Manatal MCP Server Overview
- This feature is currently in Beta and is only available to Enterprise Plus accounts. You may expect updates, and changes to accessibility or pricing as we refine and enhance it. We value your patience and welcome any feedback you may have. Thank you for being an early adopter!
- Core features are available, but some advanced capabilities are still in development.
- The user experience may differ slightly across MCP clients (e.g., Claude vs. ChatGPT).
Connect your favorite AI tools to Manatal with our MCP Server. This allows your AI assistants to safely search, create, and manage your ATS data without constant tab-hopping.
What is MCP?
Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard that connects AI applications and tools to external platforms like Manatal. With MCP, AI applications like ChatGPT and Claude can connect to data sources, tools, and workflows, allowing them to access additional information and perform tasks.
What is the Manatal MCP Server?
The Manatal MCP Server is our integration that directly connects with your AI tools to perform tasks like searching for candidates and jobs, creating notes, and managing matches. Any MCP-compliant client can connect to and use these capabilities, subject to your account's permissions.
Why use the Manatal MCP Server?
- Easy Setup: Connect with a simple URL authentication—no complex installation is required.
- Work from One Place: Ask your assistant to search, create, match, or add notes directly in Manatal.
- Faster Outcomes: Condense multi-step tasks into a single, natural-language request.
Who is it for?
- Recruiters: Ask for shortlists, summarize candidate profiles, and get suggested interview questions.
- Teams using AI copilots (like Claude or ChatGPT) for increased productivity.
- Developers and Partners: Build custom assistants or workflows that incorporate Manatal data.
What can you do with it?
This feature is still in Beta, and more functionality is under development.
- Candidates: Add new candidates, search by skills, location, or status, and view full profiles.
- Jobs: Add new jobs, search or filter open roles, and view job details and pipelines.
- Organizations: Add organization (company/client) records and search for existing ones.
- Matches: Create matches between candidates and jobs, and search existing matches to review fit.
- Contacts: Search for contacts (e.g., hiring managers, referrers) to add context to your workflows.
- Notes: Add notes to candidates or jobs and view existing notes to keep collaboration in one place.
Getting Started
- Step 1: Connect to the Manatal MCP Server
- Step 2: See supported tools and common use cases
Step 1: Connecting to the Manatal MCP Server
Prerequisites:
- An active Manatal Enterprise Plus Plan subscription.
- Admin user permissions in Manatal to set up the integration.
- A compatible MCP client like Claude or ChatGPT.
This guide walks you through connecting your AI tools to Manatal using the Model Context Protocol (MCP).
You can connect to the Manatal MCP Server through the Integration Marketplace as shown below.
Supported Clients
Currently, the MCP Server is supported on the following AI tools:
- Claude.ai (Recommended for the best experience)
- ChatGPT (Note: Support is still in an experimental phase from the provider)
Retrieving your MCP Server URL
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Head to the following page. Alternatively, click on "Administration" from your side menu and open the "Integrations" category.
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Search for "Manatal MCP", and click “Enable” on the card.
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Review the integration details and disclaimers, accept the terms and conditions, and click “Integrate”.
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You will now receive your MCP Server URL. Simply copy this URL to connect your AI tools.
Your MCP Server URL is a credential unique to your company. Treat it like a password and do not share it outside your organization. Anyone with this URL will have the same administrative access to your Manatal data as an Admin user.
The URL will take up to 1 business day to become active after it is issued.
Connect to Your AI Tool
Claude
A Claude Pro Plan (or higher) is required to add MCP connectors.
- Navigate to "Settings" in your Claude account.
- Click on the “Connectors” section in the left-side panel.
- Locate and click “Add custom connector”.
- Paste the MCP Server URL from Manatal, give the connector a name (e.g., "Manatal ATS"), and click “Add”.
- You can now access your Manatal database and tools inside Claude.
ChatGPT
A ChatGPT Plus Plan (or higher) is required to add MCP connectors.
Support for ChatGPT is currently in a Beta/experimental phase. Accessing custom MCP Servers (like Manatal’s) in ChatGPT requires you to be in Developer Mode.
- Navigate to "Settings" in your ChatGPT account.
- Click on the “Apps & Connections” section in the left-side panel.
- Scroll down and click on “Advanced settings”.
- Enable “Developer mode”.
- Navigate back to “Apps & Connections” and click “Create” in the top right.
- Paste your MCP Server URL from Manatal and give the connector a name (e.g., "Manatal ATS").
- For the “Authentication” option, select “No authentication,” check the box “I trust this application,” and click “Create”.
- You can now access your Manatal database and tools inside ChatGPT.
Usage and Rate Limits
- Standard API rate limits apply to the Manatal MCP Server: 100 requests per minute.
Step 2: Supported Tools and Example Use Cases
The Manatal MCP Server provides the following MCP tools. AI assistants use these tools to create, search, and manage content in your Manatal ATS.
- Most MCP clients, like Claude, ask you to manually approve each action before it runs. We strongly recommend keeping this setting enabled and always reviewing the details of a tool call before execution.
- As this feature is in Beta, more tools will be added in the future based on user feedback.
| Tool / Action Name | Technical Name | What It Does | Example Request |
|---|---|---|---|
| Search Candidates | candidates_list | Find and filter candidates by skills, experience, education, or location | "Show me all candidates who work at Google" |
| View Candidate Profile | candidates_read | See complete details for a specific candidate | "Get the full profile details for candidate ID 123" |
| View Candidate Education | candidates_educations_list | See a candidate's educational background and qualifications | "Show me the education history for candidate ID 123" |
| View Candidate Work History | candidates_experiences_list | See a candidate's previous jobs and experience | "Show me the work experience for candidate ID 123" |
| Add New Candidate | candidates_create | Add a new person to your candidate database | "Create a new candidate profile for John Smith with email john@example.com" |
| Add Candidate Education | candidates_educations_create | Record degrees, certifications, and schooling for a candidate | "Add a Master's degree in Computer Science from MIT for candidate ID 123" |
| Add Candidate Work History | candidates_experiences_create | Record employment history and positions for a candidate | "Add a Software Engineer position at Google for candidate ID 123" |
| View Candidate Notes | candidates_notes_list | Read all notes and comments about a candidate | "Show me all notes for candidate ID 123" |
| Add Candidate Notes | candidates_notes_create | Write observations, interview feedback, or reminders about a candidate | "Add a note 'Great communication skills' for candidate ID 123" |
| Search Contacts | contacts_list | Find people at client companies | "Show me all contacts at Microsoft" |
| View Contact Notes | contacts_notes_list | Read notes about your client contacts | "Show me all notes for contact ID 456" |
| Add Contact Notes | contacts_notes_create | Record conversations or reminders about client contacts | "Add a note 'Discussed partnership opportunities' for contact ID 456" |
| Search Jobs | jobs_list | Find open positions by role, status, or company | "Show me all active Software Engineer positions" |
| Create Job Opening | jobs_create | Add a new position you're looking to fill | "Create a new job opening for Senior Product Manager with remote work option" |
| View Job Details | jobs_read | See all information about a specific position | "Get the details for job ID 789" |
| View Job Notes | jobs_notes_list | Read notes and updates about a job opening | "Show me all notes for job ID 789" |
| Add Job Notes | jobs_notes_create | Record updates, requirements, or hiring progress | "Add a note 'Need to expedite hiring' for job ID 789" |
| View Candidate Matches | matches_list | See which candidates have been matched to which jobs and their progress | "Show me all candidate-job matches from the interview stage" |
| Match Candidate to Job | matches_create | Connect a candidate with a job opening | "Match candidate ID 123 with job ID 789" |
| Search Organizations | organizations_list | Find client companies in your database | "Show me all organizations in the technology industry" |
| Add Organization | organizations_create | Add a new client company to your system | "Create a new organization profile for Acme Corp" |
| View Organization Notes | organizations_notes_list | Read notes about a client company | "Show me all notes for organization ID 321" |
| Add Organization Notes | organizations_notes_create | Record information about client relationships and interactions | "Add a note 'Key client in healthcare sector' for organization ID 321" |
Common Use Cases (Tool Chaining Examples)
The real power of the MCP server is unlocked by combining tools in a single request. With one prompt, you can search for candidates, summarize their profiles, match them to a job, and add a note. Understanding these tool combinations will help you craft efficient prompts for complex tasks.
Use Case 1: Interview Preparation from Candidate Profile & Job Description
Scenario: You have an upcoming interview and need to prepare relevant questions based on the candidate's background and the job requirements.
Prompt: "I'm interviewing Sarah Chen (sarah.chen@email.com) for our Senior Product Manager position. Pull her full profile, work history, and education, then help me prepare interview questions that focus on her experience at Google and how it relates to our role."
Or if you know the IDs: "Get candidate ID 123's complete profile including work experience and education history, along with job ID 789 details, then create tailored interview questions."
What You'll Get:
- Tailored interview questions that align the candidate's experience with the job.
- Key areas to probe during the conversation.
- Talking points about how their background fits the role.
- Specific examples from their history to discuss.
Use Case 2: Executive Summary for a Hiring Manager
Scenario: Your hiring manager needs a quick overview of top candidates before deciding who to interview.
Prompt: "Find all candidates currently at Google or Microsoft with 'Product Manager' in their title, review their profiles and our notes, then draft an executive summary email for the hiring manager."
What You'll Get:
- A professional, concise email ready to send.
- Key highlights of each candidate's strengths.
- A summary of relevant experience and qualifications.
- Comparison points between candidates.
- Recommendations based on job requirements.
Use Case 3: Candidate Pipeline Review
Scenario: You need to update stakeholders on the status of all active candidates across multiple positions.
Prompt: ""For our Senior Data Scientist position, show me all matched candidates, their current stage, and all team notes. Then create a progress report highlighting any blockers."
What You'll Get:
- An overview of all candidates in your pipeline for that role.
- The status of each candidate by hiring stage.
- Identification of any bottlenecks and suggested next actions.
- Ready-to-share progress report.
Use Case 4: Client Relationship Management
Scenario: You're preparing for a call with a key client and need context on your history and current engagements.
Prompt: "I have a meeting with Acme Corp tomorrow. Show me their profile, all our contacts there, any notes we've recorded, and all open positions we have with them. Then, summarize our relationship and give me talking points for the meeting."
Or by contact: "Pull up John Smith at Microsoft (john.smith@microsoft.com), show me all our interaction notes and any jobs he's involved with, then brief me for our call this afternoon."
What You'll Get:
- A complete relationship history with the client.
- A summary of previous conversations and commitments.
- An overview of current hiring needs and key contacts.
- Talking points for your meeting
- Context on key contacts and their preferences
Time Saved: 30-45 minutes of research and note review
Use Case 5: Rapid Candidate Sourcing and Matching
Scenario: An urgent job opening comes in, and you need to quickly identify and match suitable candidates from your database.
Prompt: "Create a new job for a Senior Data Scientist (remote), requiring 5+ years of ML experience. Then, search our candidates at Google, Amazon, or Meta with 'Data Scientist' or 'Machine Learning Engineer' titles, and recommend the top 5 matches with your reasoning."
Or quick match: "We just opened a Full Stack Developer role in San Francisco. Find all candidates in the San Francisco area with 'Developer' or 'Engineer' in their current position, check their work history and education, then tell me who are the best 5 fits and why."
To finalize the matches: "Match the top 3 candidates to this job and add notes explaining why they're a good fit."
What You'll Get:
- A ranked list of the best-fit candidates from your talent pool.
- Rationale for each match.
- Gaps or concerns to address.
- Recommended outreach approach for each candidate.
- Quick start on filling urgent roles.
Tips for Best Results
- Chain Actions Together: Ask for multiple things in one prompt—the AI can handle complex requests.
- Use Human Identifiers: Use natural identifiers like names, emails, job titles, and companies instead of just IDs.
- Specify Your Desired Output: Tell the AI what format you want (e.g., an email, a report, bullet points).
- Include Context: Mention why you're asking—it helps the AI prioritize the right information.
- Refine with Follow-up Questions: You can always ask follow-up questions to get more details or change the format.
Common Search Filters You Can Use
- By Company: "candidates who work at Google" or "current company is Amazon"
- By Position: "candidates with 'Engineer' in their current position"
- By Location: "candidates in San Francisco" or "address in New York"
- By Education: "candidates with degrees from MIT" or "latest university is Stanford"
- By Email/Phone: "candidate with email john@example.com"
- By Date: "candidates created after January 1, 2024" or "jobs updated in the last week"
- By Status: "active jobs" or "candidates in interview stage"