Lever ATS MCP Server

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that integrates Lever ATS with Claude Desktop, enabling recruiters to manage their hiring pipeline through natural language conversations.

Features

This MCP server provides the following tools for Claude Desktop:

Core Tools

• lever_search_candidates - Search for candidates by query, stage, etc.

• lever_get_candidate - Get detailed information about a specific candidate

• lever_add_note - Add notes to candidate profiles

• lever_list_open_roles - List all published job postings

• lever_find_candidates_for_role - Find candidates for a specific role

• lever_archive_candidate - Archive candidates with reasons

• lever_get_stages - Get all available pipeline stages

• lever_get_archive_reasons - Get all archive reasons

Advanced Search & Sourcing Tools 🔍

• lever_advanced_search - Multi-criteria search (companies, skills, locations, tags)

• lever_find_by_company - Source candidates from specific companies

• lever_find_internal_referrals_for_role - Find employees who can refer for a role

File Management Tools 📄

• lever_list_files - List all files attached to a candidate (shows filename, type, size)

Application Management Tools 📋

• lever_list_applications - List all applications for a candidate

• lever_get_application - Get specific application details

• lever_create_application - Apply candidate to a job posting

Related MCP server: Shortlist MCP Server

Prerequisites

• Python 3.8+

• Lever API key (get from Lever Settings > Integrations > API)

• Claude Desktop installed

Installation

1. Clone or download this repository:

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/lever-mcp-server.git
cd lever-mcp-server

2. Create a virtual environment (recommended):

python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate  # On macOS/Linux
# or
venv\Scripts\activate  # On Windows

3. Install dependencies:

pip install -r requirements.txt

4. Create .env file from the example:

cp .env.example .env

Note: The .env file should be in the project root directory, not in the mcp/ subdirectory.

5. Add your Lever API key to .env:

LEVER_API_KEY=your_actual_api_key_here

Claude Desktop Configuration

1. Open Claude Desktop configuration file:

   • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

   • Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add the Lever MCP server configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "lever-ats": {
      "command": "/path/to/your/venv/bin/python",
      "args": ["/Users/sid.dani/Desktop/4. Coding Projects/lever mcp - claude code/mcp/server.py"],
      "env": {
        "LEVER_API_KEY": "your_lever_api_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Important: Update the paths:

• Replace /path/to/your/venv/bin/python with the actual path to your Python executable

• If using system Python, you can use python3 or the full path

3. Restart Claude Desktop

Usage Examples

Once configured, you can use natural language in Claude Desktop:

Basic Searching

• "Search for senior engineers"

• "Find candidates from Google or Meta"

• "Show me candidates in the phone screen stage"

• "Quick find John Smith" (fast search for specific person)

• "Quick find jane@example.com" (email-based quick search)

Advanced Search & Sourcing

• "Use advanced search to find Python developers from Google or Meta in San Francisco"

• "Search for candidates with skills: React, TypeScript, Node.js"

• "Find senior level candidates with AWS and Python experience"

• "Search candidates in London with remote work option"

• "Find candidates from companies: Google, Meta, Apple"

• "Find similar candidates to opportunity ID abc123"

• "Who can refer candidates for the Workplace Experience Manager role?"

Managing Pipeline

• "Get details for candidate [opportunity_id]"

• "Add a note to candidate [opportunity_id]: Great technical skills"

Viewing Roles and Pipeline

• "List all open roles"

• "Show candidates for posting [posting_id]"

• "What stages are available?"

Archiving

• "Get archive reasons"

• "Archive candidate [opportunity_id] with reason [reason_id]"

File Management

• "List all files for candidate [opportunity_id]"

Application Management

• "List all applications for candidate [opportunity_id]"

• "Get application details [application_id] for candidate [opportunity_id]"

• "Apply candidate [opportunity_id] to posting [posting_id]"

Important: Search Limitations

Name Search Constraints

The Lever API does not support text search queries. When searching by name:

• The tool fetches candidates and filters locally

• Search is limited to first 500 candidates to prevent timeouts

• Results may be incomplete for common names

Best Practices for Finding Candidates

1. Use email search when possible - Most reliable method

   • "Search for john.doe@example.com"

   • "Find candidate with email jane@company.com"

2. Use the quick find tool for individual candidates

   • "Quick find Svetlana Krockova"

   • "Quick find john@example.com"

   • Limited to first 300 candidates but faster

3. Use tags and stages to narrow search

   • "Find candidates tagged 'senior' in 'phone screen' stage"

   • "Search 'new applicant' stage for recent candidates"

4. For company searches, use dedicated tools

   • "Find candidates from Google"

   • "Filter by companies Microsoft, Apple"

Troubleshooting

MCP Server Not Showing in Claude

1. Check that the config file is valid JSON

2. Ensure all paths are absolute paths

3. Restart Claude Desktop completely

API Errors

1. Verify your API key is correct

2. Check Lever API permissions

3. Ensure you're not hitting rate limits

Search Not Finding Candidates

1. Try using email instead of name

2. Use lever_quick_find_candidate for faster results

3. Check if candidate might be archived

4. Ensure exact spelling of names

Finding IDs

• Opportunity IDs are shown in search results

• Stage IDs can be found using lever_get_stages

• Posting IDs are shown in lever_list_open_roles

• Archive reason IDs are shown in lever_get_archive_reasons

Development

To modify or extend the server:

1. The main server logic is in server.py

2. API client with rate limiting is in client.py

3. Add new tools by creating new @mcp.tool() decorated functions

4. Follow the existing pattern for error handling and response formatting

Rate Limiting

The server implements rate limiting at 8 requests/second (below Lever's 10 req/sec limit) to ensure reliable operation.

Security

• Never commit your .env file

• Keep your API key secure

• The server only has access to what your Lever API key permits

Support

For issues with:

• Lever API: Check Lever API Documentation

• MCP Protocol: See MCP Documentation

• This server: Check the error messages in Claude Desktop