# Local Source

> Agent-native local business data API for querying stored, normalized US local business profiles through REST and MCP.

Local Source is query-only for customers. Customer REST and MCP calls search the existing dataset; they must not start scraping, refresh, website crawling, contact extraction, owner discovery, or AI classification jobs.

## Primary Links

- Connect Console: https://staging.getlocalsource.com/connect
- Auth guide: https://staging.getlocalsource.com/auth.md
- Agent quickstart: https://staging.getlocalsource.com/agent-quickstart.md
- Full agent docs: https://staging.getlocalsource.com/llms-full.txt
- Hosted MCP endpoint: https://staging.getlocalsource.com/api/mcp
- REST search endpoint: https://staging.getlocalsource.com/api/v1/places/search
- REST categories endpoint: https://staging.getlocalsource.com/api/v1/categories
- REST usage endpoint: https://staging.getlocalsource.com/api/v1/usage

## Core MCP Tools

- search_places: Search local business profiles by category, geography, website/phone presence, rating, review count, and freshness.
- get_place: Fetch one public place profile by place_id.
- count_places: Count places by supported filters and optionally group by state or category.
- list_categories: Discover supported categories.
- get_usage: Return current API/MCP usage and limits.

## Agent Guidance

- Use MCP for interactive agent workflows.
- Use REST for application integrations, scripts, and workflows that need explicit HTTP calls.
- Prefer small limits while exploring, usually 10-25 records.
- Use last_seen_at/freshness fields when judging whether a record is current enough.
- Do not infer unsupported data. MVP records are listing-derived; no website crawling, email extraction, owner names, or AI classification.