What changes once it is connected
You are drafting a hiring plan with your assistant. Instead of describing the role, switching tab, running a search, copying five profiles back, you ask for them and they arrive in the conversation, with the repository each person ships to and how to reach them.
It fits the way a technical founder works especially well: the moment you realise you need a backend hire is usually a moment you are already in your editor or your assistant, not in a sourcing tool.
Three tools are exposed:
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
| Search developers on GitHub | Finds engineers by technology, location and role, ranked by evidence of real work |
| Save a developer to the pipeline | Adds someone to My Candidates, as to contact or contacted |
| List saved candidates | Reads back your pipeline, filtered by stage |
Get your API key
Open StarHunt, go to Settings, and generate an API key. It looks like sh_ followed by a long string. Keep it to yourself: it is tied to your account, and anyone holding it can search on your quota.
You can revoke or regenerate it at any time from the same screen. Regenerating immediately invalidates the previous key, so any client still using it stops working.
Connect StarHunt to Claude
Open the connector form
In Claude, go to Settings, then Connectors, then Add custom connector.
Fill in the server
| Name | StarHunt |
|---|---|
| Remote MCP server URL | https://app.getstarhunt.com/mcp |
| Authentication | None |
Choose None even though the server is authenticated. That option is for servers that use an API key rather than OAuth, which is exactly this case. The two other options would start an OAuth flow StarHunt does not offer, and the connection would fail.
Add your key as a request header
Further down the form, under Request headers, add one header:
| Header name | Authorization |
|---|---|
| Header value | Bearer sh_your_key_here |
Keep the word Bearer and the space before your key. Claude stores the value encrypted and never displays it again, which is why this is the method to prefer.
Set the tool permissions
Once connected, Claude lists the three tools. The sensible split is read automatically, write on approval:
| Tool | Setting |
|---|---|
| Search developers on GitHub | Always allow |
| List saved candidates | Always allow |
| Save a developer to the pipeline | Require approval |
The first two only read. The third writes to your pipeline, so it is worth a confirmation. Leaving all three on approval works, but three clicks for one search removes most of the point of having the tool in the chat.
Then just ask, in the conversation: “Find me AI product engineers in San Francisco who ship Python in production.”
Connect StarHunt to ChatGPT
ChatGPT supports remote MCP servers through its custom connectors, which live behind developer mode. The setup differs on one point that matters: ChatGPT has no field for custom request headers. Your key therefore travels in the URL.
Enable developer mode
In ChatGPT, open Settings, then Connectors, then Advanced, and turn on Developer mode. Custom MCP connectors are not offered without it.
Add the connector, key included in the URL
| Name | StarHunt |
|---|---|
| MCP server URL | https://app.getstarhunt.com/mcp/sh_your_key_here |
| Authentication | No authentication |
Note the difference with Claude: the key is appended to the URL, and there is no Bearer prefix. StarHunt accepts both forms, so nothing else changes.
Approve the tools when asked
ChatGPT asks for confirmation the first time each tool runs. Approving the search tool for the session keeps the conversation fluid.
What the assistant can and cannot do
MCP searches go through the same fair use limits as the web app, and there is no pagination: one search returns at most 25 profiles. An assistant that loops through searches is stopped exactly as a script would be, which protects the index without ever getting in the way of real sourcing.
Everything returned is public GitHub data, and any developer can remove themselves from the index in one click.
MCP setup, answered
What is an MCP server?
Model Context Protocol is an open standard that lets an AI assistant call external tools. Connecting StarHunt as an MCP server means Claude or ChatGPT can run a developer search and read your candidate pipeline directly, instead of you switching to another tab and copying results back.
Do I need to be on a paid plan?
Yes. MCP access is part of the Pro plan. The free plan works in the web app only.
Is my API key safe in the connector?
Prefer the request header method: the value is stored encrypted by the client and never displayed again. The URL method, where the key sits in the address, is a fallback for clients that cannot send headers. Either way the key only grants developer search on public GitHub data, and you can revoke it in Settings at any time.
Can the assistant export my whole index?
No. MCP searches go through the same fair use limits as the web app, and there is no pagination: a search returns at most 25 profiles. An assistant that loops is stopped exactly like a script would be.
Does it work with Cursor and Claude Code?
Yes. Both support headers, so use the plain URL with the Authorization header, exactly as in the Claude instructions above.
Get your key
Open StarHunt, go to Settings, and generate an API key. If you are still on the free plan, three searches are enough to see whether the results are worth connecting.
Open StarHunt →Curious how the ranking works first? Read the methodology, or see what one real search returned.