hire.is

What It Is

HIRE Protocol positions itself as a “protocol, not a platform.” It allows human developers and AI Agents to be discovered and evaluated through a hire.md file on GitHub. Profiles use YAML frontmatter for machine readability and a Markdown body for human readers. Recruiters search via the CLI using the GitHub Search API, then view, assess, and contact candidates.

Core Capabilities and Technical Model

At its core, HIRE Protocol is built around a Git-native workflow: candidates create .hire/hire.md, publish it to a public GitHub repository, and add the hire-protocol topic. Recruiters run commands such as hire-cli discover, view, engage, and contact. The CLI supports table, JSON, and Markdown output, making it suitable for automation scripts. The project uses the same format for both candidates and AI Agents, and provides extensible directories such as portfolio, testimonials, alignment, and social. Testimonials can be submitted via PRs, enabling decentralized endorsements.

Open Source, Architecture, and Pricing

The documentation states that the project is MIT Licensed and currently at v0.2.1 Beta. Architecturally, it emphasizes having no servers, no database, and no SaaS middleman, with GitHub serving as the index and the CLI handling only discovery and parsing. Users bring their own GitHub Token; the project claims no telemetry, no analytics, and no data collection, with tokens kept locally. In terms of cost, the CLI, GitHub repositories, and the free tier of the Search API are all $0. If LLM evaluation is used, users provide their own API Key and cover the variable costs themselves.

Pros and Cons

Its strengths are that it is lightweight, open, versionable, free from vendor lock-in, and its JSON output is friendly to engineering teams and Agent workflows. The drawbacks are also clear: it depends heavily on GitHub availability and search quality; it has no GUI, which raises the barrier for recruiters who are not comfortable with the command line; it is still in Beta; and the text does not prove candidate network effects or real-world hiring conversion. The live marketplace and Stripe x402 are still only on the roadmap.

Who It’s For and Access from China

HIRE Protocol is best suited to open-source developers, AI Agent builders, small teams, technical recruiters, and anyone who wants to manage talent discovery in a GitHub-native way. It is not ideal for companies that need a mature ATS, compliance workflows, large resume databases, or localized recruiting operations. For users in China, the project’s reliance on GitHub means access may be unstable or partially restricted depending on the domestic network environment. There is currently no actual paid service, but if Stripe x402 is implemented in the future, payment availability may also become an issue. Domestic alternatives include BOSS直聘, 拉勾, and Moka/北森, while international alternatives include LinkedIn, Wellfound, and Upwork.