Deprecated. Deprecated by the publisher: FirstHandAPI shut down 2026-08-22. The API at api.firsthandapi.com is permanently offline and this package no longer works. See https://jjfisher.dev for the project write-up.
FirstHandAPI
Post crowdsourced content collection jobs and fetch approved files via FirstHandAPI
Runs on your machine from its package; the steps are below.
What it does
- Reads
- Writes
- High impact
At most: creates or changes data: records, files, settings.
What it costs
FreeOdel charges nothing per call. The publisher may charge for its own service.
Runs locally over stdio
This server isn't hosted — your MCP client launches it from a package registry. Use one of the commands below, or drop the config into your client (e.g. Claude Desktop).
Run
npx -y @firsthandapi/mcp-server
MCP client config
{
"mcpServers": {
"firsthandapi": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@firsthandapi/mcp-server"
]
}
}
}ARCHIVED 2026-08-22 — FirstHandAPI is shut down and this server no longer works.
api.firsthandapi.comis permanently offline. Every tool in this MCP server returns a network error, and the@firsthandapi/mcp-servernpm package is deprecated on all versions. Thesignupflow below cannot issue keys.Write-up of what was built and why it was killed: https://jjfisher.dev/writing/2026-w34-firsthandapi-postmortem
Kept read-only as a reference implementation of an MCP server with a keyless bootstrap tool.
@firsthandapi/mcp-server — FirstHandAPI MCP Server
Zero-to-job for agents (bootstrap mode)
No API key yet? Start the server anyway — it exposes a single signup tool:
npx @firsthandapi/mcp-server # no env var needed
Call signup with an org_name and email to receive an API key and $2.50
in free credits (the key is shown once — save it), then restart configured:
claude mcp add firsthandapi -e FIRSTHAND_API_KEY=fh_live_... -- npx @firsthandapi/mcp-server
With the key set, all 7 job tools unlock: create_job, create_job_and_wait,
get_job, list_jobs, get_job_files, cancel_job, get_credits.
Official MCP server for FirstHandAPI — human-in-the-loop (HITL) crowdsourced data collection. Enables Claude Code, Cursor, and other AI agents to collect photos, audio, video, and screen recordings from real human workers with automated AI quality scoring.
Use cases: UGC collection, ground truth data for AI evaluation, LLM training data for multimodal models.
Installation
npm install @firsthandapi/mcp-server
Configuration
Claude Code
{
"mcpServers": {
"firsthand": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["@firsthandapi/mcp-server"],
"env": {
"FIRSTHAND_API_KEY": "fh_live_your_key_here"
}
}
}
}
Cursor
Add to .cursor/mcp.json:
{
"firsthand": {
"command": "npx @firsthandapi/mcp-server",
"env": { "FIRSTHAND_API_KEY": "fh_live_..." }
}
}
Tools
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
create_job | Post a content collection job |
get_job | Get job status and details |
create_job_and_wait | Post a job and wait for completion |
list_jobs | List all jobs with filters |
cancel_job | Cancel an open job |
get_job_files | Get approved files with download URLs |
get_credits | Check credit balance |
All job creation tools accept an optional location parameter: { city, state } for text-based or { latitude, longitude, radius_km } for coordinate-based constraints.
Environment Variables
FIRSTHAND_API_KEY(required) — Your API keyFIRSTHAND_BASE_URL(optional) — API base URL (default: https://api.firsthandapi.com)FIRSTHAND_TIMEOUT_MS(optional) — Request timeout (default: 30000)
License
Proprietary
