LaunchEngine.dev README

LaunchEngine.dev MCP server

Find public posts where someone is asking for a product like yours, while they are still choosing.

LaunchEngine.dev scans Reddit, Hacker News and the open web for posts that match your product, scores each one 1–100 for buying intent, and drafts a reply for you to edit and post. This server gives any MCP client (Claude, Cursor, VS Code, Cline, Windsurf) the same data as six tools.

Nothing is ever posted for you.

Quick start

Sign up at launchengine.dev. A new workspace starts with 100 credits, no card required.
Create a project for your product, then an API key under Dashboard → Agents. Keys look like le_live_....
Add the server to your client (below), then ask it something.

Install

Every client runs the same command, npx -y @launchengine-dev/mcp, with your key in LAUNCHENGINE_DEV_API_KEY. Node 20 or newer is required.

Claude Desktop

Download the .mcpb bundle from the latest release and open it: Claude Desktop installs it and asks for the key.

Or add it by hand, in ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows):

config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "launchengine": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@launchengine-dev/mcp"],
      "env": { "LAUNCHENGINE_DEV_API_KEY": "le_live_..." }
    }
  }
}

Claude Code

Terminal

claude mcp add launchengine \
  --env LAUNCHENGINE_DEV_API_KEY=le_live_... \
  -- npx -y @launchengine-dev/mcp

Cursor, Cline and Windsurf

The same mcpServers block as Claude Desktop, in:

Client	File
Cursor	`~/.cursor/mcp.json` (all projects) or `.cursor/mcp.json` (one project)
Cline	Cline → MCP Servers → Configure → `cline_mcp_settings.json`
Windsurf	`~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json`

VS Code

.vscode/mcp.json uses servers rather than mcpServers, and can prompt for the key once and keep it out of the file:

config.json

{
  "inputs": [
    {
      "type": "promptString",
      "id": "launchengine-key",
      "description": "LaunchEngine.dev API key (le_live_...)",
      "password": true
    }
  ],
  "servers": {
    "launchengine": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@launchengine-dev/mcp"],
      "env": { "LAUNCHENGINE_DEV_API_KEY": "${input:launchengine-key}" }
    }
  }
}

What to ask

"List my LaunchEngine projects."
"Find posts from the last 7 days scoring 80 or more for my project."
"Scan live sources now, then show me the top five." (uses a daily scan)
"Show me the full post for the top signal, then draft a technical reply."
"Start monitoring the keyword 'alternative to Mixpanel' for this project."
"How many credits do I have left?"

Tools

Tool	Cost	Changes data	What it does
`list_projects`	free	no	Your projects: name, URL, description, target ICP, competitors. Start here
`get_credit_balance`	free	no	Credit balance and plan
`find_intent_signals`	1 credit	no	Scored posts for a project, highest intent first. `scan: true` searches live sources first
`get_intent_details`	free	no	One signal in full: post, author, score, reasons, saved draft
`draft_reply`	1 credit	saves the draft	A reply for you to review and post, in a `consultative`, `direct` or `technical` tone
`subscribe_to_keyword`	free	yes	Add a keyword for a project's scans to search

Every parameter is described in the tool schema your client receives. The full reference, generated from the same schemas, is at https://launchengine.dev/docs/agents.

The tools carry MCP annotations, so a client can ask before the two that spend credits: neither is marked read-only, even though they only read posts.

Costs and limits

find_intent_signals and draft_reply cost 1 credit per call. A failed call is refunded. Everything else is free.
scan: true also uses one of the workspace's daily scans (one a day on the free plan, shared across projects). Without it, the tool reads signals that earlier scans already found, which is fast and the usual choice.
Requests are rate limited per key (60 a minute by default).

Two things to know before you automate

Drafts are assistive. draft_reply returns text for a person to review and post, and it never posts. Drafts help with the poster's problem and name no product. Reddit and Hacker News both treat automated self-promotion as spam, and your account is the one that would be actioned.

Scanning is metered twice. The call costs a credit, and scan: true additionally spends the daily scan allowance.

Environment

Variable	Required	Default	Purpose
`LAUNCHENGINE_DEV_API_KEY`	yes	—	Workspace key, `le_live_...`. Every call fails with `UNAUTHORIZED_KEY` without it
`LAUNCHENGINE_DEV_API_URL`	no	`https://launchengine.dev/api`	API base URL. Only set this when running the API yourself

The server starts and lists its tools without a key, so a client or registry can inspect it before you have one.

Troubleshooting

It runs but nothing happens. That is expected. This is a stdio server: it prints one line to stderr, then waits for an MCP client to send JSON-RPC on stdin.

Code

$ npx -y @launchengine-dev/mcp
[launchengine-dev-mcp] v0.0.3 ready on stdio (API: https://launchengine.dev/api). Key loaded.

If you do not see that line, the install failed. --help prints usage and config snippets, and --version prints the version; both exit immediately.

UNAUTHORIZED_KEY. The key is missing, mistyped or revoked. Check its status on the Agents page, and create a new key if it was revoked.

INSUFFICIENT_CREDITS. The call costs more credits than the workspace has. get_credit_balance shows the balance; the Billing page shows plans.

RATE_LIMITED from a scan. The day's scans are used up. Read stored signals instead (scan: false), or wait for the allowance to reset.

'launchengine-dev-mcp' is not recognized. You ran npx from inside this package's own directory, where npm treats it as the package you asked for and never links its bin. Run it from anywhere else.

License

MIT