MCP — use terminalhire from any AI editor
The CLI ships a built-in Model Context Protocol
server: terminalhire mcp. Any MCP-speaking host — Claude Code, VS Code, Cursor,
Windsurf, OpenAI Codex CLI, Gemini CLI, Zed, JetBrains AI Assistant — can ask it
for your matches.
The match tools are read-only and make zero network calls: their answers come from the local match cache the CLI already maintains. Claim preview performs governed public reads, and claim record writes intent to your local ledger only. Nothing about your profile crosses the wire because a model asked.
Setup
Print ready-to-paste config for every supported host:
terminalhire mcp --print-config
Claude Code is one line:
claude mcp add --scope user terminalhire -- terminalhire mcp
terminalhire init can also write the config for you (Cursor and Gemini CLI,
consent-prompted, existing config backed up and merged — never clobbered).
Tools
| Tool | Returns |
|---|---|
jobs |
Your top matched roles (title, company, score, matched tags) |
contribute |
Credential-building open-source issues ranked by winnability — on by default (opt out with contributeEnabled: false) |
bounties |
Paid public bounties — opt-in surface, off by default |
inbox |
Aggregate counts only: unread chats, pending intro requests |
claim_preview |
Claimability, contention, and repository-policy facts; writes nothing |
claim_record |
A local claimed ledger entry; never starts, pushes, submits, or opens a PR |
Every tool answers a structured not_onboarded hint when the CLI isn't set up yet.
What's deliberately NOT here
- No message content.
inboxreturns counts, never chat text — your conversations don't enter a host model's context window. - No intro accept/decline. Consenting to share contact details requires a human-typed yes in the CLI. A model cannot perform consent for you.
- No enrollment.
contributeis on by default and never writes config; if you've explicitly opted out (contributeEnabled: false) it reports that gate rather than flipping it. - No execution or submission. Claim recording can register local intent, but MCP cannot start a worktree, fork, push, submit, or open a PR. A prohibited repository policy remains a human-only CLI decision.
The full frozen tool contract lives in the repo:
docs/mcp-tools.md.
Posting work is a different server
This one is for finding and locally claiming work. Its claim tools make public GitHub reads, but never post or submit anything under your identity. If you are on the other side — you have work you want done — there is a separate hosted server that drafts a bounty posting for you to confirm in a browser. Nothing to install, and it shares nothing with this one. See post a bounty.