CATS MCP by usefulapi

CATS MCP server

Connect

• Claude (claude.ai, Desktop): open Customize → Connectors, click + Add → Add custom connector, and paste https://cats-ats.usefulapi.io/mcp.
• Claude Code: claude mcp add --transport http cats-ats https://cats-ats.usefulapi.io/mcp, then run /mcp to log in.
• VS Code: Add to VS Code.
• Cursor and other clients: add the URL as a remote MCP server:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cats-ats": {
      "url": "https://cats-ats.usefulapi.io/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Add only the URL. Do not add an Authorization header or an API key to the client config: the server signs you in with OAuth, and the login page asks for your CATS credentials.

Step-by-step setup, where to find your credentials, and FAQ: https://usefulapi.io/cats-ats/

Tools

Tool	Type	What it does
cats_get_site	read	Get CATS site
cats_list_users	read	List users
cats_list_candidates	read	List candidates
cats_get_candidate	read	Get candidate
cats_search_candidates	read	Search candidates
cats_filter_candidates	read	Filter candidates
cats_list_candidate_pipelines	read	List a candidate's pipelines
cats_list_candidate_activities	read	List a candidate's activities
cats_list_candidate_tasks	read	List a candidate's tasks
cats_list_candidate_attachments	read	List a candidate's attachments (metadata)
cats_list_jobs	read	List jobs
cats_get_job	read	Get job
cats_search_jobs	read	Search jobs
cats_list_job_pipelines	read	List a job's pipeline
cats_list_job_statuses	read	List job statuses
cats_list_pipelines	read	List pipelines
cats_get_pipeline	read	Get pipeline
cats_filter_pipelines	read	Filter pipelines
cats_get_pipeline_status_history	read	Get pipeline status history
cats_list_workflows	read	List pipeline workflows
cats_list_workflow_statuses	read	List workflow statuses
cats_list_companies	read	List companies
cats_get_company	read	Get company
cats_search_companies	read	Search companies
cats_list_contacts	read	List contacts
cats_get_contact	read	Get contact
cats_search_contacts	read	Search contacts
cats_list_tasks	read	List tasks
cats_get_task	read	Get task
cats_list_activities	read	List activities
cats_add_candidate_activity	write	Add an activity (note) to a candidate
cats_create_task	write	Create a task
cats_change_pipeline_status	write	Move a candidate to another pipeline status
cats_create_candidate	write	Create a candidate
cats_usage_status	meta	Usage status (free-tier meter)
cats_request_feature	meta	Request a missing feature
cats_upgrade	meta	Upgrade to Pro or Pro+
cats_cancel_subscription	meta	Cancel the Pro subscription

read tools are read-only; write tools mutate data (clients should confirm them); meta tools report usage, manage your subscription or send a feature request.

Pricing

Plan	Price	Limit
Free (per connected CATS site)	$0	50 tool calls / month
Pro (per connected CATS site)	$9/mo or $90/yr (2 months free)	Unlimited*

*Pro has a fair use limit of 10,000 tool calls a month on this server. For more, write to [email protected].

Pro covers this server only. Subscribe with cats_upgrade (it returns a Stripe Checkout link). Cancel any time with cats_cancel_subscription: Pro continues to the end of the paid period, with no refund for the current period, and running cats_upgrade before then undoes the cancel. Or write to [email protected].

License

MIT

Access, personal data and limits

Create a v3 API key in CATS under Administration → API Keys. Legacy Transaction Codes do not work. The generation form offers no read-only scope selector. Authorize UsefulAPI and your selected AI client to process only data you are entitled to share. CATS account eligibility and vendor charges remain separate from UsefulAPI plans. This independent connector makes no claim of vendor approval or endorsement.

Candidate/contact records contain personal information. Do not use this workflow for government IDs, health data, personal financial information or other CATS Prohibited Data. Known credential and sensitive financial/health fields and HAL link blocks are filtered; customers must still review free text and custom fields. Tool results reach your chosen AI client and LLM provider, whose privacy and retention policies also apply. Revoke the API key in CATS to stop vendor access; disconnect UsefulAPI to end this connection.

CATS documents a rolling 500 API requests/hour limit; its counter scope is not specified. Collection pages default to 25, maximum 100. Authentication is capped at 10 seconds/64 KiB; operation replies at 30 seconds/8 MiB. Billing follows the verified CATS site ID, so rotation of a key within the same site keeps the account identity.

Changes and automation

All four writes require confirm:true: create a candidate, log candidate activity, create a task or change pipeline status. Assigned tasks may notify a user. No email/SMS-send request is made by an activity note, even when its activity type is email or text_message. Independently configured account automation and webhooks can still react to changes.

Pipeline moves read the workflow/status metadata, explicitly request every returned trigger be suppressed with fire:false, and send create_activity=false. An already-current status makes no write. Preflight reads are not an atomic lock, so concurrent changes remain possible; independent webhooks are not suppressed. No email delivery, delete, attachment download, bulk-export endpoint or webhook-management tool is exposed.

No vendor request is automatically replayed. Creates require the documented 201 and a matching Location record ID; inconsistent or uncertain acknowledgements are errors. Inspect CATS before retrying a write. Date-only task/activity dates are sent at midnight UTC.

Verification

The 34 vendor tools were checked against the current API reference and local mocks. Actual own-trial reads verified account identity and HAL response structures, including vendor-supplied sample records. No real customer recruiting records or business writes were tested. Current terms allow customer-directed third-party software, and the vendor publishes external API-key setup guidance; this does not assert CATS reviewed UsefulAPI.

References: API v3, terms, external-key setup.