Instead
REMOTE · INSTEAD.WORK
Hire staff for UK cafés, pubs and shops: post a free job, print hiring posters, find London jobs.
Available components
Last scanned (4 hours ago)
Scores higher than 57% of remote servers
Reachable. Last reached 5 Nov 2026.
Category CRM and Sales
How this component scores in each security and reliability category. Every signal is checked automatically against the live server, and we only credit what we can confirm. How we score → Why this is hard to score →
Endpoint Security80
- The endpoint's TLS certificate is valid, in date, and uses a strong key. View diagnostics → Pass
- No authorisation is required to call this server. Every tool declares its destructiveHint and none is destructive, so open access doesn't expose one. See how to fix → View diagnostics → Partial
- HTTPS is enforced; there's no plaintext access path. View diagnostics → Pass
- The HSTS (Strict-Transport-Security) header is present. View diagnostics → Pass
- DNSSEC check failed: this domain isn't protected by DNSSEC. See how to fix → View diagnostics → Fail
Transport & Reachability100
- Verified streamable-http transport via a live MCP handshake. View diagnostics → Pass
Schema Quality & AI Usability65
- AI-judged instruction clarity (good).Pass
- Context-footprint check failed: tool/resource definitions use about 1059 tokens (~176/item across 6 items; 6 tools + 0 resources), over budget; trim descriptions and params. See how to fix → Fail
- Usage-examples check failed: none of the tools include examples. See how to fix → Fail
Stability & Change Management10
- Stability observed for 3 of 30 days with no destabilising changes; credit accrues until the full window elapses.Partial
Tool Coverage96
- 100% of tools have a non-trivial description (not blank, and not just the tool's name).Pass
- 88% of tool parameters carry a description.Partial
Tool Safety75
- No prompt-injection markers were found in the server instructions, tool names or descriptions we captured.Pass
- 0 of 1 tool(s) whose name or description implies an irreversible operation declare an MCP destructiveHint annotation; "pay_rates" implies "pay" and declares readOnlyHint instead, contradicting what its own name says it does. See how to fix → Fail
- An AI judge read all 7 captured unit(s) of tool text and found none that tries to manipulate the model reading it.Pass
Capabilities100
- Implements a supported MCP spec version (2025-11-25); the latest is 2026-07-28.Pass
Every change we have recorded for this component, newest first. Security-relevant changes are always shown. ▲ marks a change for the better, ▼ a change for the worse; unmarked changes are neutral.
- 4 Nov 26 +1
No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 3 to 7. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 1 days of observed history at the previous scan, 2 at this one. The score rises as the window fills, whether or not the server changes.
- 3 Nov 26 0
- Stability: unverified → 0.03 ▲ functional
- 2 Nov 26 70
First indexed and scored.
Diagnostic detail from the automated scan of this channel: what the scanner observed at each step, so you can see exactly where a check passed or failed. It is informational only and never changes the trust score.
Captured 5 Nov 2026 · Probed https://instead.work/mcp
TLS valid
Negotiated TLS 1.3 with TLS_AES_128_GCM_SHA256 .
| Subject | Issuer | Valid from | Valid until | Key | Signature | Serial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN=instead.work | CN=YR2,O=Let's Encrypt,C=US | 25 Oct 2026 | 23 Jan 2027 | RSA 2048 | SHA256-RSA | 699c4be8fcc2dd1cda195b804e2c68a57ff |
| SANs: instead.work | ||||||
| CN=YR2,O=Let's Encrypt,C=US (CA) | CN=Root YR,O=ISRG,C=US | 3 Sept 2025 | 2 Sept 2028 | RSA 2048 | SHA256-RSA | 4ebd24947e24d394802d84a52fd5b319 |
| CN=Root YR,O=ISRG,C=US (CA) | CN=ISRG Root X1,O=Internet Security Research Group,C=US | 13 May 2026 | 2 Sept 2032 | RSA 4096 | SHA256-RSA | f24b6d17f9d9ad7cb1c9fea78782699f |
Background: What to check on a remote MCP endpoint →
DNSSEC insecure
Validation of instead.work. — Not signed
| Zone | DS | Keys | Algorithms | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| . | trust_anchor | 20326, 38696 | 8, 8 | Verified |
| work. | present | 33659 | 13 | Verified |
| instead.work. | absent | Unsigned (proven) parent-signed NSEC/NSEC3 proves an unsigned delegation |
Authentication No authorisation required
The endpoint answered without asking for a token. Anyone who knows the URL can reach it.
| Result | No authorisation required |
|---|---|
| HTTP status | 200 |
| Header | Value |
|---|---|
| strict-transport-security | max-age=63072000 |
Background: How OAuth 2.1 works in the 2026 MCP spec →
Transports 2 probes
| Transport | URL | Outcome | Status | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| streamable-http | https://instead.work/mcp | Verified | 200 | |
| http (plaintext) | http://instead.work/mcp | HTTPS enforced | 308 | https://instead.work/mcp |
The tools this component advertises to a client, with an estimated token cost for each. Expand a tool to see its parameters and schema. The per-tool counts are indicative and are not scored directly; the schema's total context footprint is one signal in Schema Quality & AI Usability. A tool's description is untrusted text the model reads on every call, which is what makes this list a security surface and not just an inventory: how tool poisoning works →
get_job Job details ~50
Everything about one live job: what it involves, pay, hours, what's needed and the business, with the link to apply.
| Name | Type | Req | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| job | string | yes | The job's link or slug from search_jobs |
No output schema declared.
No examples provided.
how_to_hire How to hire staff ~94
Advice for a small UK business owner who needs staff (café, pub, restaurant, bar, shop, salon): how to find people through those who already know the business, what to pay, the UK rules to follow, and what Instead costs.
| Name | Type | Req | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| area | string | – | Where the business is, like Hackney |
| role | string | – | The job, like barista, chef or Christmas temp |
No output schema declared.
No examples provided.
make_hiring_poster Make hiring posters ~184
Print-ready posters for a job: an A4 window poster, an A5 poster for regulars and an A6 table card, each with a QR code people apply from. Takes a job made with post_job (its code or link) or a live Instead job (its link or slug).
| Name | Type | Req | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| accent | string | – | The business's colour, like #2F6B4F |
| address | string | – | Short address for the poster, like '14 Chatsworth Rd · E5' |
| job | string | yes | The code or link post_job returned, or a live job's instead.work/j/ link |
| look | string | – | a: Loud colour; b: Till receipt; c: Chat thread |
| reward | string | – | A thank-you for a regular who sends the hire, like 'a month of free coffee' |
No output schema declared.
No examples provided.
pay_rates What London hospitality jobs pay ~92
The hourly pay independent London cafés, restaurants, pubs, bars and bakeries advertise on their own websites this month, by role: the middle (median), the range and how many ads (Instead's London Hospitality Pay Index). For an owner choosing what to pay, or someone weighing up a job.
| Name | Type | Req | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| role | string | – | The job, like barista, chef or kitchen porter. Leave out for every role |
No output schema declared.
No examples provided.
post_job Post a job ~286
Make a job for a small business on Instead, free. It takes applications at once through a link and QR code; the owner then publishes it to read and answer applicants by opening the publish link and signing in with their email (30 seconds). The job is public for applications as soon as it is made, under the business name, pay, hours and area given.
| Name | Type | Req | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| area | string | yes | The neighbourhood, like Hackney or Stoke Newington |
| business_name | string | yes | The business's name as customers know it |
| city | string | – | – |
| country | string | – | – |
| description | string | – | What the job is like, in the owner's words. Plain text |
| string | – | The owner's email, to send them the publish link and tell them when people apply | |
| hours | string | – | Like 'Weekends, 8am to 4pm' |
| must_haves | array | – | What every applicant needs, like 'Weekend availability' |
| pay_max | number | – | The top of the range, if there is one |
| pay_min | number | yes | The pay, or the bottom of the range |
| pay_unit | string | – | – |
| role | string | yes | The job title, like Barista or Kitchen porter |
| temporary | boolean | – | True for seasonal or temporary work, like Christmas staff |
No output schema declared.
No examples provided.
search_jobs Search jobs ~160
Live jobs at independent UK cafés, pubs, restaurants, bars, shops and salons on Instead, London first: every job shows the pay, applying takes about two minutes from a phone with no account, and everyone hears back within 48 hours. Also returns independent London places hiring on their own websites and new places across the UK hiring their first team (not on Instead yet): apply on their website, or leave details once for several at the leave_details_url.
| Name | Type | Req | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| area | string | – | A neighbourhood, borough, town or postcode district, like Hackney or E8 |
| min_hourly_pay | number | – | Lowest pay wanted, in pounds an hour |
| query | string | – | The kind of work, like barista, kitchen or weekend |
No output schema declared.
No examples provided.
How do I install the Instead MCP server?
Instead is a hosted endpoint at https://instead.work/mcp, so there is nothing to install locally. Ready-made configuration for Claude, Cursor, VS Code, Codex and 5 more is on this page, copied from each client's own documentation.
remote · instead.work
claude mcp add --transport http work-instead-instead 'https://instead.work/mcp'
What is the Instead MCP server?
Instead is an MCP server listed in the public MCP registry as work.instead/instead. Hire staff for UK cafés, pubs and shops: post a free job, print hiring posters, find London jobs. This page covers its hosted endpoint (https://instead.work/mcp).
Is the Instead MCP server safe to use?
Instead scores 71 out of 100 on VerifyMCP. That is a record of what we were able to check automatically, not an endorsement. The category breakdown on this page shows every signal behind the number, including the ones we could not confirm.
What tools does the Instead MCP server expose?
Instead exposes 6 tools: how_to_hire, post_job, make_hiring_poster, search_jobs, pay_rates, get_job. Their descriptions and schemas cost roughly 866 tokens of context every time the server is loaded.
Does the Instead MCP server require authentication?
No. We connected to Instead without credentials and it answered, so anything it exposes is reachable by anyone who knows the address.
Is the Instead MCP server still maintained?
Instead is still listed as active in the MCP registry. We last reached this channel on 5 November 2026. Those dates come from our own scans of the registry and the channel itself, not from anything the publisher announced.