Openpath vs USAJOBS API for AI agents

USAJOBS API is the official REST API for searching public U.S. federal government job announcements on USAJOBS. Openpath is an open directory of real-world listings built for AI agents: each result is one listing, with the employer’s Apply link for a job or an Openpath inbox address for a business’s owner. It needs no key.

The short answer

USAJOBS API: Authoritative, reusable data on U.S. federal government job openings.
Openpath: Giving an agent a job to apply for or a local business to message, with no key.

Openpath covers far less today: jobs in Austin, Texas, and remote, and businesses in and around Austin. Where it has what the agent is looking for, it is free and needs no sign-up.

USAJOBS API and Openpath, side by side

	USAJOBS API	Openpath
Searches	Public job announcements posted on USAJOBS (status/internal jobs need extra steps); a single employer-side source, not an aggregator.	Live jobs from employers’ own job boards (Austin, Texas, and remote) and local businesses in Austin
Returns	JSON SearchResult items with PositionTitle, PositionURI, ApplyURI, OrganizationName, PositionLocation (with lat/long) and PositionRemuneration.	Plain Markdown, one listing per result: its facts, its source and the day it was checked. Typed JSON on request.
Before the first call	An API key requested through an application form (name, email, phone, organization, intended use); calls send Host, User-Agent (your email) and Authorization-Key headers.	One empty request to /v1/connect, which returns a token. No account, email or card.
Free	Not stated on its pages	Free: 600 searches a minute and 20,000 a day for each connected agent
Paid	Not stated on its pages	Free for agents
Acting on a result	PositionURI/ApplyURI point to the announcement on usajobs.gov.	A job has the employer’s Apply link; a business, and every listing its owner added, has an Openpath inbox address. An agent writes to it and the owner answers there. Openpath doesn’t notify owners who haven’t joined yet, so a message to them waits 30 days.
Limits on keeping or showing results	Public Data may be copied, stored, republished and used commercially; attribution to USAJOBS is encouraged, not required; don't present modified data as official. Max 10,000 rows per query, 500 per page.	Agents read listings and act on them; the terms say reading a listing doesn’t give the right to reuse it freely.
AI in its terms	Not stated on its pages	Built for AI agents. An agent may act only with its owner’s permission, and the terms don’t let Openpath train AI models on what owners post.
Coverage	United States federal government jobs (in the U.S. and abroad).	Jobs in Austin, Texas, and remote; businesses in Austin, for now
MCP server	No official server listed	https://api.openpath.sh/mcp/search, with no sign-in

Try Openpath

Connect, then search:

curl https://api.openpath.sh/v1/connect \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data-binary '{}'
curl -G https://api.openpath.sh/v1/search \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $OPENPATH_TOKEN" \
  --data-urlencode "q=remote analytics engineer jobs over 130k"

Or let the JavaScript client connect for you. The Python client, openpath-sh, works the same way.

npm install @openpath/sdk

import { search } from "@openpath/sdk";
console.log(await search("remote analytics engineer jobs over 130k"));

Agent apps that take MCP servers can add https://api.openpath.sh/mcp/search, which needs no sign-in. The jobs docs have the full code, every parameter and each line of the answer.

One result, as it read on October 15, 2026:

## Analytics Engineer at Ontic

Pay: $135,000–$145,000 a year.
Full-time.
Remote.

Apply: https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/ontic/27d32707-54e2-47be-be62-376df6d2b0f3/application
Source: Ontic’s job board on Ashby, checked yesterday.
Link: https://api.openpath.sh/v1/listings/369348e4-b3d0-490f-82b4-a666041243cf

What Openpath doesn’t do yet

Jobs come from the job boards of a growing list of companies, in Austin and remote.
Businesses are in Austin, Texas, for now.
It shows no phone numbers or websites: owners are reached through their Openpath inbox.

Questions people ask

What do I need before I can use Openpath?

One empty request to /v1/connect, which returns a token. No account, email or card.

Is Openpath free?

Free: 600 searches a minute and 20,000 a day for each connected agent.

What do I need before I can use USAJOBS API?

An API key requested through an application form (name, email, phone, organization, intended use); calls send Host, User-Agent (your email) and Authorization-Key headers.

Is USAJOBS API free?

Its pages listed no free use when we read them on October 15, 2026.

Sources

Every line about another company comes from its own pages. Prices and terms change, so check the source before you rely on one.

USAJOBS API, read on October 15, 2026:

developer.usajobs.gov/guides/authentication: “To request an API Key, please go the the API Request page and fill out an application.”
developer.usajobs.gov/apirequest: “Only public job information is available through this site.”
developer.usajobs.gov/guides/rate-limiting: “Maximum of 10,000 rows per query”
developer.usajobs.gov/guides/terms-of-service: “Public Data may be copied, stored, reformatted, adapted, analyzed, published, redistributed, and used for lawful commercial”
developer.usajobs.gov/guides/terms-of-service: “OPM encourages users to identify USAJOBS as the source, link to the current official job announcement”
developer.usajobs.gov/api-reference/get-api-search: “URI to apply for the job offering.”
usajobs.gov/HiringPath/Public: “the official employment site for the federal government”