A side-by-side look at the Watchtower and Locate Jobs Network MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Watchtower for developer tools work; choose Locate Jobs Network for developer tools over a hosted endpoint. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
DATABASE_URL.watch_jobs, search_jobs, list_companies.search_jobs, unemployment_answers.Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | W Watchtower | L Locate Jobs Network |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Developer Tools | Developer Tools |
| Quality signal | 53/100 · Good | 75/100 · Great |
| Install command | Not confirmed yet | Confirmed |
| Transport | — | Remote HTTP/SSE |
| Auth | No auth required | Not declared |
| Pricing | Free | Not declared |
| Required env vars | DATABASE_URL | None listed |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Verified |
| GitHub stars | 0 | — |
| Directory activity | 0 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 2 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 8 | 2 |
| Full listing | View Watchtower | View Locate Jobs Network |
watch_jobsCreate a persistent watch for tech jobs. Describe what you want in query ("iOS jobs in Austin making at least 150k a year with a maximum of 6 years of experience") and leave url out: the watch then covers every job board Watchtower monitors (tech companies and startups, whatever platform they use) and reports each new matching posting (JOB_ADDED). The response shows how the query was read (interpreted), the jobs open right now that match (current_jobs) and how many boards are covered (coverage); later call get_changes for new ones. Use this INSTEAD OF re-running job searches or re-checking careers pages yourself. To follow one company, or to cover a company the directory is missing, pass url (or urls for several): Greenhouse, Lever, Ashby, Workable, SmartRecruiters, Recruitee, Workday, iCIMS, Oracle Recruiting, Eightfold and SuccessFactors boards, and the Apple, Google, Amazon and Microsoft careers sites, are read through their own endpoints; other careers pages are parsed via schema.org JobPosting JSON-LD. A careers page that only links to a supported board is watched through that board (resolved_from says so); a page with neither is rejected with NO_JOB_DATA. A board you watch stays covered for every search watch. A board watch emits JOB_ADDED / JOB_REMOVED / JOB_UPDATED. Jobs carry title, location, other_locations, department, company, url, posted_at, remote, seniority, and salary / experience_years when the posting states them. Explicit filters override what the query says.search_jobsFind the tech jobs open right now that match a request, across every job board Watchtower monitors (tech companies and startups). Describe what you want in query ("iOS jobs in Austin with a maximum of 6 years of experience"). Read-only: nothing is saved and no watch is created, and no token is needed. The response shows how the query was read (interpreted), the matching jobs newest first, the total, and next_offset for the next page. Use this for "what is open right now"; to be told about new postings later, use watch_jobs instead. Jobs carry title, location, other_locations, department, company, url, posted_at, remote, seniority, and salary / experience_years when the posting states them. Explicit filters override what the query says.list_companiesList the companies whose job boards Watchtower monitors, i.e. what search_jobs and watch_jobs without a url cover. Pass query to check whether a company is covered ("stripe"). Each entry has name, board_url (pass it to watch_jobs as url to follow only that company), platform and open_jobs. Read-only, no token needed. If a company is missing, watch its board URL or careers page to add it.get_changesReturn job changes detected since your last get_changes call, across all your watches or one watch. This is the cheap replacement for re-browsing careers pages: if it returns an empty list, nothing you care about has changed. By default the cursor advances so each change is delivered once; pass peek=true to look without advancing, or since=<cursor> to replay.list_watchesList all active watches for your client with their health, last check time and number of pending (undelivered) changes.get_watchGet a watch with its status and the jobs currently open that match its filters: on its board, or across every monitored board for a watch created without a url. Use this to answer "what is open right now" without searching or fetching careers pages yourself.ack_changesMark changes up to a cursor as processed. Use with get_changes(peek=true) for at-least-once delivery: peek, act on the changes, then ack the cursor get_changes returned. Not needed if you call get_changes without peek (that acknowledges automatically).delete_watchStop monitoring. Frees one of your watch slots. Delete watches you no longer need.search_jobsSearch live jobs on the 20 Locate Jobs Network job boards: Diversity Careers, Healthcare Jobs for Veterans, Nature Jobs, University Fundraising Jobs, Fiber Optic Jobs, Certified Medical Assistant Jobs, Forklift Jobs, HR Analyst Jobs, The Trades Jobs, IT Jobs, Optometry Jobs, Dentist Jobs, Funeral Service Jobs, Chiropractor Jobs, Veterinarian Jobs, SLP Jobs, Diversity Higher Education Jobs, Minority Finance Jobs, Bioinformatics Jobs, and Minority Jobs. Search by role or skill, by place (a city and state, a state, or a ZIP code, which searches its whole state), or for remote jobs. Returns 5 to 10 current jobs with title, employer, location, posted date, and a link to the job page on the board that lists it, plus a link to see more. It only reads job listings: it cannot apply for a job, post a job, or save a search.unemployment_answersA checked answer about unemployment benefits for a U.S. state, covering Alabama, Arizona, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah. Give a state (a name or 2-letter code) and either a topic or the person's own question; the tool picks the topic from the question when none is given. For a state we do not cover yet, it names the federal page that finds that state's own unemployment office instead of guessing at a figure. It only reads a checked guide: it cannot file a claim, check a claim's status, or change anyone's benefits.Paste either block (or both) into your client config, e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json. We only show a config when the install command is confirmed.
No confirmed install command for Watchtower yet — follow the setup steps linked from its listing page rather than a guessed package name.
{
"mcpServers": {
"locate-jobs-network": {
"url": "https://locatejobsnetwork.com/api/mcp"
}
}
}