Connect Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, and other agents

FreshTalent’s MCP server is eight tools on purpose. A REST mirror with forty endpoints makes agents stall. The test sentence:

Start a Target for Palantir FDEs who left at least 18 months ago. When they go Open to work, put them on my hot list.

That should become search → watch → collect → events / subscribe. Tool names stay watch / collect; the dashboard calls those Targets and Lists.

This page is the product MCP. It uses your API key and mutates Lists and Targets. The Connect to Cursor / VS Code control in the docs header is a different server — a read-only docs assistant at https://docs.freshtalent.ai/mcp. Do not mix them up.


Transport	Streamable HTTP
URL	`https://api.freshtalent.ai/mcp`
Auth	`Authorization: Bearer ft_live_…` (`X-Api-Key` also works)
Tools	8

There is no npm package and no local process to start. The host opens that URL with your key.

Hosts that can send a header — Cursor, Claude Code, VS Code, Codex — take the key as-is. Claude’s web and Desktop connectors and ChatGPT apps only speak OAuth, so they cannot carry a static key. Claude Desktop works through the mcp-remote bridge below; ChatGPT has no supported path yet.

1. Get a key

Create a key in the dashboard under API Keys. It is shown once.

Keep the key in the host’s secret store or mcp.json. Do not paste a live key into chat, a ticket, or a public repo.

2. Pick a host

Cursor

Remote URL in mcp.json, or the one-click install then add the Bearer header.

Claude Code

claude mcp add --transport http with the URL and Authorization header.

Claude

Connectors are OAuth-only. Bridge Desktop with mcp-remote.

ChatGPT

No static-key path yet. Apps take OAuth or no auth.

VS Code

.vscode/mcp.json with type: "http".

Codex

codex mcp add with --url and a bearer-token env var.

One-click adds the URL. Then open Customize → MCPs, edit freshtalent, and set the header.Install in CursorSome builds since the Customize migration swallow that deeplink and never show the install card. If nothing happens, write the JSON yourself.Or add this to ~/.cursor/mcp.json / .cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "freshtalent": {
      "url": "https://api.freshtalent.ai/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer ft_live_…"
      }
    }
  }
}

Reload Cursor. Ask whoami on FreshTalent — you should see org, plan, search: "ok", and watch.remaining (slots for new Targets). ls / members still work at the cap.

claude mcp add --transport http freshtalent https://api.freshtalent.ai/mcp \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer ft_live_…"

Add --scope user if you want it in every project. Restart the session, then:

Call FreshTalent whoami, then search "ex-palantir FDEs, left 18mo"

Custom connectors on claude.ai and Claude Desktop authenticate with OAuth only. Customize → Connectors → Add custom connector takes a URL, and advanced settings take an OAuth client id and secret — there is no Bearer or header field. claude_desktop_config.json also rejects headers on a remote entry. A FreshTalent key is static, so that path cannot work yet.Bridge it with mcp-remote instead. In claude_desktop_config.json (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json on macOS):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "freshtalent": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-remote",
        "https://api.freshtalent.ai/mcp",
        "--header",
        "Authorization:${AUTH_HEADER}"
      ],
      "env": {
        "AUTH_HEADER": "Bearer ft_live_…"
      }
    }
  }
}

No space after the colon in the --header argument — the space lives in the env var, or Windows splits it. Fully quit and reopen Claude Desktop, then enable the server from the plus / attachments menu before you prompt.Claude in the browser has no bridge. Use Claude Code there.

Not supported yet. ChatGPT apps accept OAuth, no auth, or mixed auth, and OpenAI is explicit that the client cannot present a custom API key. A FreshTalent key is static, so the app’s auth step has nowhere to put it. See OpenAI’s developer mode and MCP apps notes.Two limits worth knowing for when we ship OAuth: developer mode is web-only, and write actions — collect, watch, subscribe — are a Business / Enterprise / Edu beta. Pro and Plus get read and fetch.Until then, drive FreshTalent from Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code, or Codex.

Create .vscode/mcp.json in the workspace. ${input:…} keeps the key out of the file — VS Code prompts once and stores it:

{
  "inputs": [
    {
      "type": "promptString",
      "id": "freshtalent-key",
      "description": "FreshTalent API key",
      "password": true
    }
  ],
  "servers": {
    "freshtalent": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://api.freshtalent.ai/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer ${input:freshtalent-key}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Copilot / agent mode should list the FreshTalent tools after a reload.

Export the key first, then add the server. Codex reads the Bearer token from the env var — it does not need the key in the config file.

export FRESHTALENT_API_KEY=ft_live_…
codex mcp add freshtalent --url https://api.freshtalent.ai/mcp \
  --bearer-token-env-var FRESHTALENT_API_KEY

Or in ~/.codex/config.toml:

[mcp_servers.freshtalent]
url = "https://api.freshtalent.ai/mcp"
bearer_token_env_var = "FRESHTALENT_API_KEY"

Any other MCP host

If the host speaks Streamable HTTP (most current agents do), give it the same URL and Bearer header:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "freshtalent": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://api.freshtalent.ai/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer ft_live_…"
      }
    }
  }
}

Reload, then confirm the eight tools appear. If the host only accepts a local stdio command, bridge it with mcp-remote the way the Claude tab does. If it only does OAuth, it cannot carry a FreshTalent key yet.

3. Prompt that actually works

Paste this after install:

You have FreshTalent MCP. Person ids are LinkedIn slugs. Pages are `{total,count,offset,has_more,rows:[{slug,s}]}`. Hold slugs and the echoed query; do not re-fetch a page you already have.

1. Call whoami. `search` is always ok. `watch.remaining` is slots for **new** targets only — `watch ls` / `members` still work at the cap.
2. search nl="ex-palantir FDEs, left 18mo" limit=15
3. collect action=create name="hot" (ignore error if it exists)
4. collect action=add list="hot" slugs=[the top 5 slugs] stage="to-contact"
5. watch action=query query=<the echoed query from step 2>  (name is a label, not keywords — omit it)
6. events since="24h" type="open_to_work"

Call get kind=person only when the `{slug,s}` row is not enough. Page with offset and stop when has_more is false or you have enough to act. Prefer subscribe, or events with an explicit type, over dumping the firehose. `watch` members can take **up to 24h** — keep using search until `watch members` has rows.

Do not invent Cypher. The MCP `watch` tool adapts the echoed query object; it does not pass it directly to REST `app_query`. Target discovery uses a different schema and is not an exact replay of the graph search. See [Search query compatibility](/api-reference/targets/create#search-query-compatibility).

Tools

The eight tools are the same four product families as the dashboard.

Search

search, get, expand — people, one object, coworkers / similar / company orbit.

Lists

collect — ls, create, show, add, stage, remove, delete.

Targets

watch — ls, company, query, show, members, admit.

Monitoring

events and subscribe — firehose plus email / Slack destinations.

Tool	Dashboard	What it does
`search`	Search	People. `nl` and/or filters. Default 15 `{slug,s}` rows + echoed `query`. Page with `offset`. `view=ids` for slugs only.
`get`	Search / Lists / Targets	Person is a lean dossier. Company / list / watch return identity and counts — members page via `collect` / `watch` / `expand`. Pass a LinkedIn company URL for an exact company; a bare name resolves to the best match by headcount.
`expand`	Companies	Paged `{slug,s}` rows: `coworkers`, `similar`, or one company-orbit `side` (`current` or `leavers`).
`collect`	Lists	`ls` (name + `n`), `create`, `show` (paged rows with `stage`), `add`, `stage`, `remove` (one person), `delete` (the whole list). Writes return a receipt. Stages: `to-contact` (To contact), `contacted`, `responded`, `passed`.
`watch`	Targets	`ls` (name, kind, status counts), `company` (Monitor Company Network), `query` (Find people from the echoed search query; `name` is a label, not keywords), `show` (id/name/counts/job — not the REST blob), `members` (paged rows), `admit` (Accept), `delete` (the Target). Members can take up to 24h — keep `search` until they appear. Writes return a receipt.
`events`	Monitoring	Firehose of List members and Monitored Target members as `{id,slug,type,s,at}`. `since=24h`, optional `type`, `list`, cursor. Default 15.
`subscribe`	Settings → Notifications	Fields + email / Slack (graph-wide). Stored webhook URL is not a Gateway push.
`whoami`	—	Org, plan, `search: "ok"`, watch slots, Slack. `watch.remaining` is for new Targets only.

What comes back

Collection reads are minified JSON, not pretty-printed REST envelopes:

{"total":1284,"count":15,"offset":0,"has_more":true,"query":{"company":"palantir"},"rows":[{"slug":"derek-morrow","s":"Derek Morrow · FDE, Anduril · palantir 50mo · exploring"}]}

Writes return a receipt ({"ok":true,"added":5}), not the resource. Page with offset until has_more is false, or stop when you have enough to act.

Example: search tool call

What the host should send:

{
  "nl": "ex-palantir FDEs, left 18mo",
  "limit": 15
}

Optional structured fields on the same tool (or any other people-search filter — extra properties are allowed): company, role_family (forward-deployed-engineer | founding-engineer | software-engineer | deployment-strategist), company_left_min_months_ago, open_to_work, between_roles, exploring, github_hireable, location, skills, languages, certifications (JSON array string of up to 10 distinct trimmed terms). Certification filters apply to graph people search. People Target discovery does not support them, so a watch request adapted from a certification-filtered search is rejected; save and replay that query through Search instead.

If it does not connect

What you see	What it usually is
401 / unauthorized	Missing or revoked key. Recreate under API Keys. Header must be `Authorization: Bearer ft_live_…`.
Tools never appear	Host still pointed at a local command, or you installed the docs assistant (`docs.freshtalent.ai/mcp`) instead of `api.freshtalent.ai/mcp`.
Claude connector will not authenticate	Web and Desktop connectors are OAuth-only. Use the `mcp-remote` bridge, or Claude Code.
ChatGPT has nowhere to put the key	Expected. ChatGPT apps do OAuth or no auth; a static key is not supported yet.

Connect an ATS or CRM

For Greenhouse / Ashby / HubSpot, skip the agent and poll events: ATS & CRM.

Start here

The product

Connect

Reference

Connect Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, and other agents

1. Get a key

2. Pick a host

Cursor

Claude Code

Claude

ChatGPT

VS Code

Codex

Any other MCP host

3. Prompt that actually works

Tools

Search

Lists

Targets

Monitoring

What comes back

Example: search tool call

If it does not connect

Connect an ATS or CRM

​1. Get a key

​2. Pick a host

Cursor

Claude Code

Claude

ChatGPT

VS Code

Codex

​Any other MCP host

​3. Prompt that actually works

​Tools

Search

Lists

Targets

Monitoring

​What comes back

​Example: search tool call

​If it does not connect

​Connect an ATS or CRM

1. Get a key

2. Pick a host

Any other MCP host

3. Prompt that actually works

Tools

What comes back

Example: search tool call

If it does not connect

Connect an ATS or CRM