How to Test B2B Prospecting Software Integrations (API, CSV, MCP, n8n, Clay)

The best integrations are the ones you can test in an hour with your own key. A logo wall tells you nothing. Five requests tell you whether a tool plugs into your stack.

This guide runs those five checks against LeadOcean. Use the same checks on any tool you are comparing. If a step has no equivalent, that is your answer.

TL;DR

• Five checks: free sizing, REST search, one enrichment, a CSV export, and an MCP or no-code connection.
• It takes about 45 minutes.
• It spends about 6 of the 1,000 free records. Counts are free, and the export step needs a paid plan.

Prerequisites

• A LeadOcean account on the free plan: app.leadocean.io/register. No card.
• Your key exported as an environment variable: export LEADOCEAN_API_KEY=your_key_here.
• curl and jq in a terminal.
• Optional: Claude Code, an n8n instance or a Clay table on Clay Growth or higher (the plan with HTTP API integrations).

All requests go to https://api.leadocean.io with the header x-api-key.

Step 1: Size the list for free

A tool with good integrations lets you count before you pull. On LeadOcean a search with count=true and limit=1 costs nothing. Send count=true as a query parameter, not in the body.

curl -s -X POST "https://api.leadocean.io/v1/people/search?count=true" \
  -H "x-api-key: $LEADOCEAN_API_KEY" \
  -H "content-type: application/json" \
  -d '{"jobLevel":["VP"],"jobFunction":["Sales & Business Development"],"country":["US"],"limit":1}' \
  | jq '.meta | {total, totalIsExact, distinctCompanies}'

Filters are arrays. Enum values are exact strings, so check them with GET /v1/enums before you guess. A wrong value returns empty results, not an error.

For companies, GET /v1/companies/count is also free and returns breakdowns by industry, headcount band and HQ country.

Step 2: Pull a page with REST search

Drop the count flag and set a small limit. Five rows is enough to see the shape.

curl -s -X POST "https://api.leadocean.io/v1/people/search" \
  -H "x-api-key: $LEADOCEAN_API_KEY" \
  -H "content-type: application/json" \
  -d '{"jobLevel":["VP"],"jobFunction":["Sales & Business Development"],"country":["US"],"limit":5}' \
  | jq '.meta'

The body is flat JSON. limit runs from 1 to 100. Page with the cursor value from meta.nextCursor. One search pages to 10,000 rows, and the last page carries meta.depthCapped: true. Narrow the filters instead of walking the index.

This call spends 5 records. Search returns a thin profile with no contact points.

Step 3: Enrich one person

Search finds people. Enrichment returns the contact data. Pass exactly one of linkedin_url, email, phone or person_id.

curl -s -X POST "https://api.leadocean.io/v1/people/enrich" \
  -H "x-api-key: $LEADOCEAN_API_KEY" \
  -H "content-type: application/json" \
  -d '{"linkedin_url":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/jane-doe","reveal_email":true}'

reveal_email costs no extra record. A person we hold nothing for returns a 404 and costs nothing. Since October 2026 the response also carries career history in resume_data: past roles, education, certifications and awards.

Read email_status before you send anything. LeadOcean gives no refund for bounces.

Step 4: Export a CSV for your sequencer

Most sending tools take a CSV. Test the file path before you trust a tool's "native" integration.

curl -s -X POST "https://api.leadocean.io/v1/exports" \
  -H "x-api-key: $LEADOCEAN_API_KEY" \
  -H "content-type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name":"vp-sales-us","filters":{"jobLevel":["VP"],"country":["US"],"emailType":["work"]},"limit":100,"columns":["profile_full_name","current_company_domain","email_N_address","email_N_status"]}'

It answers with a job id. Poll GET /v1/exports/{id}, then fetch GET /v1/exports/{id}/download. An export takes up to 50,000 rows a request and 500,000 a day (LeadOcean docs, September 2026).

Bulk CSV export is not on the Free plan. It is included from Solo at $97 a month. On Free, you can still price an export in the app: the Exports page at app.leadocean.io shows a filter builder, a column picker and the record price before you start.

LeadOcean has no sequencer, dialer or CRM. It is a data source. Your sending tool stays your sending tool.

Step 5: Connect an AI client or a no-code tool

Two connections cover most stacks: the hosted MCP server and an HTTP node.

MCP. The server lives at https://api.leadocean.io/mcp and uses OAuth sign-in, so no key is pasted. It has 13 tools. In Claude Code:

claude mcp add --transport http leadocean https://api.leadocean.io/mcp

The command shape comes from Claude Code's MCP docs, September 2026. Then ask for leadocean_count_leads first. It is free, like leadocean_list_filters and leadocean_list_enum_values. Search, get, phone and export tools spend records.

n8n. Create a Header Auth credential with Name x-api-key and your key as the Value (n8n docs, September 2026). Use it on an HTTP Request node. Or add an MCP Client Tool node and point it at the MCP URL (n8n docs, September 2026). Full recipe: LeadOcean + n8n.

Clay. Clay's HTTP API column calls any endpoint, so point it at POST /v1/people/enrich. Clay lists HTTP API integrations on Growth ($495 a month billed monthly) and above (Clay pricing, October 2026). Full recipe: LeadOcean + Clay.

What you get

Step 1 is a live free call. This is leadocean_count_leads on 21 October 2026. Filters: VP level, Sales & Business Development, US. It counts verified, catch_all_valid and catch_all addresses.

{
  "total": 129494,
  "totalIsExact": true,
  "totalAll": 350517,
  "distinctCompanies": 58121,
  "credits": 0
}

totalAll is the same filters with no email condition. credits: 0 is the cost.

Steps 2 and 3 return records. This is the response shape from the API reference, with placeholder values:

{
  "success": true,
  "data": [
    {
      "profile_data": { "profile_full_name": "Jane Doe" },
      "contact_data": {
        "has_email": true,
        "email_status": "verified",
        "contact_emails": [
          { "email": "jane.doe@acme.com", "type": "work", "status": "verified" }
        ],
        "contact_current_experiences": [
          { "company_name": "Acme", "company_domain": "acme.com" }
        ]
      }
    }
  ],
  "meta": { "count": 1, "credits": 1 }
}

Troubleshooting

FAQ