LeadReef Dev

Posted on Nov 8

Find local business leads from Cursor, Claude or Claude Code with an MCP server

#mcp #ai #webdev #freelance

If you build websites for local businesses, you probably spend more time finding the next client than building the site. Open a search, scroll, click a site, check it on your phone, write down what is wrong, repeat forty times.

We wanted that loop inside the tools we already have open all day, so we shipped an MCP server for LeadReef. You connect it once to Claude, Cursor, Claude Code or any other MCP client, and then you can ask for leads in plain words: "find plumbers in Austin with a weak website and give me the five best ones with an email".

Full disclosure: LeadReef is our product. This post is a setup guide plus an honest look at what the server can and can't do.

What MCP gives you here

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is the standard way for an AI app to call outside tools. The LeadReef server is remote, so there is nothing to install. Your client talks to one URL:

https://api.leadreef.ai/mcp

Sign-in is OAuth 2.1 with PKCE. You log in on leadreef.ai, approve the app, and the AI client never sees your password.

Setup in Cursor

Open Customize → MCP servers, add a custom server, and paste this into mcp.json (~/.cursor/mcp.json for all projects, or .cursor/mcp.json for one project):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "leadreef": {
      "url": "https://api.leadreef.ai/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Save, sign in when Cursor opens the browser, click Allow, and ask for leads in the agent chat. Cursor will ask you to approve each tool call.

Setup in Claude Code

claude mcp add --transport http leadreef https://api.leadreef.ai/mcp

Then run /mcp inside Claude Code and authenticate the leadreef server in the browser.

Setup in Claude (web or desktop)

Open Customize → Connectors and click Add custom connector.
Name it LeadReef and paste the server URL.
Click Connect, sign in, then Allow.
In a chat, switch LeadReef on from the tools menu.

The Claude free plan includes one custom connector, which is enough for this. Full step-by-step guide: leadreef.ai/mcp/claude.

The tools

The server exposes tools only (no resources or prompts). Only one of them spends credits.

Tool	What it does	Cost
`get_account`	plan, credits, free searches left	free
`estimate_search`	price range before you run anything	free
`start_search`	scans a city and niche for businesses with no site or a weak one	credits
`get_search`	progress and ranked results of a search	free
`list_searches`	your past searches	free
`list_leads`	filter saved leads, for example only the ones with an email	free
`get_lead`	full lead card with what is wrong with the site	free
`get_lead_contacts`	phone, email, address, socials	free
`list_supported_free_searches`	which searches the free plan covers	free

A good habit is to let the model call estimate_search first. It shows the cost range and whether you can run the search, without charging anything.

The server cannot send messages, delete leads, change billing or publish sites. Outreach stays with you. You can cut any app off under Settings → Connected apps, and its token stops working right away.

Prompts that work well

Start narrow. A city plus one trade gives better leads than a whole state.

Find roofers in Tampa with a weak website. Before you run it, tell me what it will cost.

From my last search, list the 5 leads with an email and the clearest website problem. For each one, give me one sentence I could open a cold email with.

Show me the contacts for the second lead and summarize what is wrong with their site in plain words.

The second prompt is where this beats doing it by hand. The model reads the lead cards and drafts something specific to each business, and you edit and send it yourself.

Limits worth knowing

The free plan gives you one search a day with up to 10 leads, no card needed. Reading leads and contacts is always free.
Paid plans use the same credit balance as the web app. There is no separate "AI plan".
Rate limits are per user across all apps, for example 10 searches a minute and 100 a day.
Searches take a little while. The model polls get_search until the status is done, so give it a minute.

When the web app is the better choice

If you want to look at screenshots side by side, build a prototype site for a lead, or manage leads on a board, use the web app. The MCP server is for the moments when you are already in an AI chat or in your editor and want leads without switching tabs.

Everything about the server, including the full tool reference and error codes, is on leadreef.ai/mcp. If you try it in a client we haven't listed, tell us in the comments how it went.

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