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Instead MCP server

Which MCP servers are Instead's own, from the official registry and from asking its own domain, whether they answer, and what they offer. A program checked each of these, nobody copied them from a product page.

read 2026-11-02

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Whose server it is
  • Registry namework.instead/insteadverified in the MCP registry

The registry name sits under instead.work. The registry only lets a publisher use that namespace after proving control of the domain through DNS or HTTP.

When we asked itchecked 2026-11-02
  • Stateanswerschecked 2026-11-02
  • Tools6
  • Server calls itselfinstead
  • Server version1.0.0
  • Protocol version2025-06-18

On 2026-11-02 the server answered initialize and tools/list without a sign-in. First answer in 213 ms.

Should an agent connect itNot proven either way yet
  • Whether its tools do the product's job has not been judged yet.
  • Checked on 2 of the 7 days it takes to judge reliability.

Once connected

  • For "generate a job listing from a short role description", the likely first call is post_job.
  • post_job change data without a sign-in: anyone with the address can call them.

Said by rules from the measurements above. The likely first call is a model's pick from the tool list; read its description before relying on it.

Measured dailydaily checks: 2, the first on 2026-11-02
  • INITE MCP scoreafter a weeka score needs 7 daily checks: 2 so far
  • Answeredmeasuring2 of the 7 daily checks it takes to print a share
  • Median first answer263 ms
  • Space in an agent's context≈ 1,400 tokensthe definitions of all its tools (6), which an agent carries on every turn
  • Tool definitionsA · 97 of 100
  • Typed results0 of 6 toolsdeclared outputSchema: results come typed, read once
  • Parameters without a description: in 1 of 6

What an agent can do with it

  • can do · generate a job listing from a short role description
  • not sure · review applications against must-have requirements
  • not sure · schedule interviews from your own available hours

Each of the product's use cases, put to Jev against this server's tool list: can an agent do it with these tools?

Worth a look

  • Tools that change data, on a server that answers without a sign-in: post_job

A program checks the server once a day: initialize and tools/list, no model. Tokens are the definitions' length at about four characters a token. The grade averages six checks of every tool's name, description, schema and annotations; it says how well the tools are described, not whether they work. The score weighs what was measured and nothing else: answering (25%), doing the product's job (25%), definitions (20%), context (10%), use (10%) and how readily a client connects (10%). A part that was not measured is left out, and a hidden instruction caps the score at 40. The state of vendors' MCP servers: method and numbers →

Tools it offers6 tools · read 2026-11-02
  • how_to_hire

    Advice for a small UK business owner who needs staff (café, pub, restaurant, bar, shop, salon): how to find people through those who already know the business, what to pay, the UK rules to follow, and what Instead costs. Use before…

  • post_job

    Make a job for a small business on Instead, free. It takes applications at once through a link and QR code; the owner then publishes it to read and answer applicants by opening the publish link and signing in with their email (30…

  • make_hiring_poster

    Print-ready posters for a job: an A4 window poster, an A5 poster for regulars and an A6 table card, each with a QR code people apply from. Takes a job made with post_job (its code or link) or a live Instead job (its link or slug).

  • search_jobs

    Live jobs at independent UK cafés, pubs, restaurants, bars, shops and salons on Instead, London first: every job shows the pay, applying takes about two minutes from a phone with no account, and everyone hears back within 48 hours. Also…

  • pay_rates

    The hourly pay independent London cafés, restaurants, pubs, bars and bakeries advertise on their own websites this month, by role: the middle (median), the range and how many ads (Instead's London Hospitality Pay Index). For an owner…

  • get_job

    Everything about one live job: what it involves, pay, hours, what's needed and the business, with the link to apply.

How to connect

Add the server to your MCP client config. Claude Desktop, Cursor and most other clients read this shape:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "instead": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://instead.work/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Add it

Claude Code, in a terminal

claude mcp add --transport http instead https://instead.work/mcp

Add to CursorAdd to VS Code

claude.ai, ChatGPT and other clients: add https://instead.work/mcp as a custom connector in the settings.

Each line is something a program found when it went looking: the registry entry, the server's own answer, a spec that parses. A missing line means we did not find it, not that it does not exist.