# Clay (slim)

> Clay is a go-to-market data and automation platform that searches its own database of companies and people and runs enrichment across 150+ data providers. Agents use it through the Public API v0, the clay CLI and a coding-agent plugin.

- Full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/clay.md (~5,850 tokens) · this version ~1,380 tokens · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/clay.json · canonical https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/clay
- Index: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt · API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json · Updated: 2026-10-14

**C · 57.7/100 · rank #633 of 1076 · #8 in Lead & company data · not agent-ready · confidence medium**


Assessment: A documented Public API with an OpenAPI spec, llms.txt and plan-capped search, plus a JSON-first CLI released several times a fortnight, give agents Clay's people search and multi-provider enrichment. Keys have no scopes, the Claude Code plugin auto-approves most CLI calls, and the privacy policy dates from 2020.

## Facts

- Kind: HTTP API · vendor: Clay Labs Inc. · category: Lead & company data · legal entity: Clay Labs Inc. · provenance 99/100
- Endpoint: `https://api.clay.com/public/v0` (HTTP)
- Auth: OAuth or key · pricing: Freemium · x402: no · licence: Proprietary service under the Clay Terms of Service. The agent plugin repository carries no licence file
- Probe metrics: not measured yet (probes haven't run)
- Public API: https://api.clay.com/public/v0, 16 operations in OpenAPI 3, clay-api-key header
- Routines: Clay-managed functions (work email, phone, company data, tech stack, funding and more) and custom functions, run on 1 to 100 items or as a batch over a JSONL upload, results polled with 202 until done, or by webhook
- Search limits: Free 50 per request and 100 per 30 days. Trial 10,000 for the trial. Paid 500 per request and 1,000,000 per 30 days. Enterprise 10,000,000 per 30 days. HTTP 402 when exceeded
- CLI and plugin: clay CLI 1.9.0 with plugin 2.32.0 (6 October 2026) for Claude Code, Codex and Cursor. JSON output, exit code 4 for rate limits
- Tables: Structured queries on known tables, Enterprise only, with no list-tables endpoint
- Certifications: SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001 and ISO 42001 per the pricing page. security.txt valid to 31 July 2027
- MCP: Clay MCP for sales reps in Claude and ChatGPT, described on clay.com/mcp with no public endpoint or tool reference
- Prices: Data credit $0.05 per credit; Launch plan $167 per month (plan)

- Scores: Reliability 45, Performance pending, Schema & documentation 84, Agent ergonomics 66, Security & auth 48, Payments & pricing 30, Task success pending, Maintenance & community 75, Transparency & trust 64 · total over the 7 assessed categories
- Why: Reliability, Graded with the hosted lines on the Public API. · Schema & documentation, A public OpenAPI 3 spec with 16 operations (25). · Agent ergonomics, Table queries select fields and take a limit, and searches return up to 500 per request (20 of 25). · Security & auth, A personal API key tied to the user's workspace access, with no scopes documented. · Payments & pricing, No x402, MPP or L402 (0). · Maintenance & community, clay plugin 2.32.0 with CLI 1.9.0 on 6 October 2026 (30). · Transparency & trust, Closed service under terms dated 23 May 2024, and a plugin repository with no licence (12 of 30).
- Sources: 12, open questions: 4, both in the full twin
- Capabilities: lead.search, lead.enrichment, email.finder, data.company
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/clay.json
- Verify (for the vendor): the badge `https://www.anchorterminal.com/badges/clay.svg` or a link to https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/clay from a page on clay.com or one of its subdomains, or the README of github.com/clay-run/agent-plugins, then `POST https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/verify` `{"slug", "url"}` or `verify_listing` at /mcp; re-checked weekly, no effect on the grade. Snippets in the full twin.

## Before you call it

1. Fetch GET /search/query-mode/reference before writing a search query
2. Poll routine results until a terminal 200, since 202 means still running
3. Expect HTTP 402 when a plan's search cap is hit, and tell the user the reset date
4. Check GET /credits/balance before large batch runs
5. Ask the user before enabling the plugin's auto-approve hook in a shared workspace

## Connect

```bash
curl https://api.clay.com/public/v0/me \
  -H "clay-api-key: $CLAY_PUBLIC_API_KEY"
```

```bash
Set up the Clay plugin by following the steps in https://github.com/clay-run/agent-plugins
```
Full config and headless snippets are in the full page. Through letme (picks today, calling later): https://letme.dev/clay

## Similar tools

| Tool | Grade | Score | Shared capabilities | Slim |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Apollo API + MCP | B | 63.3 | lead.search, lead.enrichment, email.finder, data.company | https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/apollo.min.md |
| Coresignal API + MCP | B | 62.9 | lead.search, lead.enrichment, email.finder, data.company | https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/coresignal.min.md |
| Lusha API + MCP | B | 62.3 | lead.search, lead.enrichment, email.finder, data.company | https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/lusha.min.md |
| LeadMagic API + MCP | C | 60.2 | lead.search, lead.enrichment, email.finder, data.company | https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/leadmagic.min.md |
| FullEnrich API + MCP | C | 59.6 | lead.search, lead.enrichment, email.finder, data.company | https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/fullenrich.min.md |


## Panel reviews (0, desk reviews from public material, no calls made)