Bring Building Permits
to CrewAI
Create your Vinkius account to connect Shovels to CrewAI and start using all 7 AI tools in minutes. Fully managed, enterprise secure, and ready to use without writing a single line of code. No hosting, no server setup — just connect and start using.
GDPR Free for SubscribersCompatible with every major AI agent and IDE
Gemini
What is the 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.
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.
How it works
- Subscribe to this server
- Enter your Shovels.ai API Key
- Start managing your construction data from Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-compatible client
Who is this for?
- Real Estate Developers — perform rapid due diligence on properties and track local development activity.
- Market Researchers — analyze construction trends and identify high-growth areas based on permit volumes.
- Homeowners & Propert Managers — verify contractor credentials and monitor work history in their neighborhood.
- SaaS Developers — integrate construction and permitting workflows into their applications through an AI-guided interface.
- Building Material Suppliers — identify active job sites and contractors to optimize sales outreach.
Built-in capabilities (7)
Get contractor details
Find contractors active at an address
Find contractor by license ID
Get permit details
Get permit activity statistics
Search for licensed contractors
Search for building permits
Why CrewAI?
When paired with CrewAI, Shovels becomes a first-class tool in your multi-agent workflows. Each agent in the crew can call Shovels tools autonomously, one agent queries data, another analyzes results, a third compiles reports, all orchestrated through Vinkius with zero configuration overhead.
- —
Multi-agent collaboration lets you decompose complex workflows into specialized roles, one agent researches, another analyzes, a third generates reports, each with access to MCP tools
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CrewAI's native MCP integration requires zero adapter code: pass Vinkius Edge URL directly in the
mcpsparameter and agents auto-discover every available tool at runtime - —
Built-in task delegation and shared memory mean agents can pass context between steps without manual state management, enabling multi-hop reasoning across tool calls
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Sequential and hierarchical crew patterns map naturally to real-world workflows: enumerate subdomains → analyze DNS history → check WHOIS records → compile findings into actionable reports
Shovels in CrewAI
Why run Shovels with Vinkius?
The Shovels connection runs on our fully managed, secure cloud infrastructure. We handle the hosting, maintenance, and security so you don't have to deal with servers or code. All 7 tools are ready to work instantly without any complex setup.
You stay in complete control of your data. Your AI only accesses the information you approve, keeping your sensitive passwords and private details completely safe. Plus, with automatic optimizations, your AI works faster and more efficiently.
* Every connection is hosted and maintained by Vinkius. We handle the security, updates, and infrastructure so you don't have to write code or manage servers. See our infrastructure
Over 4,000 integrations ready for AI agents
Explore a vast library of pre-built integrations, optimized and ready to deploy.
Connect securely in under 30 seconds
Generate tokens to authenticate and link external services in a single step.
Complete visibility into every agent action
Audit live requests, latency, success rates, and active security compliance policies.
Optimize spending and track token ROI
Analyze real-time token consumption and cost metrics detailed by connection.
Explore our live AI Agents Analytics dashboard to see it all working
This dashboard is included when you connect Shovels using Vinkius. You will never be left in the dark about what your AI agents are doing with your tools.
Shovels and 4,000+ other AI tools. No hosting, no code, ready to use.
Professionals who connect Shovels to CrewAI through Vinkius don't need to write code, manage servers, or worry about security. Everything is pre-configured, secure, and runs automatically in the background.
Raw MCP | Vinkius | |
|---|---|---|
| Ready-to-use MCPs | Find and configure each manually | 4,000+ MCPs ready to use |
| Connection Setup | Manual coding & server setup | 1-click instant connection |
| Server Hosting | You host it yourself (needs 24/7 uptime) | 100% hosted & managed by Vinkius |
| Security & Privacy | Stored in plaintext config files | Bank-grade encrypted vault |
| Activity Visibility | Blind execution (no logs or tracking) | Live dashboard with real-time logs |
| Cost Control | Runaway AI token spend risk | Automatic budget limits |
| Revoking Access | Must delete files or code to stop | 1-click disconnect button |
How Vinkius secures
Shovels for CrewAI
Every request between CrewAI and Shovels is protected by our secure gateway. We automatically keep your sensitive data private, prevent unauthorized access, and let you disconnect instantly at any time.
Frequently asked questions
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.
How does CrewAI discover and connect to MCP tools?
CrewAI connects to MCP servers lazily. when the crew starts, each agent resolves its MCP URLs and fetches the tool catalog via the standard tools/list method. This means tools are always fresh and reflect the server's current capabilities. No tool schemas need to be hardcoded.
Can different agents in the same crew use different MCP servers?
Yes. Each agent has its own mcps list, so you can assign specific servers to specific roles. For example, a reconnaissance agent might use a domain intelligence server while an analysis agent uses a vulnerability database server.
What happens when an MCP tool call fails during a crew run?
CrewAI wraps tool failures as context for the agent. The LLM receives the error message and can decide to retry with different parameters, fall back to a different tool, or mark the task as partially complete. This resilience is critical for production workflows.
Can CrewAI agents call multiple MCP tools in parallel?
CrewAI agents execute tool calls sequentially within a single reasoning step. However, you can run multiple agents in parallel using process=Process.parallel, each calling different MCP tools concurrently. This is ideal for workflows where separate data sources need to be queried simultaneously.
Can I run CrewAI crews on a schedule (cron)?
Yes. CrewAI crews are standard Python scripts, so you can invoke them via cron, Airflow, Celery, or any task scheduler. The crew.kickoff() method runs synchronously by default, making it straightforward to integrate into existing pipelines.
MCP tools not discovered
Ensure the Edge URL is correct. CrewAI connects lazily when the crew starts. check console output.
Agent not using tools
Make the task description specific. Instead of "do something", say "Use the available tools to list contacts".
Timeout errors
CrewAI has a 10s connection timeout by default. Ensure your network can reach the Edge URL.
Rate limiting or 429 errors
Vinkius enforces per-token rate limits. Check your subscription tier and request quota in the dashboard. Upgrade if you need higher throughput.
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