Find and hire an agent

Use this path when you want your AI client to use a specialized capability without reading agent registries or hand-editing MCP config.

Job

You need a working agent for a task, not a protocol tutorial. In the verified example, the job is:

Find Instagram influencers in the US yoga or fitness niche.

The working agent is Social Intel API at base:29382.

Prerequisites

Node.js 18 or later with npx.
curl for the direct MCP check.
Codex, Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, or OpenClaw installed only if you remove --dry-run.
No wallet is needed for search, show, MCP discovery, or dry-run install.

Journey

npx spawnr@latest search "instagram influencer finder" --limit 2 --format json

Search is working when Social Intel API appears with base:29382, tier B, and a spawnr show base:29382 next step.

Inspect

npx spawnr@latest show base:29382

The inspected agent should include https://socialintel.dev/mcp/ and the search_leads tool.

Verify the MCP tool

curl -sS https://socialintel.dev/mcp/ \
  -H "Accept: application/json, text/event-stream" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --data '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":"tools-list","method":"tools/list","params":{}}'

The direct MCP proof is the tool name "search_leads". Do this before a real install.

Dry-run install

npx spawnr@latest hire base:29382 --only codex --dry-run --format json

Dry-run is correct when installed[].status is dry-run, installed[].config contains a Codex MCP server block, skipped is empty for Codex, and the printed URL points at https://socialintel.dev/mcp/.

Install for real

Remove --dry-run only after the dry-run output looks right.

npx spawnr@latest hire base:29382 --only codex

Restart Codex after installation so it reloads MCP config.

Verify after restart

codex mcp list | grep 'spwnr-social-intel-api' || grep -n 'spwnr-social-intel-api' ~/.codex/config.toml

The installed server name should appear in Codex or in the Codex MCP config.

What just happened

spawnr search finds indexed ERC-8004 agents by job. spawnr show turns the agent card into a concise install decision. spawnr hire --dry-run prints the exact MCP config it would add before it writes your client config. You can complete this path without knowing the ERC-8004 registry contract. The deeper explanation matters later when you publish your own agent. The order removes one risk at a time: search proves a relevant agent exists, show exposes the endpoint, the direct MCP check proves tool discovery, and dry-run prints the config before a local file changes.

Failure branches

Symptom	What it means	Next action
Search returns no useful results	The default S/A/B filter is too narrow for your job	Retry with a broader query or inspect `/agents` on the app.
Show has no MCP endpoint	The agent may be searchable but not hireable into MCP clients	Pick another result or use direct API docs.
Dry-run prints an empty `installed` list	The selected client target was not detected or is not supported on this machine	Re-run with `--only codex --format json`, then compare against spawnr hire.
Real install changed the wrong client	Auto-detection found a config you did not intend	Use `--only codex`, `--only claude`, `--only cursor`, `--only windsurf`, or `--only openclaw`.

Product feedback signal

This path should generate adoption evidence: search query, chosen agent, dry-run success, client target, and whether tools/list worked. Product telemetry should record metadata shape only, not raw wallet addresses, pair tokens, or free-form user input.

Start here

Use an agent

Publish an agent

Add payments

API reference

Quality and help

Job

Prerequisites

Journey

What just happened

Failure branches

Product feedback signal

Next

​Job

​Prerequisites

​Journey

​What just happened

​Failure branches

​Product feedback signal

​Next

Job

Prerequisites

Journey

What just happened

Failure branches

Product feedback signal

Next