Handshake

An MCP server that gives AI assistants like Claude access to Handshake — search jobs, apply, track applications, and research employers through your own browser session.

Disclaimer: This project is independent and unaffiliated with Handshake. Automated access may violate Handshake's Terms of Service. Use for personal productivity only.

Tools

Tool	Description
hs_search_jobs	Search by keyword, location, or job type
hs_get_job	Full description, requirements, salary, deadline
hs_apply	Submit an application, attach resume/cover letter
hs_save_job / hs_unsave_job	Save / unsave jobs (follow)
hs_get_applications / hs_withdraw_application	Application tracking
hs_search_employers / hs_get_employer	Company research (keyword search)
hs_get_profile	Your Handshake student profile
hs_upload_document / hs_get_documents / hs_delete_document	Manage resumes and cover letters

Quick start

With uvx (recommended)

# First-time login
uvx handshake-mcp --login

# Add to Claude Code (~/.claude/.mcp.json)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "handshake": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["handshake-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

From source

git clone https://github.com/shahparam11/handshake-mcp-server.git
cd handshake-mcp
uv sync

# First-time login
uv run handshake-mcp --login

Add to ~/.claude/.mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "handshake": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": ["run", "--project", "/path/to/handshake-mcp", "handshake-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Code. The hs_* tools are now available.

With Docker

docker build -t handshake-mcp .

# Login (mounts session storage)
docker run -it -v ~/.handshake-mcp:/root/.handshake-mcp handshake-mcp --login

# Run as MCP server
docker run -i -v ~/.handshake-mcp:/root/.handshake-mcp handshake-mcp

CLI

handshake-mcp --login    # authenticate via browser
handshake-mcp --status   # check session validity
handshake-mcp --logout   # clear saved session
handshake-mcp --version  # print version

How it works

On --login, a Patchright Chromium browser opens. After you log in, the full browser profile (cookies, localStorage, IndexedDB) is saved to ~/.handshake-mcp/. Subsequent tool calls use these cookies via an httpx client against Handshake's internal REST API at app.joinhandshake.com/stu/.

CSRF protection uses the double-submit cookie pattern — the CSRF-TOKEN cookie value is reflected back as the X-CSRF-Token request header.

Note: Handshake's internal API is undocumented. If a tool returns 404, open browser DevTools on Handshake → Network tab, find the matching request path, and update the relevant handshake_mcp/tools/*.py file.

Session refresh

handshake-mcp --login

Project layout

handshake_mcp/
├── cli_main.py       # Entry point — --login/--logout/--status/server
├── server.py         # FastMCP server factory
├── auth.py           # Patchright login + profile/cookie storage
├── client.py         # Authenticated httpx client
├── exceptions.py     # CredentialsNotFoundError, SessionExpiredError
└── tools/
    ├── jobs.py           # hs_search_jobs, hs_get_job, hs_apply, hs_save/unsave_job
    ├── employers.py      # hs_search_employers, hs_get_employer
    ├── applications.py   # hs_get_applications, hs_withdraw_application
    └── profile.py        # hs_get_profile, hs_upload/get/delete_document

Development

uv sync --group dev
uv run pytest --cov
uv run ruff check .

License

MIT — see LICENSE.