Hometeam Server

Ask any AI about Black-owned businesses in South Florida. This is where the answers come from.

The Hometeam MCP server connects AI assistants to a curated, community-verified directory of Black-owned businesses across Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties. When someone asks Claude, "find me a Black-owned caterer in Broward County," this server provides the real, verified data behind the answer.

Built on the Model Context Protocol (MCP) — the open standard for connecting AI assistants to external data sources.

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Published on the MCP Registry

This server is listed on the official MCP Registry as io.github.JajuanX/hometeam-directory.

Live endpoint: https://mcp.thehometeam.io/sse

Connect with Claude Desktop

Add to your claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "hometeam": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-remote@latest",
        "https://mcp.thehometeam.io/sse"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Available tools

Tool	Description
search_businesses	Search by keyword, category, neighborhood, or county
get_business_details	Get full profile: hours, contact, reviews, specials
find_by_specialty	Natural language search ("someone to do box braids near Miramar")
list_categories	All 14 business categories
list_neighborhoods	Neighborhoods across Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach
get_latest_draft_class	Newest businesses added on Draft Day

Rate limits

Tier	Limit	Access
Free	100 queries/day	No API key needed
Pro	10,000 queries/day	API key (coming soon)

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Connect to the live server

Claude Desktop

Add to your Claude Desktop config (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "hometeam": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-remote@latest",
        "https://mcp.thehometeam.io/sse"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop. Then ask:

• "Find me a Black-owned restaurant in Lauderhill"
• "What new businesses just joined Hometeam?"
• "I need someone to do box braids near Miramar"

HTTP endpoints

Endpoint	Description
GET https://mcp.thehometeam.io/	Service info and available tools
GET https://mcp.thehometeam.io/health	Health check
GET https://mcp.thehometeam.io/sse	SSE connection for MCP clients
POST https://mcp.thehometeam.io/messages	MCP message handler

Rate limits

Tier	Limit	How to access
Free	100 queries/day	No API key required
Pro	10,000 queries/day	API key (coming soon — join the waitlist at thehometeam.io/developers)

Quick test

# Service info
curl https://mcp.thehometeam.io/

# Health check
curl https://mcp.thehometeam.io/health

Verify on the registry

curl "https://registry.modelcontextprotocol.io/v0/servers/io.github.JajuanX%2Fhometeam-directory/versions/latest"

Local development

If you want to run the server locally (for development or contributing):

git clone https://github.com/juanx/hometeam-project-orange.git
cd hometeam-project-orange/hometeam/mcp-server
npm install
cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env — set MONGO_URI to the same database as the backend

# Run with stdio transport (for Claude Desktop local testing)
npm run start:local

# Run with HTTP/SSE transport (for remote access)
npm start

Claude Desktop config for local:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "hometeam": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/hometeam-mcp-server/server.js"],
      "env": {
        "MONGO_URI": "your_mongodb_connection_string"
      }
    }
  }
}

Important: Use the absolute path from pwd in the mcp-server directory. console.log is redirected to console.error because stdio transport uses stdout for JSON-RPC communication.

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Available tools

The MCP server exposes 6 tools that AI assistants can call:

search_businesses

Search the directory by keyword, category, neighborhood, or county.

{
  "query": "jerk chicken",
  "county": "Broward",
  "limit": 5,
  "sort": "most_visited"
}

Returns matching businesses with name, category, neighborhood, rating, contact info, and Hometeam profile link.

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get_business_details

Get everything about a specific business — hours, contact, social media, reviews, current specials.

{ "slug": "keishas-kitchen" }

Or search by name:

{ "name": "Keisha's Kitchen" }

Returns the full business profile including recent reviews, active specials, and community trust signals.

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find_by_specialty

The smart search. Describe what you need in plain English.

{ "need": "someone to do box braids for my daughter's birthday", "location": "Miramar" }

{ "need": "tax preparation for my small business", "location": "Palm Beach" }

{ "need": "a barber who can do a fresh fade", "location": "Overtown" }

Maps natural language to categories and searches intelligently. This is the tool most AI assistants reach for first.

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list_categories

Returns all business categories in the directory. No parameters needed.

Categories: Restaurants & Food, Hair & Beauty, Health & Wellness, Home Services, Professional Services, Retail & Shopping, Auto Services, Education & Tutoring, Events & Entertainment, Fitness & Training, Technology & Media, Real Estate, Childcare & Family, Arts & Creative.

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list_neighborhoods

Returns South Florida neighborhoods, optionally filtered by county.

{ "county": "Broward" }

Covers 29+ neighborhoods across Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties.

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get_latest_draft_class

Returns the most recent Draft Class — the newest businesses to join Hometeam. No parameters needed.

Hometeam drafts new businesses monthly through community events. This tool lets AI assistants answer "what's new?" questions with real, timely data.

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How it works

User asks AI: "Find me a Black-owned caterer in Broward"
         │
         ▼
AI assistant sees Hometeam MCP tools are available
         │
         ▼
AI calls search_businesses({ query: "caterer", county: "Broward" })
         │
         ▼
Hometeam MCP server queries the live MongoDB database
         │
         ▼
Returns real business data: name, location, rating, contact, hours
         │
         ▼
AI presents the answer to the user with Hometeam attribution
         │
         ▼
User visits the business. Community grows.

The data is always live — not a cached snapshot. When a business updates their hours or posts a special, the MCP server reflects it immediately.

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Project structure

mcp-server/
├── server.js                  # Entry point (stdio transport — local/Claude Desktop)
├── httpServer.js              # HTTP/SSE transport (deployed/remote access)
├── config/
│   └── db.js                  # MongoDB connection
├── models/                    # Mongoose schemas (read-only, shared with backend DB)
│   ├── Business.js
│   ├── Category.js
│   ├── Neighborhood.js
│   ├── Review.js
│   ├── Event.js
│   ├── DraftClass.js
│   └── McpUsage.js
├── tools/                     # MCP tool definitions + handlers
│   ├── searchBusinesses.js
│   ├── getBusinessDetails.js
│   ├── findBySpecialty.js
│   ├── listCategories.js
│   ├── listNeighborhoods.js
│   └── getLatestDraftClass.js
├── middleware/
│   └── apiKeyAuth.js          # API key validation (paid tier — coming soon)
├── utils/
│   └── logUsage.js            # Query analytics logger
├── scripts/
│   └── release.js             # Semantic version release script
└── .env.example

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Transport modes

Stdio (local)

For Claude Desktop and local development. Communicates via stdin/stdout using JSON-RPC.

npm run start:local

Critical: All logging uses console.error, not console.log. Stdout is reserved for the MCP protocol. Any console.log output corrupts the JSON-RPC stream and crashes the connection.

HTTP/SSE (deployed)

For production and remote AI agents. Express server with Server-Sent Events.

npm start
# Starts on PORT (default 3001, Heroku assigns dynamically)

Endpoints:

Method	Path	Description
GET	/	Service info, version, tool list
GET	/health	Health check
GET	/sse	SSE connection for MCP clients
POST	/messages	MCP JSON-RPC message handler

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Developer workflow

Coding conventions

Defined in AGENTS.md at the project root (shared with the backend). Key rules:

• ES Modules — import/export with .js extensions on all relative imports
• Async/await throughout
• console.error only — never console.log (breaks stdio transport)
• Models — export default, read-only versions of backend schemas
• Tools — each tool in its own file, exports schema + handler

Adding a new MCP tool

1. Create mcp-server/tools/myNewTool.js with a schema and handler export:

   export const myNewToolSchema = {
     description: 'What this tool does — written for an AI to understand when to use it',
     inputSchema: {
       type: 'object',
       properties: {
         param1: { type: 'string', description: 'What this parameter means' },
       },
       required: ['param1'],
     },
   };
   
   export const myNewToolHandler = async (args) => {
     // Query MongoDB, format results
     return { success: true, data: { args } };
   };
   

2. Register it in mcp-server/tools/index.js:

   import { myNewToolHandler, myNewToolSchema } from './myNewTool.js';
   
   export const TOOL_DEFINITIONS = [
     // existing tools...
     {
       name: 'my_new_tool',
       description: myNewToolSchema.description,
       inputSchema: myNewToolSchema.inputSchema,
       handler: myNewToolHandler,
     },
   ];
   

3. Restart the MCP server and test with Claude Desktop locally before deploying.

Branch strategy and commits

Same as the backend — feature branches, conventional commits:

feat: add business-hours-aware search tool
fix: correct category matching in find_by_specialty
chore: update @modelcontextprotocol/sdk

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Versioning and releases

Version lives in package.json and is served in the MCP server info and HTTP root endpoint.

# Bug fix (1.0.0 → 1.0.1)
npm run release:patch

# New feature — e.g., new MCP tool (1.0.0 → 1.1.0)
npm run release:minor

# Breaking change (1.0.0 → 2.0.0)
npm run release:major

The script: checks for clean working tree → bumps package.json → commits → creates git tag → pushes → Heroku auto-deploys.

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Deployment

Heroku

The deployed version uses httpServer.js (HTTP/SSE), not server.js (stdio).

heroku login
heroku create hometeam-mcp

heroku config:set NODE_ENV=production
heroku config:set MONGO_URI="your_mongodb_atlas_uri"
heroku config:set MCP_SERVER_NAME="hometeam-directory"
heroku config:set CORS_ORIGIN="*"

git push heroku main

# Verify
curl https://mcp.thehometeam.io/
curl https://mcp.thehometeam.io/health

Do not set PORT — Heroku assigns it. The Procfile runs node httpServer.js.

Verify tools are registered

curl https://mcp.thehometeam.io/

Response includes all 6 tool names in the tools array.

In Claude Desktop MCP logs, you should see:

tools/list → search_businesses, get_business_details, find_by_specialty,
             list_categories, list_neighborhoods, get_latest_draft_class

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Usage analytics

Every query is logged (anonymized) to the mcpusages MongoDB collection:

• Which tool was called
• Input parameters (sanitized)
• Which businesses appeared in results
• Response time

This data powers:

For business owners: Their dashboard shows "AI recommendation served via MCP" in the activity feed, with how often AI agents recommend their business.

For the platform: Aggregated trends reveal demand — "Caribbean catering queries spiked 300% in Broward this month."

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API access tiers

Free tier (current)

• 100 queries per day per IP
• All 6 tools
• Basic business data
• No API key required

Pro tier (coming soon)

• 10,000 queries per day
• Enhanced data (full reviews, photos, specials, visit counts)
• Usage analytics dashboard
• Priority support
• Starting at $99/month

Business owners are never charged. Hometeam is free for all listed businesses.

Join the Pro tier waitlist →

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Environment variables

NODE_ENV=development
PORT=3001
MONGO_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/hometeam
MCP_SERVER_NAME=hometeam-directory
CORS_ORIGIN=*

The MONGO_URI must point to the same database as the backend. The MCP server reads from it; it does not write business data (only writes usage logs).

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Scripts

Command	Description
npm start	HTTP/SSE server (production, deployed)
npm run start:local	Stdio server (Claude Desktop, local dev)
npm run dev	HTTP/SSE with auto-reload
npm run dev:local	Stdio with auto-reload
npm run release	Show release usage help
npm run release:patch	Bug fix release
npm run release:minor	Feature release
npm run release:major	Breaking change release

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Coverage

Miami-Dade County

Overtown · Liberty City · Little Haiti · Opa-locka · Carol City · Richmond Heights · Goulds · Florida City · Coconut Grove West · North Miami · Miami Gardens

Broward County

Lauderhill · Lauderdale Lakes · Fort Lauderdale · Plantation · Miramar · Pembroke Pines · Hollywood · Deerfield Beach · Pompano Beach · Dania Beach · Tamarac

Palm Beach County

West Palm Beach · Riviera Beach · Boynton Beach · Delray Beach · Belle Glade · Lake Worth Beach · Palm Beach Gardens

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Why MCP?

Most local business directories are trapped behind websites. You have to know they exist, visit them, and search manually.

MCP makes Hometeam's data available to every AI assistant that supports the protocol. Instead of one website with one search bar, there are millions of AI assistants — each one a potential distribution channel for Black-owned businesses.

When someone asks their AI "where should I eat in Lauderhill?", the answer should include Black-owned restaurants. Not because of an algorithm, but because the community verified them and Hometeam made the data available.

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Related repos

Repo	Description
hometeam-backend	Node.js/Express API
hometeam-frontend	React/TypeScript directory, dashboards, map

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Contributing

We welcome contributions. To add a new MCP tool, improve search relevance, or fix a bug: open an issue or submit a PR.

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License

MIT

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Every AI recommendation is a customer walking through a Black-owned business's door. That's the point.