Binary’s applicant tracking system lets hiring teams screen candidates, search resumes, create jobs and manage interviews through a built-in AI agent or an external assistant. Its Model Context Protocol connection gives compatible clients, including Claude and ChatGPT, read-and-write access to the hiring workspace, according to Binary’s MCP documentation.
The rollout has two documented dates: Binary’s changelog lists the MCP server release on October 5, 2026, followed by interview-management support on October 8. That second update added checking interviewer availability, booking interviews, sharing booking links, and rescheduling or canceling appointments.
Binary’s pitch is a lightweight ATS that small teams can use without per-seat charges. Its homepage says more than 600 startups use the product, a vendor claim that has not been independently verified. The more consequential detail is what connected assistants can change, and how teams should supervise those actions.
What Binary’s Built-In Agent Does
Binary combines familiar recruiting tools with an agent that operates on the same hiring data. The underlying ATS supports application forms, candidate sourcing, pipeline tracking, interview scheduling, feedback and analytics, according to its product page.
The company’s AI ATS page describes several agent workflows:
- Candidate screening: Score applicants against criteria supplied by the hiring team, with written reasoning for each score.
- Database search: Read candidate profiles and resumes to find people matching a plain-language request.
- Hiring reports: Answer questions about pipeline movement, sourcing and interviewer activity.
- Job creation: Draft job descriptions and application forms, then publish jobs after review.
- Interview coordination: Check calendar availability, book interviews or send booking links.
- Submission review: Transcribe video answers and review take-home assignments against criteria.
Binary says the agent is available inside its app, in Slack and through MCP-compatible assistants.
The practical attraction is continuity: a screening result or report can land in the system where the team already manages applicants. That can reduce the copying between an ATS, a spreadsheet and a separate chatbot. Whether the resulting scores are reliable is a different question from whether the integration can store them.
MCP Access Can Read and Change Recruiting Records
MCP, short for Model Context Protocol, is a standard for connecting AI assistants to tools and data. Binary’s server exposes actions from its ATS, allowing a compatible assistant to retrieve information and make changes on the user’s behalf.
Binary documents batch screening that writes scores back into a column, candidate imports, job creation and interview management. The connection therefore goes beyond asking a chatbot to summarize an exported resume.
A request to reschedule an interview, for example, could change an appointment and notify the candidate. That makes authorization and checking the intended action important, even when the request sounds routine.
How to Connect an Assistant
Binary publishes this remote MCP endpoint:
https://api.binary.so/mcp
Its setup instructions describe these client-specific routes:
- Claude: Open Settings → Connectors, add a custom connector, paste the server URL, then sign in and select a workspace.
- ChatGPT: Enable developer mode, create a connector under Settings → Connectors, enter the URL and sign in. Enable the connector in the relevant chat.
- Cursor: Add a server under Cursor Settings → MCP, enter the URL and complete Binary’s browser-based sign-in.
Binary notes that menu names can change between client versions. It also lists Codex, Grok and Claude Code as compatible clients.
For Claude Code, Binary documents this command:
claude mcp add --transport http binary https://api.binary.so/mcp
The command registers Binary as an HTTP MCP server. The next documented step is to enter /mcp in a Claude Code session and sign in with a Binary account. These are vendor-provided setup instructions, not a connection independently tested for this article.
The Free Plan Has Unlimited Records, Limited AI Credits
Binary advertises unlimited jobs, hiring forms, candidates and team members on its free plan. The AI allowance is more constrained: its AI ATS page specifies $1 in AI credits per month, with paid plans starting at $49 per month.
| Item | Free plan | Paid plans |
|---|---|---|
| Jobs, hiring forms and candidates | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Team members | Unlimited | Unlimited, without per-seat pricing |
| Built-in AI, screening, AI Skills and Slack agent | Included, with $1 monthly AI credit | Included, with more credits |
| MCP access | Read and write; no request cap advertised | Read and write; no request cap advertised |
| Starting subscription price | $0 | $49 per month |
These are Binary’s published terms, not a measured cost comparison.
The distinction between unlimited records and limited AI consumption matters. A team can store a large applicant pool without a candidate-count charge, but that does not reveal how much built-in screening the included credit will buy.
The opened documentation does not provide enough per-task pricing to translate $1 into a dependable number of resume screenings, reports or assignment reviews. It also does not clearly explain how external-assistant activity interacts with Binary’s AI credit balance.
Binary says the MCP connection itself has no extra charge. Separate AI-provider subscriptions or usage costs still need checking.
I’d treat the free plan as a way to evaluate workflow fit, not as evidence that ongoing AI screening will cost nothing. Teams can establish their actual consumption before committing a live hiring pipeline to it.
Team Permissions Extend to the Connected Agent
Binary supports workspaces, users, roles and permissions, with unlimited team members across its plans. Its MCP connection uses OAuth: users sign in through Binary, choose a workspace and can revoke access through Settings → Integrations.
According to the MCP documentation, each call runs as the connected user, and the assistant inherits that user’s permissions within the workspace.
Frequently Asked Questions
3 questions
1Is Binary’s ATS Free?
Binary advertises unlimited jobs, forms, candidates and team members on its free plan. Built-in AI includes $1 in monthly credits.
