What is the Kalent MCP Server?
Find and contact top talent without leaving your AI workspace. Search +200M professional profiles with AI-powered matching, access verified emails and mobile numbers, and launch personalized outreach campaigns effortlessly. Built for recruiting firms, staffing agencies, and HR teams, Kalent delivers up to 60% reply rates powered by 50+ data sources. Discover developers, sales reps, accountants, or any role worldwide. Research candidates, build strong talent pipelines, and fill positions faster — all directly within your favorite AI assistant. Turn any LLM into a full recruiting platform with Kalent.Natural language search
Describe the talent you need in everyday language — the AI translates your
request into structured filters automatically.
Rich profile data
Get full professional profiles including experience, education, skills,
languages, and certifications.
API vs MCP — When to use what
| REST API | MCP Server | |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | HTTP endpoints with JSON payloads | AI assistant (Claude, Cursor, etc.) |
| Authentication | API key via header | OAuth 2.0 (one-time browser flow) |
| How you search | Build a JSON filter array | Describe the candidate in natural language |
| Best for | Programmatic integrations, ATS pipelines, automations | Interactive sourcing, ad-hoc searches, conversational exploration |
| Filter translation | You build the filters manually | The AI builds them for you from your prompt |
Setup with Claude Desktop
Navigate to connectors
Select the Integrations tab (or Connectors, depending on your Claude version).
The OAuth flow uses OAuth 2.0 with PKCE. Your AI client handles the entire
handshake automatically — you only need to sign in and click Authorize.
Setup with ChatGPT
Authentication
The Kalent MCP server uses OAuth 2.0 to authenticate your AI assistant. This is different from the REST API, which uses a static API key.How it works
- Your AI client (Claude, Cursor, etc.) connects to
https://app.kalent.ai/api/mcp. - The server responds with a
401and points to its OAuth metadata. - The client opens a browser window where you sign in to Kalent.
- You see a consent screen asking you to authorize the connection to your workspace.
- After clicking Authorize, the client receives an access token and the MCP session starts.
Available Tools
The Kalent MCP server exposes search, sourcing, enrichment, and outreach sequence tools.search_talents
Search the Kalent talent database using natural language.
search_talents_with_filters
Search with structured filters directly.
create_sourcing
Create an empty sourcing campaign.
add_talent_to_sourcing
Attach a talent to a sourcing as a candidate.
create_sequence_blueprint
Create a manual outreach sequence blueprint.
get_dynamic_sequences
List sequence blueprints for a sourcing.
update_sequence_blueprint
Update sequence blueprint steps or configuration.
start_dynamic_sequences
Start outreach sequences for candidates.
enrich_candidate_contacts
Start contact enrichment for a candidate.
enrich_linkedin_contacts
Start LinkedIn contact enrichment for a talent.
get_contact_enrichment_result
Read enrichment results for a talent.
get_sourcings
List paginated sourcings for the workspace.
get_candidates
List paginated candidates for a sourcing.
get_candidate
Resolve candidate and talent details.
get_candidate_dynamic_sequence_status
Read dynamic sequence progress for a candidate.
Search results are non-deterministic by design — identical requests may
return different results due to real-time profile enrichment, AI-powered
scoring, and continuous indexing. Learn more in the Non-deterministic
Results guide.
Example Prompts
Once connected, you can search for talent by simply describing what you need. Here are some examples:Find software engineers from OpenAI
Find software engineers from OpenAI
Prompt:
Find software engineers who have worked at OpenAI for at least 3 years.The AI will create filters for:
JOB_TITLE= “Software Engineer”COMPANY_NAME= “OpenAI” withhistory= “CURRENT_OR_PAST”DURATION_IN_JOB= “3-5” (or higher)
Marketing talent in Paris
Marketing talent in Paris
Prompt:
I need to find talent in Paris (within 20km radius) with expertise in SEO and marketing strategies.The AI will create filters for:
LOCATION= “Paris” withradius= 20SKILL= “SEO”SKILL= “Marketing Strategy”
Senior UX designers from YC startups
Senior UX designers from YC startups
Prompt:
Find talent with 10+ years of experience as a UX designer who has worked for a YC startup.The AI will create filters for:
JOB_TITLE= “UX Designer”YEARS_OF_EXPERIENCE= “10-15” (or higher)KEYWORD= “Y Combinator”
Response Format
For each search, the MCP server returns two content blocks:- Structured JSON — Complete profile data (experiences, educations, skills, languages, certifications) that the AI uses for reasoning and follow-up questions.
- Markdown table — A formatted summary with name, job title, company, location, and LinkedIn profile link, displayed directly in the conversation.
Subscription and plan errors
When a tool is blocked because the workspace has no eligible Kalent subscription or needs a higher plan, the MCP response is marked as an error and tells the AI assistant to ask the user to subscribe or upgrade before retrying. The message also includes the billing URL:Supported AI Clients
The Kalent MCP server implements the Model Context Protocol standard and is compatible with any MCP-compliant client, including:- Claude Desktop — Full OAuth support with built-in connector management
- Claude Code — Add via CLI:
claude mcp add --transport http kalent https://app.kalent.ai/api/mcp - ChatGPT — Enable Developer Mode in Settings → Connectors → Advanced, then add the app URL
- Cursor — Configure as a custom MCP server in settings
- Any other MCP-compatible AI client