Using Instagram Data in Claude and Cursor via MCP

Add one URL to your Claude Desktop or Cursor config and Claude can search Instagram influencers and profiles as a native tool — paying per call with USDC on Base. No API key. No account. No signup.

What is MCP?

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is an open standard that lets AI assistants call external tools and data sources from within their reasoning loop. Think of it like a plugin system, but standardized across Claude, Cursor, and other MCP-compatible clients.

An MCP server exposes a set of tools with defined inputs and outputs. When Claude is connected to an MCP server, it can discover those tools automatically and call them when they're relevant to a user's request — without any manual copy-pasting of outputs or switching between apps.

Social Intel runs an MCP server that exposes one tool: search_leads. Give Claude a niche and follower threshold, and it returns a list of matching Instagram accounts with usernames, follower counts, bios, and contact info where available.

Setup: Claude Desktop

1. Open Claude Desktop settings

   Go to Settings → Developer → Edit Config. This opens claude_desktop_config.json in your editor.

2. Add the Social Intel MCP server

   Add the entry below inside the mcpServers object. If the key doesn't exist yet, create it.

3. Save and restart Claude Desktop

   After restarting, you'll see "Social Intel" in the tools panel. Claude will use it automatically when relevant.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "social-intel": {
      "url": "https://socialintel.dev/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Setup: Cursor

1. Open Cursor settings

   Press Cmd+Shift+P (macOS) or Ctrl+Shift+P (Windows/Linux) and search for "MCP Settings".

2. Add the server URL

   Click "Add MCP Server", set the type to sse, and enter the URL below.

3. Verify the connection

   The server should show as "Connected" with the search_leads tool visible. Ask Cursor's Agent to find Instagram influencers to test it.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "social-intel": {
      "url": "https://socialintel.dev/mcp",
      "type": "sse"
    }
  }
}

What You Can Do With It

Once connected, Claude and Cursor's Agent can search Instagram leads inline — as part of any conversation or coding task. No copy-pasting URLs, no switching tabs, no manual API calls.

Example Prompts

Once the MCP server is connected, you can ask Claude naturally. It will call search_leads when relevant and incorporate the results into its response.

How Payment Works

Social Intel uses the x402 payment protocol — every API call is paid for individually with USDC on Base. When Claude calls search_leads through MCP, the payment happens automatically in the background.

You'll need a funded wallet to make paid calls. The simplest path:

1. Get USDC on Base via Coinbase or any Base-compatible exchange
2. Configure your x402-compatible wallet in your agent's environment
3. Each search_leads call costs $0.10 USDC

What does a search_leads call return?

Each call returns up to 12 Instagram profiles matching your query:

[
  {
    "username": "fitnesswithanna",
    "full_name": "Anna Richter",
    "followers": 84200,
    "bio": "Personal trainer | Nutrition coach | Berlin",
    "is_business": true,
    "email": "[email protected]"
  },
  ...
]

Tool parameters

Claude discovers the tool schema automatically, but here's what search_leads accepts:

{
  "niche": "string",          // e.g. "fitness", "sustainable fashion"
  "min_followers": 10000,    // minimum follower count
  "max_followers": 1000000   // optional upper bound
}

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need an API key to use the MCP server?

No. Social Intel uses the x402 payment protocol — payment happens per request via USDC on Base. There's no account to create and no API key to manage. The MCP URL is public; payment is the authentication.

Does the MCP server work with other AI tools besides Claude and Cursor?

Any MCP-compatible client works. This includes Claude Desktop, Claude.ai (Projects), Cursor, Windsurf, Continue.dev, and any custom agent built with the MCP SDK. The server endpoint is https://socialintel.dev/mcp and supports SSE transport.

How accurate is the Instagram data?

Social Intel sources data through DataLikers, which provides real-time Instagram profile data. Follower counts and bios are current at time of request. Email addresses are only included when publicly listed in the Instagram profile. We do not scrape private data.

Can Claude make multiple searches in one conversation?

Yes. Claude can call search_leads multiple times in a single conversation — for example, searching different niches and then merging results. Each call is charged separately at $0.10 USDC.

What if I'm building my own agent (not using Claude)?

You can call the REST API directly: GET https://socialintel.dev/v1/search_leads with niche and min_followers query parameters. The endpoint supports x402 payments and returns the same JSON format. See the API docs for full details.

Is there a rate limit?

There are no hard rate limits — each paid request is processed independently. Practically, the underlying data source has a maximum of 12 results per query. For larger datasets, make multiple calls with different search terms.

Related Articles

• Instagram Data APIs in 2026: Pricing & Features Compared — compare Social Intel, Apify, Bright Data, and every major provider
• What is x402? How AI Agents Pay for APIs Without API Keys — deep dive into the payment protocol behind Social Intel