor until absent
• Only pending payments can be cancelled; completed payments require refunds
• SQUARE_CANCEL_PAYMENT requires exact payment_id from list results

2. Search and Manage Orders

When to use: User wants to find orders by criteria or update order details

Tool sequence:

1. SQUARE_LIST_LOCATIONS - Get location IDs for filtering [Prerequisite]
2. SQUARE_SEARCH_ORDERS - Search orders with filters [Required]
3. SQUARE_RETRIEVE_ORDER - Get full details of a specific order [Optional]
4. SQUARE_UPDATE_ORDER - Modify order state or details [Optional]

Key parameters:

• location_ids: Array of location IDs to search within (required for search)
• query: Search filter object with date ranges, states, fulfillment types
• order_id: Specific order ID for retrieve/update operations
• cursor: Pagination cursor for search results

Pitfalls:

• location_ids is required for SEARCH_ORDERS; get IDs from LIST_LOCATIONS first
• Order states include: OPEN, COMPLETED, CANCELED, DRAFT
• UPDATE_ORDER requires the current version field to prevent conflicts
• Search results are paginated; follow cursor until absent

3. Manage Locations

When to use: User wants to view business locations or get location details

Tool sequence:

1. SQUARE_LIST_LOCATIONS - List all business locations [Required]

Key parameters:

• No required parameters; returns all accessible locations
• Response includes id, name, address, status, timezone

Pitfalls:

• Location IDs are required for most other Square operations (orders, payments)
• Always cache location IDs after first retrieval to avoid redundant calls
• Inactive locations may still appear in results; check status field

4. Invoice Management

When to use: User wants to list, view, or cancel invoices

Tool sequence:

1. SQUARE_LIST_LOCATIONS - Get location ID for filtering [Prerequisite]
2. SQUARE_LIST_INVOICES - List invoices for a location [Required]
3. SQUARE_GET_INVOICE - Get detailed invoice information [Optional]
4. SQUARE_CANCEL_INVOICE - Cancel a scheduled or unpaid invoice [Optional]

Key parameters:

• location_id: Required for listing invoices
• invoice_id: Required for get/cancel operations
• cursor: Pagination cursor for list results
• limit: Number of results per page

Pitfalls:

• location_id is required for LIST_INVOICES; resolve via LIST_LOCATIONS first
• Only SCHEDULED, UNPAID, or PARTIALLY_PAID invoices can be cancelled
• CANCEL_INVOICE requires the invoice version to prevent race conditions
• Cancelled invoices cannot be uncancelled

Common Patterns

ID Resolution

Location name -> Location ID:

1. Call SQUARE_LIST_LOCATIONS
2. Find location by name in response
3. Extract id field (e.g., 'L1234ABCD')

Order lookup:

1. Call SQUARE_SEARCH_ORDERS with location_ids and query filters
2. Extract order_id from results
3. Use order_id for RETRIEVE_ORDER or UPDATE_ORDER

Pagination

• Check response for cursor field
• Pass cursor value in next request's cursor parameter
• Continue until cursor is absent or empty
• Use limit to control page size

Date Range Filtering

• Use RFC 3339 format: 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z
• For payments: begin_time and end_time parameters
• For orders: Use query filter with date_time_filter
• All timestamps are in UTC

Known Pitfalls

ID Formats:

• Location IDs are alphanumeric strings (e.g., 'L1234ABCD')
• Payment IDs and Order IDs are longer alphanumeric strings
• Always resolve location names to IDs before other operations

Versioning:

• UPDATE_ORDER and CANCEL_INVOICE require current version field
• Fetch the resource first to get its current version
• Version mismatch returns a 409 Conflict error

Rate Limits:

• Square API has per-endpoint rate limits
• Implement backoff for bulk operations
• Pagination should include brief delays for large datasets

Response Parsing:

• Responses may nest data under data key
• Money amounts are in smallest currency unit (cents for USD)
• Parse defensively with fallbacks for optional fields

Quick Reference