--- title: "Connect CATS to Metaintro | Metaintro" canonical: "https://www.metaintro.com/help/connect-catsone-to-metaintro" language: "en" author: "Metaintro" published: "2026-11-11T16:02:21.314Z" modified: "2026-11-11T16:02:38.140Z" --- # Connect CATS to Metaintro Send candidates who chose to share with you straight into CATS, with their résumé, a pipeline on the job and their proof card. Last updated: November 11, 2026[Employers](/help/category/employers) Paste it into Claude, ChatGPT, Codex, Cursor or Pi. ## Before you start You need a CATS user who can open the Administration settings page, usually a CATS administrator. CATS doesn't say which plan or role is needed to create an API key, so if you can't see the option, ask your CATS account owner or CATS support. You will paste one thing into Metaintro: a CATS v3 API key. Keys from the older CATS API (transaction codes) don't work. ## Create the credential in CATS 1. Sign in to CATS. 2. Go to Settings > Administration. 3. Create a v3 API key there. CATS's guide says keys are created on the Administration settings page but doesn't name the exact button. 4. Copy the key. CATS's guide: [CATS API v3, Authentication](https://docs.catsone.com/api/v3/). For questions about API keys, CATS points to its [API support forum](https://help.catsone.com/article/115-does-cats-have-an-api). ## Connect in Metaintro 1. In Metaintro, go to Settings > Integrations. 2. Choose CATS. 3. In API key, paste the key you copied. 4. Select Connect. Metaintro checks the key by reading your CATS site details. Then map your CATS jobs to your Metaintro jobs, set your rules, preview, and go live. ## What Metaintro sends and reads Metaintro only sends people who chose to share their profile with you for that job. For each person, Metaintro: - Looks for a CATS candidate whose primary or secondary email exactly matches theirs. If there is one, Metaintro uses that candidate. If there is none, it creates a candidate with their name, email and phone when they shared them, and the source set to Metaintro. - Uploads their résumé to the candidate as a résumé when they shared one. The file name starts with "metaintro-" so Metaintro can tell it already sent that file and never uploads it twice. - Adds the candidate to the job's pipeline, unless they are already on it. - Logs an activity of type Other on the candidate with a link to their proof card, plus their short summary when they wrote one. CATS can send webhooks, but Metaintro doesn't use them yet. It checks each shared candidate's pipeline status regularly instead. It uses the status's workflow mapping when CATS gives one, so a status mapped to Placed shows as hired and Not in Consideration shows as not selected. Otherwise it reads the status name. When you move a candidate from Metaintro, it picks the status in that pipeline's workflow that matches the stage. CATS then runs that status's default triggers, the same as when you change the status in CATS. ## Limits - CATS allows 500 API requests an hour for your whole account, counted over a rolling hour. Other tools using your CATS API share that limit. Metaintro paces itself to stay under it, so a busy day can delay deliveries and status checks. - Stage updates are not instant. Metaintro checks for changes on a schedule. - If more than one CATS candidate has the person's email, Metaintro doesn't guess. It stops and doesn't send that person. - A person who shared no email can't be matched, so Metaintro creates a new candidate for them. - A move from Metaintro may find no matching status if your workflow has none with a matching mapping or name. Nothing changes in CATS when that happens. ## If something goes wrong - **Key rejected.** Check that you pasted the whole key and that it is a v3 key. If the key was deleted, create a new one and connect again. - **Missing permission.** CATS refused the action for this key. Check that the key is still active in Settings > Administration, or create a new key as a CATS administrator and connect again. - **Rate limited.** Your account used its 500 requests for the hour. Metaintro waits until CATS allows more and tries again. No action is needed, but other tools using the CATS API can make the wait longer. - **A candidate didn't arrive.** Check that the CATS job is still mapped in Metaintro, and that no other CATS candidate shares the person's email. ### Was this article helpful? ## Related Articles - [Connect your ATS to MetaintroSend people who choose to share with you straight into your applicant tracking system, and see their stage in Metaintro.](/help/connect-your-ats-to-metaintro) [Return to navigation](#main-navigation)