About Usajobs
An MCP server for USAJOBS.gov federal civilian job postings, intended for job searches and vacancy lookup. It supports filters for keywords, location, agency, grade, and remote work, alongside announcement details and reference lists.
Key features
- 01Search jobs by keyword, location, and agency
- 02Filter by grade and remote status
- 03Retrieve full job announcements
- 04List agencies, pay grades, and occupational series
Use cases
- 01Find federal jobs in a specific location
- 02Filter for remote roles or a grade range
- 03Review an announcement and agency details
MCP support
Exposes job search, announcement details, and agency and job classification reference tools to MCP clients. It can connect through Pipeworx or run as a local stdio MCP server; the USAJOBS API requires a User-Agent and authorization key.
Configuration
Remote servers need no local install. Pick your client, then copy the config or install in one click.
https://gateway.pipeworx.io/usajobs/mcpclaude mcp add --transport http pipeworx-io-usajobs https://gateway.pipeworx.io/usajobs/mcp{"mcpServers":{"pipeworx-io-usajobs":{"type":"http","url":"https://gateway.pipeworx.io/usajobs/mcp"}}}Open in Cursor{"servers":{"pipeworx-io-usajobs":{"type":"http","url":"https://gateway.pipeworx.io/usajobs/mcp"}}}Open in VS Code{"mcpServers":{"pipeworx-io-usajobs":{"type":"http","url":"https://gateway.pipeworx.io/usajobs/mcp"}}}{"mcpServers":{"pipeworx-io-usajobs":{"serverUrl":"https://gateway.pipeworx.io/usajobs/mcp"}}}Run commands in a terminal; paste JSON into the client’s MCP config and restart. Servers that need sign-in will prompt on first connect.
Tools
Details
From the project README@pipeworx/usajobs
USAJOBS.gov MCP — US federal civilian job postings. ~10k active openings any given day.
Part of Pipeworx — an MCP gateway connecting AI agents to 1684+ live data sources.
Tools
search(keyword?, location?, position_title?, organization?, pay_grade_low?, pay_grade_high?, remote?, results_per_page?, page?)— primary searchget_job(announcement_number)— full announcement record by numberlist_agencies()— federal agency referencelist_pay_grades()— GS/SES grade referencelist_occupational_series()— occupational series codes
Auth
USAJOBS requires a User-Agent (email) and an Authorization-Key header. Both come from a free registration at https://developer.usajobs.gov/.
- Platform key: gateway env
PLATFORM_USAJOBS_KEY(the auth key) — the User-Agent email is hard-coded to the operator's contact email at the pack level. SetPLATFORM_USAJOBS_USER_AGENTseparately if you want to override. - BYO:
?_apiKey=<auth_key>:<email>(colon-joined).
Data source
https://data.usajobs.gov/api/ — Host: data.usajobs.gov is automatic via fetch.
Quick Start
Add to your MCP client (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, etc.):
{
"mcpServers": {
"usajobs": {
"url": "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/usajobs/mcp"
}
}
}
What this endpoint actually serves
tools/list at https://gateway.pipeworx.io/usajobs/mcp returns the tools in the table
above plus the shared Pipeworx meta-tools — ask_pipeworx,
discover_tools, search_within, remember/recall and the rest of the
gateway-wide set. So the tool count you see is larger than this table: a
single-pack endpoint currently lists roughly 30 shared tools alongside the
pack's own. The connection's initialize response states its exact scope, and
is the authoritative answer for a given day.
This is deliberate, not multiplexing by accident. The meta-tools are what let a
scoped connection answer a question this pack does not cover — via
ask_pipeworx, which routes across the whole catalog — without you adding a
second MCP server. There is currently no way to mount a pack endpoint without
them; if the extra schemas cost you more context than the routing is worth,
connect to the full gateway once rather than to several pack endpoints.
Or connect to the full Pipeworx gateway to get every pack's tools listed directly, instead of just this one's:
{
"mcpServers": {
"pipeworx": {
"url": "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/mcp"
}
}
}
Both URLs reach the same gateway and the same 1684+ data sources. The
only difference is which pack's tools are listed directly; ask_pipeworx
reaches all of them from either one.
No MCP client? Call it over HTTP
curl -X POST https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/usajobs_search \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-d '{"keyword":"software engineer","location":"Washington, DC","results_per_page":25}'
No account needed for the first calls. Inspect any tool: GET https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/usajobs_search. Find one: POST https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/search_packs with {"query":"..."}.
Standalone (no gateway account)
This package also runs as a local stdio MCP server — no Pipeworx account, no gateway round-trip:
{
"mcpServers": {
"usajobs": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@pipeworx/mcp-usajobs"]
}
}
}
Or run it directly to confirm it starts:
npx -y @pipeworx/mcp-usajobs
It speaks MCP over stdin/stdout and answers initialize/tools/list/tools/call
for only this pack's tools — none of the shared meta-tools the gateway
connection above adds. Same source, same tools, no ask_pipeworx routing.
Using with ask_pipeworx
Instead of calling tools directly, you can ask questions in plain English — this works on the pack endpoint above as well as on the full gateway:
ask_pipeworx({ question: "your question about Usajobs data" })
The gateway picks the right tool and fills the arguments automatically.
More
License
MIT
Comments
New to MCP?
From what the protocol is to installing your first server, these answers cover most first questions.
An open protocol that defines how AI applications connect to external tools and data in a uniform way. Clients talk to the model; MCP servers provide tools, resources and prompt templates. They exchange standard messages, so one server can be reused by many clients.