How do I find solar contractors in a specific ZIP code?

Use the `search_contractors` tool and provide the ZIP code in the `geo_id` parameter and 'solar' in the `work_type` parameter. Your agent will return a list of matching professionals.

Can I see permit activity for a whole city?

Yes! Use the `get_permit_stats` tool with the city name or City/State combination in the `geo_id` parameter to retrieve aggregated construction data for that area.

How do I verify if a contractor has a valid license?

You can use the `get_contractor_by_license` tool with their state business license ID. The returned profile will include their current licensing status and specialty data.

Shovels MCP Server for Claude Desktop 7 tools — connect in under 2 minutes

modelcontextprotocol.io/quickstart/user

Built by Vinkius GDPR 7 Tools IDE

Claude Desktop is Anthropic's native application for interacting with Claude AI models on macOS and Windows. It was the first consumer application to ship with built-in MCP support, making it the reference implementation for the Model Context Protocol standard.

Get MCP Server for AI Agents

ASK AI ABOUT THIS MCP SERVER

Open in ChatGPT Open in Claude Open in Perplexity

Vinkius supports streamable HTTP and SSE.

RecommendedModern Approach — Zero Configuration

Vinkius Desktop App

The modern way to manage MCP Servers — no config files, no terminal commands. Install Shovels and 2,500+ MCP Servers from a single visual interface.

Download Free Open SourceNo signup required

Classic Setup·json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "shovels": {
      // Your Vinkius token. get it at cloud.vinkius.com
      "url": "https://edge.vinkius.com/[YOUR_TOKEN_HERE]/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Fully ManagedVinkius Servers

60%Token savings

High SecurityEnterprise-grade

IAMAccess control

EU AI ActCompliant

DLPData protection

V8 IsolateSandboxed

Ed25519Audit chain

<40msKill switch

Stream every event to Splunk, Datadog, or your own webhook in real-time

* Every MCP server runs on Vinkius-managed infrastructure inside AWS - a purpose-built runtime with per-request V8 isolates, Ed25519 signed audit chains, and sub-40ms cold starts optimized for native MCP execution. See our infrastructure

About Shovels MCP Server

Empower your AI agent to access the most comprehensive database of construction permits and licensed contractors with Shovels. By connecting Shovels to your agent, you transform complex real estate and construction auditing into a natural conversation. Your agent can instantly search for active permits, audit contractor history, and retrieve market statistics for specific geographic areas without you ever touching a dashboard. Whether you are analyzing market trends or verifying contractor credentials, your agent acts as a real-time construction data analyst, ensuring your insights are always structured and up-to-date.

Claude Desktop is the definitive way to connect Shovels to your AI workflow. Add Vinkius Edge URL to your config, restart the app, and Claude immediately exposes all 7 tools in the chat interface. ask a question, Claude calls the right tool, and you see the answer. Zero code, zero context switching.

What you can do

Contractor Discovery — Find licensed professionals based on location, work type (solar, roofing, etc.), and property type.
Permit Auditing — Search for and inspect detailed building permit records, including status and estimated values.
Activity Tracking — Identify contractors actively working within a specific radius of any address.
Market Intelligence — Retrieve aggregated permit statistics to analyze construction trends in different cities or counties.
License Verification — Instantly pull contractor profiles using their state business license IDs.

The Shovels MCP Server exposes 7 tools through the Vinkius. Connect it to Claude Desktop in under two minutes — no API keys to rotate, no infrastructure to provision, no vendor lock-in. Your configuration, your data, your control.

How to Connect Shovels to Claude Desktop via MCP

Follow these steps to integrate the Shovels MCP Server with Claude Desktop.

Open Claude Desktop Settings

Go to Settings → Developer → Edit Config to open claude_desktop_config.json

Add the MCP Server

Paste the configuration above into the mcpServers section

Restart Claude Desktop

Close and reopen Claude Desktop to load the new server

Start using Shovels

Look for the 🔌 icon in the chat. your 7 tools are now available

Why Use Claude Desktop with the Shovels MCP Server

Claude Desktop by Anthropic provides unique advantages when paired with Shovels through the Model Context Protocol.

Claude Desktop is the reference MCP client. it was designed alongside the protocol itself, ensuring the most complete and stable MCP implementation available

Zero-code configuration: add a server URL to a JSON file and Claude instantly discovers and exposes all available tools in the chat interface

Claude's extended thinking capability lets it reason through multi-step tool usage, chaining multiple API calls to answer complex questions

Enterprise-grade security with local config storage. your tokens never leave your machine, and connections go directly to Vinkius Edge network

Shovels + Claude Desktop Use Cases

Practical scenarios where Claude Desktop combined with the Shovels MCP Server delivers measurable value.

Interactive data exploration: ask Claude to query DNS records, look up WHOIS data, and cross-reference results in a single conversation

Ad-hoc security audits: type a domain name and let Claude enumerate subdomains, check DNS history, and flag configuration anomalies. all through natural language

Executive briefings: generate comprehensive domain intelligence reports by asking Claude to compile findings into a formatted summary

Learning and training: new team members can explore API capabilities conversationally without needing to read documentation

Shovels MCP Tools for Claude Desktop (7)

These 7 tools become available when you connect Shovels to Claude Desktop via MCP:

get_contractor

Get contractor details

get_contractor_activity

Find contractors active at an address

get_contractor_by_license

Find contractor by license ID

get_permit

Get permit details

get_permit_stats

Get permit activity statistics

search_contractors

Search for licensed contractors

search_permits

Search for building permits

Example Prompts for Shovels in Claude Desktop

Ready-to-use prompts you can give your Claude Desktop agent to start working with Shovels immediately.

"Search for roofing contractors in ZIP 94105."

"Show me permit stats for Austin, TX."

"Find contractors active near 1600 Amphitheatre Pkwy, Mountain View."

Troubleshooting Shovels MCP Server with Claude Desktop

Common issues when connecting Shovels to Claude Desktop through the Vinkius, and how to resolve them.

Server not appearing after restart

Ensure the JSON is valid (no trailing commas). Check the file path: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\\Claude\\ (Windows).

Authentication error

Verify your Vinkius token is correct. Go to cloud.vinkius.com to regenerate it if needed.

Tools not showing in chat

Click the 🔌 icon at the bottom of the chat input. If it shows 0 tools, the server may still be connecting. wait a few seconds.

Shovels + Claude Desktop FAQ

Common questions about integrating Shovels MCP Server with Claude Desktop.

How does Claude Desktop discover MCP tools?

When Claude Desktop starts, it reads the claude_desktop_config.json file and connects to each configured MCP server. It calls the tools/list endpoint to fetch the schema for every available tool, then surfaces them as clickable options in the chat interface via the 🔌 icon.

What happens if the MCP server is temporarily unavailable?

Claude Desktop handles disconnections gracefully. if the server is unreachable at startup, the tools simply won't appear. Once the server becomes available again, restarting Claude Desktop will re-establish the connection. There is no timeout penalty or error loop.

Can I connect multiple MCP servers simultaneously?

Yes. You can add as many servers as you need in the mcpServers section of the config file. Each server appears as a separate tool provider, and Claude can use tools from multiple servers in a single conversation turn.

Is there a limit on the number of tools per server?

Claude Desktop can handle hundreds of tools per server. However, for optimal LLM performance, Vinkius servers are designed to expose focused, well-documented tool sets rather than overwhelming the model with too many options.

Does Claude Desktop support Streamable HTTP transport?

Yes. Claude Desktop supports both SSE (Server-Sent Events) and the newer Streamable HTTP transport that Vinkius uses. Simply provide the server URL. Claude auto-negotiates the transport protocol.