MCP Server

Give your AI agent recruiting superpowers — Claude, Cursor, and other agents connect through MCP to Cutshort to find candidates, compare, outreach, and set up interviews

The Cutshort MCP server gives AI agents programmatic access to talent search, candidate detail, job posting, and outreach — using the same API key and quotas as the REST API. Endpoint: https://mcp.cutshort.io/mcp

You need a Cutshort API key (cs_live_…) first. Approved employers can generate one at Settings → Integrations → API Key — start with Eval access. See Getting API access.

Connect from Claude Desktop

Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cutshort": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-remote",
        "https://mcp.cutshort.io/mcp",
        "--header",
        "Authorization: Bearer cs_live_<your-api-key>"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop. In Settings → Developer, you should see cutshort listed with status running:

Claude Desktop Developer settings showing the cutshort local MCP server running with npx mcp-remote configuration — Cutshort MCP server in Claude Desktop (Settings → Developer)

You should also see cutshort in the chat tool list. Requires Node.js 18+.

Connect from Cursor

In Cursor Settings → MCP, add:

{
  "cutshort": {
    "url": "https://mcp.cutshort.io/mcp",
    "headers": {
      "Authorization": "Bearer cs_live_<your-api-key>"
    }
  }
}

Connect with mcp-remote (CLI)

npx mcp-remote https://mcp.cutshort.io/mcp \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer $CUTSHORT_API_KEY"

Eval vs production keys

	Eval key	Production key
Search & candidate detail	Yes (small quotas)	Yes
Post jobs, invite / send message, delete jobs	No	Yes
Typical use	Try MCP before buying	Full sourcing → outreach → follow-up loop

Tool registration is scope-aware: the server reads GET /capabilities at connect time and only exposes tools your key can use.

Available tools

Tool	Eval	Production	Notes
`get_usage`	✓	✓	Check quotas before bulk unlock
`kickstart_sourcing`	✓	✓	Recommended first step for a new search
`search_candidates`	✓	✓	Full filter control — see Search guide
`get_searched_candidate`	✓	✓	Auto-unlocks (1 credit) — confirm before bulk fetch
`list_jobs`	✓	✓
`list_applications`	✓	✓	Default Applications stage; optional `stageId`; `autoUnlock` defaults to true (only sent stage is API-metered)
`get_job_stages`	✓	✓	Pipeline stages + counts — source of `stageId`
`post_job`	—	✓	Reviewed then live (~30 min on business days)
`invite_to_apply`	—	✓	First contact invite — confirm first
`send_message`	—	✓	Follow-up in an existing thread (`threadId` from `list_applications`) — confirm first
`move_application_stage`	—	✓	Move application to another stage — confirm first
`delete_job`	—	✓	Soft-delete — confirm first

Messaging guidance

Tool	Use when
`invite_to_apply`	Candidate is from search / talent DB and not yet in that job’s pipeline
`send_message`	Candidate already has a conversation (`threadId` from `list_applications` or invite response)

Do not call invite_to_apply again for someone already invited or already in Applications — that returns 409. Use send_message instead.

Pipeline guidance

Tool	Use when
`get_job_stages`	You need `stageId`s / counts across the pipeline
`move_application_stage`	Move a candidate after confirming with the human

From Applications, only Shortlisted or Rejected are valid targets (invalid_stage_move otherwise). See Move application stage.

Agent resource

At session start, agents can read cutshort://agent-guide — deep reference on search filters, profile signals, auto-unlock, pagination, and error codes. Same content as GET /api/v1/agent-guide.

Starter prompt

Try this after connecting:

I’m hiring a senior backend engineer in Bangalore, 4–8 years, strong on Go and Kubernetes, 25–45 LPA. Search Cutshort and show me the top matches with headline, experience, and a short fit reason from the resume text.

With a production key, you can extend the flow: post a job → invite_to_apply → list_applications → send_message / move_application_stage. See Invite to apply, Send a message, Move application stage, and List applications.

Security

Treat API keys like passwords — do not commit them or paste them in public chats.
get_searched_candidate auto-unlocks locked candidates (1 credit each).
Write tools (post_job, invite_to_apply, send_message, move_application_stage, delete_job) instruct agents to confirm with you before calling.

Support

For API or MCP integration help, email engineering@cutshort.io from the email on your Cutshort account. Source code: github.com/CutShortHQ/cutshort-mcp

Getting started

Guides

Connect from Claude Desktop

Connect from Cursor

Connect with mcp-remote (CLI)

Eval vs production keys

Available tools

Messaging guidance

Pipeline guidance

Agent resource

Starter prompt

Security

Support

​Connect from Claude Desktop

​Connect from Cursor

​Connect with mcp-remote (CLI)

​Eval vs production keys

​Available tools

​Messaging guidance

​Pipeline guidance

​Agent resource

​Starter prompt

​Security

​Support

Connect from Claude Desktop

Connect from Cursor

Connect with mcp-remote (CLI)

Eval vs production keys

Available tools

Messaging guidance

Pipeline guidance

Agent resource

Starter prompt

Security

Support