Quick Answer
Use the MCP server when your agent runs in an MCP host such as Claude or Cursor; the Realie CLI with --json for terminal agents; and the REST API for production apps. All three call the same route handlers and use the same plan. The difference is page size: MCP list tools return up to 10 records per call, REST and the CLI up to 100 per search page.
Set up MCP, CLI, or RESTSummary
Realie serves one public API through three first-party transports: REST over HTTPS, the Realie CLI, and a Streamable HTTP MCP server at https://app.realie.ai/api/mcp. The MCP server runs the REST route handlers in-process, and CLI flags and MCP tool schemas come from one shared parameter catalog, so the transport changes how your agent asks, not what it gets back: the same county-sourced record with parcel, assessor, and recorder fields across all 50 states and 180M+ addresses, at ~20 ms average API response time.
How do MCP, the CLI, and REST compare?
Pick by where your agent runs. Each transport reaches the same records on the same account, so the choice is about sign-in, page size, and output format.
| Transport | Best for | How it signs in | Results per list call | Output |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MCP server | Claude, Cursor, VS Code, and other MCP hosts | OAuth in the host, with no API key in the config | Up to 10; page with cursor or offset | Compact JSON tool results |
| Realie CLI | Terminal agents such as Claude Code, shell scripts, and CI jobs | realie login (opens a browser), or realie login --api-key for agents and CI | Up to 100 per search or location page | Readable text, or the raw JSON response with --json |
| REST API | Production apps, back-end services, and batch jobs | API key in the Authorization header | Up to 100 per search, location, or owner page | JSON response body |
Do MCP, REST, and the CLI return the same data?
Yes. The MCP server is not a second implementation: each tool call runs the matching REST route handler in-process, so authentication, the response body, logging, and billing match a direct API call. CLI flags and MCP tool schemas are generated from one parameter catalog, so a parameter added to the API reaches both clients together.
The CLI tags its requests as CLI traffic and bills on the same API plan. With --json it prints the same JSON body a REST call returns.
| MCP tool | REST endpoint | CLI command |
|---|---|---|
| address_lookup | GET /api/public/property/address | realie lookup |
| parcel_lookup | GET /api/public/property/parcelId | realie parcel |
| property_search | GET /api/public/property/search | realie search |
| location_search | GET /api/public/property/location | realie location |
| owner_search | GET /api/public/property/owner | Use MCP or REST |
| comparables | GET /api/public/premium/comparables | realie comparables |
When should an agent use the MCP server?
Use MCP when the agent lives in a host that speaks Model Context Protocol. You add one URL (https://app.realie.ai/api/mcp) with no API key in the config, the host signs you in with OAuth, and the model sees six typed tools. Host setup is covered in How do I connect Realie to Claude?, How do I connect Realie to Cursor?, and What is the Realie MCP server?.
Results are sized for a model’s context window. List tools return at most 10 properties per call as compact JSON, and the agent pages with cursor or offset. One tool result stays small enough for hosts that cap tool output, at the cost of more calls for a long list.
Errors are split so both the host and the model can act. A missing or invalid credential returns HTTP 401 with a WWW-Authenticate header, which tells the host to start OAuth. Account problems, such as no payment method on file, come back as tool results marked isError that the model can read and explain. If you write your own MCP client, send one JSON-RPC request per POST: batch (array) bodies are rejected with HTTP 400.
When should an agent use the Realie CLI?
Use the CLI when the agent already works in a shell, as Claude Code and other terminal agents do, or when a script or CI job needs property data. Pass --json on any command to get the raw JSON response. Errors print as JSON with an error code and exit code 1, so the agent can branch on a failure instead of parsing prose.
For agents and CI, sign in without a browser using realie login --api-key YOUR_API_KEY, or set REALIE_API_KEY. Search and location pages return up to 100 properties per call, the same as REST. Install steps and every command are in How do I look up property data from the command line with the Realie CLI?.
When should you call the REST API directly?
Call REST from production code: web apps, back-end services, data pipelines, and batch jobs that need full control over requests, retries, and pagination. Send your API key in the Authorization header. Search, location, and owner endpoints return up to 100 properties per page; page through longer search results with a cursor.
Example request, using the same address as the agents hub:
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" "https://app.realie.ai/api/public/property/address?address=504%20LAVACA%20ST&state=TX"The OpenAPI specification describes every endpoint and parameter, so you can generate a typed client or wrap REST as a custom tool in an agent framework.
Can one account use MCP, the CLI, and REST together?
Yes. You can use MCP in the IDE, the CLI in scripts, and REST in production on one account. OAuth sign-in on MCP resolves to the API key already on your account and never creates a new one, so all three transports share one identity and one plan. New accounts add a payment method before the first property call succeeds.
Plans are published and self-serve: Free includes 25 calls a month, $50/mo includes 1,250, $150/mo includes 6,000, $350/mo includes 30,000, and enterprise pricing at $600/mo includes 100,000. See Realie pricing.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
- Do I need an MCP server if I already have a REST API?
- Not for code you write yourself. If your app already calls Realie over REST, keep it. Add the MCP server when you also want an MCP host such as Claude or Cursor to call property tools directly: the host discovers the tools and handles OAuth, so you do not build or maintain a tool wrapper. Both run on the same plan.
- Is MCP replacing APIs for property data?
- No. On Realie, MCP is a transport over the REST API, not a replacement for it: every MCP tool call runs the same route handler a REST request does. MCP fits model hosts, and REST still fits apps, services, and batch jobs that page through up to 100 properties per call.
- MCP vs API for real estate data: which returns more records per call?
- REST and the CLI return up to 100 properties per search page. MCP list tools return up to 10 per call so that one result fits in a model’s context. Fetching 100 search results takes one REST or CLI request, or about 10 MCP calls paged with cursor or offset.
- Should a coding agent in a terminal use MCP or the CLI?
- Either works. Claude Code can register the MCP server with claude mcp add --transport http realie https://app.realie.ai/api/mcp, or run the Realie CLI with --json. Prefer the CLI when the agent needs 100-property pages or writes results to files. Prefer MCP when you want typed tools and OAuth sign-in without an API key in the agent’s environment.
- Why does an MCP tool call fail after I connect?
- If the host has not finished sign-in, the call returns HTTP 401 and the host should open OAuth. If you are signed in but the account has no payment method, the tool returns an isError result that explains the account issue. Add a payment method in Billing, then retry the call.