Bring Candidate Tracking
to Cursor
Learn how to connect Greenhouse to Cursor and start using 12 AI agent tools in minutes. Fully managed, enterprise secure, and ready to use without writing a single line of code.
What is the Greenhouse MCP Server?
Connect your Greenhouse account to any AI agent and take full control of your hiring pipeline and recruitment workflows through natural conversation.
What you can do
- Candidate Orchestration — List and manage candidate records programmatically, including contact info, current company, and professional titles
- Application Lifecycle — Monitor job applications and take immediate action by advancing candidates to the next stage or marking rejections with reasons
- Job Management — Access detailed metadata for all active job openings, including hiring teams and department structures
- Organizational Visibility — Retrieve complete company department lists and office locations to coordinate recruitment logistics
- System Monitoring — Check API connectivity and Harvest API status directly through your agent for reliable data operations
How it works
1. Subscribe to this server
2. Retrieve your Harvest API Key from Greenhouse (Configure > Dev Center > API Credential Management)
3. Note a valid User ID to perform actions 'On-Behalf-Of' for auditing purposes
4. Start managing your talent acquisition from Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client
No more manual status updates or digging through candidates in the ATS. Your AI acts as your dedicated recruitment coordinator.
Who is this for?
- Recruiters & Sources — instantly identify candidate statuses and advance top talent through the pipeline using natural language
- Hiring Managers — retrieve job opening details and department structures without leaving your planning tools
- HR Operations — manage office locations and department organization through automated queries
Built-in capabilities (12)
Move candidate to next stage
Can include first name, last name, and company. Add new candidate
Get account connectivity
Get candidate info
Get job metadata
List job applications
List recruitment candidates
List company departments
List office locations
List active job openings
Requires a reason ID. Reject job application
Modify candidate info
Why Cursor?
Cursor's Agent mode turns Greenhouse into an in-editor superpower. Ask Cursor to generate code using live data from Greenhouse and it fetches, processes, and writes. all in a single agentic loop. 12 tools appear alongside file editing and terminal access, creating a unified development environment grounded in real-time information.
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Agent mode turns Cursor into an autonomous coding assistant that can read files, run commands, and call MCP tools without switching context
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Cursor's Composer feature can generate entire files using real-time data fetched through MCP. no copy-pasting from external dashboards
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MCP tools appear alongside built-in tools like file reading and terminal access, creating a unified agentic environment
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VS Code extension compatibility means your existing workflow, keybindings, and extensions all work alongside MCP tools
Greenhouse in Cursor
Greenhouse and 3,400+ other MCP servers. One platform. One governance layer.
Teams that connect Greenhouse to Cursor through Vinkius don't need to source, host, or maintain individual MCP servers. Every tool call runs inside a hardened runtime with credential isolation, DLP, and a signed audit chain.
Raw MCP | Vinkius | |
|---|---|---|
| Server catalog | Find and host yourself | 3,400+ managed |
| Infrastructure | Self-hosted | Sandboxed V8 isolates |
| Credential handling | Plaintext in config | Vault + runtime injection |
| Data loss prevention | None | Configurable DLP policies |
| Kill switch | None | Global instant shutdown |
| Financial circuit breakers | None | Per-server limits + alerts |
| Audit trail | None | Ed25519 signed logs |
| SIEM log streaming | None | Splunk, Datadog, Webhook |
| Honeytokens | None | Canary alerts on leak |
| Custom domains | Not applicable | DNS challenge verified |
| GDPR compliance | Manual effort | Automated purge + export |
Why teams choose Vinkius for Greenhouse in Cursor
The Greenhouse 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. All 12 tools execute in hardened sandboxes optimized for native MCP execution.
Your AI agents in Cursor only access the data you authorize, with DLP that blocks sensitive information from ever reaching the model, kill switch for instant shutdown, and up to 60% token savings. Enterprise-grade infrastructure, zero maintenance.
* 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
How Vinkius secures
Greenhouse for Cursor
Every tool call from Cursor to the Greenhouse MCP Server is protected by DLP redaction, cryptographic audit chains, V8 sandbox isolation, kill switch, and financial circuit breakers.
Frequently asked questions
What is the 'On-Behalf-Of' requirement?
Greenhouse requires write operations to be associated with a specific User ID for auditing. This ID is passed in the header to identify who performed the action.
Can I search for candidates by email?
Yes! Use the list_candidates tool and provide the email parameter to find a specific person's recruitment record and history.
How do I advance an application to the next stage?
The advance_application tool requires a valid application ID. It will automatically move the candidate to the next sequential stage defined in your job's workflow.
What is Agent mode and why does it matter for MCP?
Agent mode is Cursor's autonomous execution mode where the AI can perform multi-step tasks: reading files, editing code, running terminal commands, and calling MCP tools. Without Agent mode, Cursor operates in a simpler ask-and-answer mode that doesn't support tool calling. Always ensure you're in Agent mode when working with MCP servers.
Where does Cursor store MCP configuration?
Cursor looks for MCP server configurations in a mcp.json file. You can configure servers at the project level (.cursor/mcp.json in your project root) or globally (~/.cursor/mcp.json). Project-level configs take precedence.
Can Cursor use MCP tools in inline edits?
No. MCP tools are only available in Agent mode through the chat panel. Inline completions and Tab suggestions do not trigger MCP tool calls. This is by design. tool calls require user visibility and approval.
How do I verify MCP tools are loaded?
Open Settings → Features → MCP and look for your server name. A green indicator means the server is connected. You can also check Agent mode's available tools by clicking the tools dropdown in the chat panel.
Tools not appearing in Cursor
Ensure you are in Agent mode (not Ask mode). MCP tools only work in Agent mode.
Server shows as disconnected
Check Settings → Features → MCP and verify the server status. Try clicking the refresh button.