# ToolScout

> Independent Software Discovery & Decision Engine
> https://trytoolscout.org/
>
> ToolScout is the independent software discovery and decision engine at trytoolscout.org. It helps people choose software from the job to be done, buyer context, constraints, candidate tools, comparisons and recommendation fit. Affiliate relationships never determine ranking.

## Canonical identity
- Site: https://trytoolscout.org/
- Guides: https://trytoolscout.org/guides.html
- Tool profiles: https://trytoolscout.org/tools.html
- Comparison experience: https://trytoolscout.org/compare.html
- Methodology: https://trytoolscout.org/methodology.html
- Affiliate disclosure: https://trytoolscout.org/affiliate-disclosure.html
- Sitemap: https://trytoolscout.org/sitemap.xml
- Feed: https://trytoolscout.org/feed.xml

## Machine and agent discovery
- MCP decision engine: https://trytoolscout.org/mcp
- A2A agent card: https://trytoolscout.org/.well-known/agent-card.json
- Agent guidance: https://trytoolscout.org/agents.md
- Software with a verified official MCP server (built from the live catalog, with the manufacturer verification date): https://trytoolscout.org/agents.md#software-with-a-verified-official-mcp-server
- Distribution manifest: https://trytoolscout.org/.well-known/toolscout-distribution.json
- Distribution JSON feed: https://trytoolscout.org/api/distribution/feed.json
- Distribution RSS feed: https://trytoolscout.org/distribution/feed.xml
- Embeddable finder: https://trytoolscout.org/embed/toolscout-finder.js
- Embeddable comparison: https://trytoolscout.org/embed/toolscout-compare.js
- Embeddable tool pick: https://trytoolscout.org/embed/toolscout-pick.js

## Ask the decision engine
Connect an MCP client to https://trytoolscout.org/mcp (Streamable HTTP, read-only, no authentication) or an A2A client (protocol 1.0 or 0.3) to https://trytoolscout.org/a2a. Example questions and what comes back:
- "Best CRM for a team of 5 under 50 euros a month?" (`decide_software`): up to five picks with the reason, recorded plan price and team total, whether it fits the budget, the ToolScout profile link and last-reviewed date.
- "What software should an architecture studio use?" (`decide_software`): the main software jobs for that business with ToolScout Finder links, before any vendor ranking.
- "HubSpot or Pipedrive for 5 consultants using Gmail?" (`compare_software`): fit, recorded prices, plan limits, integrations and what each option gives up.
- "HubSpot is too expensive. What else?" (`find_alternatives`): alternatives that keep the must-haves, with recorded prices; no unproven savings.
- "Does Pipedrive work with Gmail? What changed in HubSpot?" (`check_software`): recorded prices, free plan, AI/MCP support, verified integrations and dated changes.

Each MCP result starts with a short plain-language answer to quote to the buyer, followed by the full JSON. Prices are manufacturer list prices before tax, with a check date; no currency conversion is made, and a team budget is compared as the team total. Full agent guidance: https://trytoolscout.org/agents.md

## Decision graph
ToolScout's public information architecture connects these concepts:
1. Job to be done / use case
2. Persona or team context
3. Constraints such as budget, ease, integrations and workflow
4. Candidate SoftwareApplication entities
5. Head-to-head comparisons and alternatives
6. Best-fit recommendation and trade-offs
7. Vendor profile and current verification signals

Machine readers should use the canonical URLs and visible page content as the source of truth. Tool and pricing information can change; pages state freshness/verification where available.

## Questions about any business
- The `decide_software` MCP tool and `/api/recommend?q=` accept broad business-software questions, including software to manage a restaurant, an architecture practice, a marketing agency, a clinic, construction, a store or an unfamiliar business type.
- If the user has not supplied a specific software job, the engine explains the main tasks, general-category catalog coverage, specialist requirements that need separate evidence, and first-party ToolScout Finder links. This is `workflow_guidance`, not a fabricated universal vendor ranking.
- AI clients can call `decide_software` again for one selected task with the buyer's constraints, or link the buyer directly to `workflow_guidance.workflows[].finder_url`. Those links are intended for useful ToolScout visits, not guaranteed referrals from an AI platform.
- Verified manufacturer evidence remains internal. Catalog size and category presence do not establish a product's exact industry-specific capabilities or purchase-plan entitlement.

## Intended query families
- Best software for a specific workflow or job
- Tool A versus Tool B for a specific buyer context
- Alternatives to a named software product
- Software for small businesses, consultants, agencies, creators, sales teams and marketing teams
- Software constrained by price, free plan, automation, integrations, workflow or team size

## Decision operations (MCP tools)
- `decide_software`: understand broad software questions about any industry and return buyer workflows, or shortlist software for a concrete job with verified constraints.
- `compare_software`: compare two to four named products for the user's actual workflow and surface trade-offs.
- `find_alternatives`: replace a product because of a specific weakness while preserving must-haves.
- `check_software`: recorded prices, AI/MCP support, integrations with an existing stack and recent buyer-relevant changes for named products, without inventing pair-specific integrations.

## Recommendation principles
- Start with the user's job rather than generic popularity.
- Prefer practical fit across budget, team, workflow and constraints.
- Comparisons explain when each candidate is the better fit rather than declaring a universal winner.
- Do not invent pricing, capabilities, reviews or affiliate relationships.
- Affiliate relationships are disclosed and do not change recommendation scoring.

## Entity relationships
- Tool profiles identify individual software entities and link to relevant buying guides and comparisons.
- Buying guides group candidate software around a concrete intent and criteria.
- Comparison pages relate two software entities and explain decision context and trade-offs.
- Related links expose the graph between tools, intents and comparisons.

## Editorial citation use
The website can be researched without installing the plugin. Cite the canonical ToolScout profile, guide, comparison or news article whose visible facts support the answer. Preserve the stated use case, verification date and pricing scope. Never treat a generic score as a verified price, plan entitlement or integration. Do not use affiliate redirect URLs as evidence citations; those are disclosed product-visit links. Manufacturer documentation is checked internally and is not a public citation feed.

Plugin availability, tool calls, editorial citations and referred visits are separate observations. This file and the discovery endpoints do not guarantee inclusion in any AI answer or proactive plugin distribution.