--- name: find-service-providers description: Use whenever the user wants to find, shortlist, vet, enrich, or research US professional-services firms — law, marketing, consulting, accounting, IT services, architecture, engineering, HR, PR, design, and similar B2B service providers. Triggers on requests like "find me a PPC agency in California", "shortlist three boutique IP law firms", "build a longlist of 50 mid-size IT consultancies", or "here are 12 agency domains — pull contact info and confirm which are US-based", even when the need is described indirectly without naming a category. Drives the ServiceGraph API (api.servicegraph.co) — a 100k+ US firm catalog with filters for industry, services, location, size, ratings, and third-party listings. Skip when the user is asking for personal/consumer services for themselves (an individual's own legal, tax, or medical needs), non-US firms, individual freelancers, retail/ecommerce/SaaS-product companies, recruiting-an-employee tasks, or general web research that doesn't need a structured firm directory. license: MIT metadata: api_base: https://api.servicegraph.co version: "0.2" --- # find-service-providers Drive the **ServiceGraph API** (`https://api.servicegraph.co`) to find, shortlist, and enrich US professional-services firms. The catalog has 100k+ B2B service firms classified across 22 industries with multi-tag service taxonomies, location, size, and third-party rating signals. Any HTTP client works (curl, fetch, requests). Examples below use curl for clarity. ## The four-tier funnel The API is a deliberate cost funnel. Cheaper tiers are free or nearly free; expensive tiers reveal more. **Always work down the funnel — don't skip tiers.** | Tier | Auth | Cost | Use it for | |---|---|---|---| | `GET /v1/tags` | none | free | **First call of every session.** Discover legal field names, kinds, operators, values. | | `GET /v1/check?filter=...` | none | free | Validate a filter before spending an explore/search call. | | `GET /v1/explore?filter=...` | none | free, IP-throttled | Scope: count + breakdowns. Use to size the candidate pool before quota-spending. | | `GET /v1/search?filter=...` | bearer | 200 unique firms / month free | Brief firm cards. **No url, no contact info.** Use for ranking / shortlisting. | | `GET /v1/get/:id` | bearer | 50 unique firms / month free | Full bundle: url, phone, email, social, legal name, address. **Only call for shortlisted firms.** | | `POST /v1/research` | paid | not in MVP | Deferred — skip. | **Quota rule that matters**: `/search` and `/get` charge per *unique firm viewed per calendar month*, not per call. Re-paging the same query is free. Two different filters that overlap charge once for the overlap. Re-fetching a firm you already pulled this month is free. ## Session-start ritual Before constructing any filter, call: ``` GET https://api.servicegraph.co/v1/tags?include_values=1 ``` Cache the response for the conversation. It returns every filterable field with its `kind`, allowed `operators`, and (for categorical / tag-set fields) the legal value list. **Never invent industry or service values from memory** — the parser silently accepts unknown values for categorical fields and returns zero results. You'll get five field kinds: - **categorical** (e.g. `industry`, `state`, `pricing_model`) — single value, op `:` only. - **tag_set_with_evidence** (e.g. `service_provided`) — Map. Op `:` with optional `@evidence`. - **numeric** (e.g. `rating`, `review_count_total`, `founded_year`) — ops `= >= <= > <`. - **presence** (`has:phone`, `has:clutch`, `has:rating`, …) — boolean populated-ness check on a column or third-party listing. - **keyword** — free-text substring across firm name / brand / title / meta description / legal name. Any bareword in the filter becomes a keyword. ## Auth `/tags`, `/check`, and `/explore` are anonymous. `/search` and `/get` require a bearer token. **Resolution rule** — try these sources in order before triggering OTP: 1. **Shell environment**: `$SERVICEGRAPH_TOKEN`. Most agent harnesses only inherit explicit `export`s, not dotenv files — so this catches the case where the user has it exported in `~/.bashrc` / `~/.zshrc`. 2. **Project dotenv files**: read `.env.local` then `.env` in the current working directory and look for a `SERVICEGRAPH_TOKEN=…` line. **This is the common case the agent will miss otherwise** — users frequently put the token in `.env.local` (gitignored) and expect it to "just work," but Claude Code and similar harnesses don't auto-load dotenv files. If you find it, use it; don't ask. If found in any of the above, set `Authorization: Bearer ` on every authed request and skip OTP. 3. **Otherwise, walk the user through OTP** (one-time, ~30 s): - Ask the user for their email address. - `POST /v1/auth/request-otp` with `{"email": "..."}`. Returns 204; a 6-digit code lands in their inbox. - Ask the user to paste the code. - `POST /v1/auth/verify-otp` with `{"email": "...", "code": "...", "name": ""}`. Returns `{"token": "vk_...", "expires_at": "...", "user": {...}}`. - Use that token for the rest of the session. - Tell the user: *"Save this as `SERVICEGRAPH_TOKEN` to skip this step next time — either `export SERVICEGRAPH_TOKEN=…` in your shell rc, or add `SERVICEGRAPH_TOKEN=…` to a `.env.local` file in your project (gitignored). The token is shown once and lasts 90 days."* If a `/search` or `/get` returns 401 mid-session, the token expired or was revoked — re-run the OTP flow. ```bash # 1. trigger the email curl -X POST 'https://api.servicegraph.co/v1/auth/request-otp' \ -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \ -d '{"email":"you@example.com"}' # 2. exchange the code curl -X POST 'https://api.servicegraph.co/v1/auth/verify-otp' \ -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \ -d '{"email":"you@example.com","code":"123456","name":"my-cli"}' # → { "token": "vk_…", "expires_at": "...", "user": {...} } ``` ## Filter DSL One query parameter, GitHub-search-style. ``` filter := orExpr orExpr := andExpr ("OR" andExpr)* andExpr := notExpr (("AND")? notExpr)* # whitespace = implicit AND notExpr := ("NOT" | "-") notExpr | atom atom := "(" filter ")" | predicate predicate:= IDENT op valueOrList | bareword op := ":" | "=" | ">=" | "<=" | ">" | "<" valueOrList := value ("," value)* value := IDENT | NUMBER | tagAtEvidence tagAtEvidence := IDENT "@" ("low"|"medium"|"high") bareword := IDENT | NUMBER # → keyword: ``` **Four rules that bite:** 1. **AND binds tighter than OR.** `a OR b c` parses as `a OR (b AND c)`. Use parens. 2. **Comma list = OR within one predicate.** `state:CA,NY,TX` matches any of the three. 3. **Negation is `-x` or `NOT x`.** Negative literals inside a comma list are **not** allowed: `state:CA,-NY` is rejected. Use `state:CA -state:NY`. 4. **Bareword = keyword search.** Any IDENT or NUMBER not followed by an operator becomes a free-text substring across name / brand / title / meta / legal_name. Multiple barewords AND. **Examples** (validate yours with `/v1/check`): ``` industry:marketing_agency service_provided:seo dental industry:marketing_agency industry:legal state:CA,NY -company_size_signal:solo industry:management_consulting (service_provided:strategy-consulting@high OR service_provided:operations-consulting@high) state:CA has:phone has:email rating>=4 review_count_total>=20 has:clutch industry:it_services NOT (service_provided:web-development OR service_provided:hosting) ``` When in doubt about whether a filter parses, hit `/v1/check?filter=...` first — it's free and returns the canonical normalized form. ## firm_id contract `firm_id` is a stable 12-hex-char handle: ``` firm_id = sha256(apex.lower().rstrip(".")).hexdigest()[:12] ``` `apex` is the registered domain (`mckinsey.com`, not `www.mckinsey.com/about`). Anyone with an apex list can compute firm_ids locally and call `/v1/get/:id` directly — no `/search` needed for BYO enrichment. ```python import hashlib def firm_id(apex): return hashlib.sha256(apex.lower().rstrip(".").encode()).hexdigest()[:12] ``` ```bash echo -n "mckinsey.com" | tr 'A-Z' 'a-z' \ | openssl dgst -sha256 -hex | awk '{print substr($2,1,12)}' ``` ## Recipes ### A. Shortlist by industry + state ``` GET /v1/explore?filter=industry:legal+state:CA+-company_size_signal:solo # → see pool size + breakdowns GET /v1/search?filter=industry:legal+state:CA+-company_size_signal:solo&limit=20 # → 20 brief cards; pick top 3 with user GET /v1/get/ # for each of the 3 picks # → urls, phones, emails for outreach ``` ### B. Multi-tag service intersection User: *"Marketing agency that does both branding and SEO at high evidence."* ``` GET /v1/explore?filter=industry:marketing_agency+service_provided:branding@high+service_provided:seo@high GET /v1/search?filter=industry:marketing_agency+service_provided:branding@high+service_provided:seo@high&limit=10 ``` ### C. Quality threshold User: *"Consultancies with at least 4★ and 20+ reviews and a Clutch listing."* ``` GET /v1/search?filter=industry:management_consulting+rating>=4+review_count_total>=20+has:clutch&limit=10 ``` ### D. Indirect intent — user describes a need without naming the category User: *"I need someone to handle our open enrollment communications for 200 employees."* That's HR consulting + benefits comms. Translate, then verify with `/v1/check`: ``` GET /v1/check?filter=industry:hr_recruiting_staffing+service_provided:benefits-administration GET /v1/explore?filter=industry:hr_recruiting_staffing+service_provided:benefits-administration ``` If the breakdown is too narrow, broaden — drop the service tag, add adjacent industries (`marketing_agency` for the comms angle), or fall back to keyword: `benefits enrollment industry:marketing_agency,hr_recruiting_staffing`. ### E. Keyword + structured filter User: *"HIPAA-savvy IT consultancies in Texas."* ``` GET /v1/search?filter=hipaa+industry:it_services+state:TX&limit=10 ``` `hipaa` is a bareword keyword → substring match in firm text. ### F. BYO apex list — enrich domains the user already has User pastes 12 domains. For each: 1. Compute `firm_id` locally (see contract above). 2. `GET /v1/get/` — full bundle if in catalog, 404 (not charged) if not. 3. Aggregate, present, flag the not-found ones to the user. `/get` only charges on first view per calendar month per user, so re-runs are free. ## Gotchas - **`looks_not_pro_services` 404 is not a bug.** A `firm_id` may exist in `/search` but 404 on `/get` if it's been flagged (residual SaaS / B2C leakage). Skip and continue; not charged. - **`/v1/explore` k=20 suppression.** When fewer than 20 firms match, the response is `{"count": "<20", "suppressed": true, "breakdowns": {}}`. Drilling further makes the count smaller, not bigger. Broaden the filter or escalate to `/v1/search` if the user wants the actual firms. - **Briefs from `/search` do NOT include `apex`, `url`, `phone_primary`, `email_primary`, `legal_name`, or address.** If the user asks for contact info, you must `/get/:id`. Do not pretend to have it from the brief. - **Catalog is US-only B2B pro-services.** Refuse non-US asks rather than returning misleading partial matches. Refuse consumer-facing legal/financial requests (e.g. *"I need a divorce lawyer for personal matters"*) — the catalog is built for B2B procurement. - **Always use `/v1/tags` for legal field values.** Inventing `industry:law` instead of `industry:legal` returns zero results silently — the parser doesn't validate categorical values. - **Multi-word phrases must be split into separate barewords.** `family law` parses as two AND'd keywords (`family` AND `law`), not one phrase. - **Quota is per-user-per-month, deduped on first view.** Don't refuse to look up a firm "to save quota" if the user already viewed it this month — re-views are free. - **Re-pagination is free.** Pulling page 2 of the same `/search` query doesn't re-charge for firms returned on page 1. ## Errors All errors return JSON: `{"error": {"code": "...", "message": "..."}}`. | Status | Code | What to do | |---|---|---| | 400 | `filter_parse_error` | Payload includes `position`. Fix the filter, re-validate with `/v1/check`. | | 400 | `filter_required` | Empty filter where one is required. | | 400 | `invalid_firm_id` | firm_id must be 12 lowercase hex chars. Re-derive. | | 401 | `unauthorized` | Token missing/expired. Re-run OTP. | | 404 | `not_found` | Firm not in catalog or flagged. Not charged. Skip and continue. | | 429 | `rate_limited` | Honor `Retry-After` header / `retry_after` field. | | 429 | `monthly_quota_exhausted` | Switch to `/v1/explore`-only mode for the rest of the month. Tell the user. | Authed responses carry `X-RateLimit-*` and `X-Quota-*` headers. Surface the remaining-month value to the user when it gets low so they can budget. ## End-to-end example User: *"Find me three top management-consulting firms in California focused on strategy, with strong third-party ratings."* ``` # 1. Discover fields (once per session) GET /v1/tags?include_values=1 # Confirms 'management_consulting' is a valid industry value, that # 'strategy-consulting' is in the service_provided taxonomy, and that # rating + review_count_total are numeric. # 2. Validate the filter and scope the pool (free, no auth) GET /v1/check?filter=industry:management_consulting+state:CA+service_provided:strategy-consulting@high+rating>=4+review_count_total>=20 # → {"valid": true, "normalized": "..."} GET /v1/explore?filter=industry:management_consulting+state:CA+service_provided:strategy-consulting@high+rating>=4+review_count_total>=20 # → {"count": 47, "breakdowns": {...}} # 3. Search briefs (charges new firms against monthly /search quota) GET /v1/search?filter=...&limit=10 # Header: Authorization: Bearer $SERVICEGRAPH_TOKEN # → 10 brief cards with industry, service tags, size, state, etc. # 4. Present briefs to user, get their pick of 3. # 5. Pull full bundles for the 3 (charges 3 against monthly /get quota) GET /v1/get/ # ×3 # → urls, phones, emails for outreach ``` End of session: report `X-Quota-Remaining-Month` so the user knows how much budget is left.