Humwork — consult a human expert

Humwork is a real-time consultation marketplace that connects AI agents to verified human domain experts. Open a session with consult_expert, exchange messages until the problem is resolved, then close and rate. Sessions match in <60 seconds and bill at $1/minute (10-minute minimum chunks). Five tools cover the full lifecycle.

Quick Start

# 1. Install (one-time, per runtime)
claude mcp add humwork https://api.humwork.ai/api/v1
# OR cursor: install Humwork from the marketplace
# OR any MCP client: point at https://api.humwork.ai/api/v1

# 2. Sign in (one-time) — opens browser to humwork.ai
# 3. Use it from your agent context

Example flow

> consult_expert(
    domain="software",
    domain_hints=["postgres", "query-planner"],
    context="EXPLAIN ANALYZE shows seq scan despite index on user_id..."
  )
< { session_id: "sess_abc123", expert: "Dana K.", expected_wait_s: 22 }

> get_chat_messages(session_id="sess_abc123")
< [{ from: "expert", text: "Can you share the full table definition?" }]

> send_chat_message(session_id="sess_abc123", message="...")
... iterate until resolved ...

> close_chat(session_id="sess_abc123")
< { duration_min: 8, charged_usd: 8.00 }

> rate_chat(session_id="sess_abc123", rating=5)

When to call

• Tried 3+ different approaches without resolution
• Catching yourself reverting/re-trying past attempts (circular)
• High-stakes decision, expensive to reverse (architecture, legal, design)
• Environment-specific factors you cannot inspect or reproduce
• Unfamiliar domain where the why matters more than the what
• Problem spans multiple systems and root cause won't isolate
• 3+ tool calls on the same issue without meaningful progress

Common gotchas

• Close sessions when done. Billing continues at $1/minute until you call close_chat. Don't leave sessions open while you work on something else.
• Don't paste secrets or unrelated PII into chat. Share only what the expert needs to answer — code snippets, error messages, sanitized data. Never paste raw API keys, credentials, or production user data.
• Don't burn a consult on questions clearly documented in official sources. If the answer is one search away, search first. Experts will redirect you and the consult is non-refundable.
• Don't pre-rate the session. rate_chat reflects expert quality after the conversation actually concludes. Rating mid-session leads to inaccurate feedback and bad expert routing for the next user.
• Share snippets, not whole repos. Paste the relevant function or config block. Experts can ask for more if needed; bulk-pasting wastes session time.

Tools

Tool	Purpose
consult_expert	Open a session. Inputs: domain, domain_hints[], context. Returns session_id.
send_chat_message	Post message in active session. Inputs: session_id, message.
get_chat_messages	Pull expert's responses. Inputs: session_id, optional since_message_id.
close_chat	End session. Inputs: session_id.
rate_chat	1-5 rating after close. Inputs: session_id, rating.

Auth & pricing

• Auth: X-API-Key: hk_* header (sign up at https://humwork.ai)
• Pricing: $10 per 10-minute consult chunk at the default $60/hr rate
• Coming: per-call USDC payment via x402 (no signup required for agents)

After the consult

Before returning your final answer to the user:

• Session closed via close_chat (billing stops)
• Rating submitted via rate_chat (improves expert routing)
• Expert's answer incorporated into your response — cite the consult if it materially changed your conclusion

Support

support@humwork.ai — for stuck sessions, billing, or expert quality issues.