Vinkius
Shovels

Shovels MCP for AI. Audit permits and track construction activity with natural language.

Claude Claude
ChatGPT ChatGPT
Cursor Cursor
Gemini Gemini
Windsurf Windsurf
VS Code VS Code
JetBrains JetBrains
Vercel Vercel
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Works with every AI agent you already use

…and any MCP-compatible client

Shovels MCP on Cursor AI Code EditorShovels MCP on Claude Desktop AppShovels MCP on OpenAI Agents SDKShovels MCP on Visual Studio CodeShovels MCP on GitHub Copilot AI AgentShovels MCP on Google Gemini AIShovels MCP on Lovable AI DevelopmentShovels MCP on Mistral AI AgentsShovels MCP on Amazon AWS Bedrock

Connect to your AI in seconds.

Shovels MCP Server is a construction and permit data platform that lets your AI client audit real estate records. It gives you instant access to licensed contractors, active building permits, and market intelligence across specific geographic areas.

You can ask your agent to find all roofing professionals near an address or pull aggregated statistics on remodeling permits for a whole county—all without touching a dashboard.

What your AI can do

Get contractor activity

Finds and lists contractors currently working near a specified address.

Get contractor by license

Retrieves full contractor profiles using their state business license ID.

Get contractor

Retrieves specific details for a single licensed contractor.

+ 4 more capabilities included
Audit Permits

Retrieve full details on any specific building permit using get_permit, including its current status and estimated value.

Find Contractors by Location

search_contractors lets you list licensed professionals based on work type, property kind, or ZIP code.

Track Site Activity

Pinpoint active construction crews near a given address using get_contractor_activity.

Analyze Market Trends

get_permit_stats pulls aggregated statistics, letting you analyze building activity across entire counties or cities.

Verify Licenses

Confirm a contractor's status and details immediately using their state business license ID via get_contractor_by_license.

Included with Plan

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AI Agent

Shovels: 7 Tools for Construction & Permits

Use these seven tools to search contractors, audit permits, check local activity, and pull aggregated construction data using your AI client.

Make your AI actually useful.

Add this MCP to Claude, Cursor, or Windsurf and your AI stops guessing. It gets real tools to look things up, take action, and handle the stuff you keep doing by hand.

Start using Shovels on Vinkius

Get Contractor Activity

Finds and lists contractors currently working near a specified address.

Get Contractor By License

Retrieves full contractor profiles using their state business license ID.

Get Contractor

Retrieves specific details for a single licensed contractor.

Get Permit Stats

Pulls aggregated data to show overall trends in building permit filings by area.

Get Permit

Gets the detailed status and history for a specific building permit record.

Search Contractors

Searches and lists licensed contractors based on criteria like work type or location.

Search Permits

Searches for building permits using key details like address or permit status.

Security and governance baked right in.

Pick your AI client below to get set up. Just create a Vinkius account, subscribe, and you're instantly up and running. We handle the entire backend infrastructure, delivering out-of-the-box support for HTTPS Streamable, SSE, and OAuth2—zero messy routing required.

Claude AI

Claude AI

1

Open Claude Settings

Go to claude.ai, click your profile icon, then navigate to Customize → Connectors.

2

Add Custom Connector

Click the "+" button and select Add custom connector. Paste your Vinkius endpoint URL:

https://edge.vinkius.com/[YOUR_TOKEN_HERE]/mcp

Replace [YOUR_TOKEN_HERE] with your token from cloud.vinkius.com. For OAuth-protected servers, expand Advanced settings to add credentials.

3

Start a conversation

Open a new chat. The Shovels integration is available immediately — no restart needed.

Choose How to Get Started

Build a custom MCP for your own tools, or connect a ready-made integration from our catalog.

Build Your Own

Turn any API into an MCP. Import a spec, define Agent Skills, or deploy with MCPFusion.

  • Import from OpenAPI, Swagger, or YAML specs
  • Create Agent Skills with progressive disclosure
  • Deploy to edge with MCPFusion framework
  • Built in DLP, auth, and compliance on every call
  • Real time usage dashboard and cost metering
  • Publish to catalog or keep private
Start building

Make Your AI Do More

Start with Shovels, then connect any of our 5,000+ other servers whenever your AI needs more. One click, no limits.

  • Use this MCP plus 5,000+ others, all in one place
  • Add new capabilities to your AI anytime you want
  • Every connection is secured and compliant automatically
  • Track usage and costs across all your servers
  • Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, and more
  • New servers added to the catalog every week
Shovels MCP server cover

Independent Platform Disclaimer: Vinkius is an independent platform and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, verified by, or otherwise authorized by Shovels. All third-party trademarks, logos, and brand names are the property of their respective owners. Their use on this website is strictly for informational purposes to identify service compatibility and interoperability.

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Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, and more

The Model Context Protocol standardizes how applications expose capabilities to LLMs. Instead of operating in isolation, your AI gains direct access to external platforms, live data, and real-world actions through secure, standardized connections.

This connection provides 7 powerful capabilities that interface natively with Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, and other compatible AI platforms. No middleware. No custom integration required.

Finding construction records shouldn't feel like detective work across ten different websites.

Right now, auditing a property is tedious. You start at the municipal site to pull permit data, then jump to a separate contractor board for names. If you need market stats, you switch to a third platform just for aggregated counts. It's endless tabs and copy-pasting.

With Shovels MCP Server, your agent handles that whole mess. You ask it to 'Analyze the development history at this address.' It runs `search_permits` and pulls relevant contractor info using `get_contractor_activity`. What you get back is one clean report, structured for immediate action.

Shovels MCP Server: Get actionable data on permits and contractors.

Forget the manual process of finding contractor IDs or cross-referencing permit statuses. You don't have to manually check if a company is licensed *before* you even start writing the contract, because your agent runs `get_contractor_by_license` immediately.

It’s about eliminating friction points. The data structure for real estate and construction was never meant to be queried easily. Now it just flows out of an API call, giving you structured insights in seconds.

What your AI can actually do with this

Shovels gives your AI client direct access to massive construction and permit records. You don't gotta click through some bloated dashboard; you just talk to your agent, and it pulls the data you need.

Your agent handles all the heavy lifting across three main areas: contractors, permits, and market intelligence.

To find licensed pros, you can use search_contractors to list professionals based on work type—whether they're doing solar or roofing—property kind, or a ZIP code. If you know exactly who you need, your agent runs get_contractor_by_license, confirming their full profile using just their state business license ID. For general contractor details, it pulls specific data for one licensed individual using get_contractor.

To track activity on the ground, use get_contractor_activity to pinpoint any construction crews working near a given address.

When you need to look into permits, your agent starts by running search_permits, letting you filter records based on an address or a specific permit status. For deep dives, calling get_permit gives you the full history and current status of any single building permit record, including its estimated value. To check market viability across a whole area, use get_permit_stats; this pulls aggregated statistics so you can analyze overall trends in building activity throughout an entire county or city.

Your agent runs these numbers whether you're verifying credentials or checking market movement. It gives you structured data every time.

Built · Hosted · Managed by Vinkius Shovels MCP Server - Contractor & Permit Data
Server ID 019d847f-c4a0-71c5-925b-0ad6ad1dd6e3
Vinkius Inspector
Compliance Grade A+
Score 98.33/100
Vinkius Inspector Badge — Score 98.33/100

Questions you might have

How do I use the get_contractor_activity tool with Shovels? +

You send your agent a request specifying the address. The get_contractor_activity tool then scans that location and lists all licensed contractors currently working within a defined radius.

Is get_permit_stats better than searching for permits? +

Yes, they serve different goals. Use search_permits when you know the address or general type of permit you need to find. Use get_permit_stats when you want to see trends—like how many total residential filings happened this quarter.

Can I check a contractor's license without knowing their name? (Using get_contractor_by_license) +

Absolutely. get_contractor_by_license is designed to take the state business ID directly, which lets you pull up a profile even if the company has changed names.

Which tool should I use to find roofing contractors in my area? (Using search_contractors) +

You start with search_contractors. You simply tell your agent you need 'roofing' professionals and the location, and it returns a list of licensed options.

What is required to successfully run the `get_permit` tool? +

You must provide a valid Shovels API Key. This key authenticates your connection, giving your agent access to the full permit database. Always treat this key as sensitive credentials.

If I use `search_contractors` and no matching records are found, what does the tool return? +

The tool returns a predictable status code along with an empty list object. Your agent can check for this explicit zero-result state instead of failing, allowing you to handle 'no data' gracefully.

Are there rate limits when calling `get_permit_stats`? +

Yes, we enforce standard API rate limits. If your agent exceeds the allowed calls per minute, it will return a 429 error. You should implement an exponential backoff retry logic in your code.

Does `get_contractor` provide every piece of contractor data available? +

The get_contractor tool provides core public records, including license status and contact history. It does not access private financial data or internal company documents.

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.

Built & Managed by Vinkius 30s setup 7 tools

We've already built the connector for Shovels. Just plug in your AI agents and start using Vinkius.

No hosting. No infrastructure. No complex setup.
All 7 tools are live and waiting. You're up and running in seconds.

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