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):
{
"mcpServers": {
"launchengine": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@launchengine-dev/mcp"],
"env": { "LAUNCHENGINE_DEV_API_KEY": "le_live_..." }
}
}
}
Claude Code
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:
{
"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_signalsanddraft_replycost 1 credit per call. A failed call is refunded. Everything else is free.scan: truealso 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.
$ 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.
Links
- Reference: https://launchengine.dev/docs/agents
- Issues: https://github.com/Naman6019/launchengine-mcp/issues
- npm:
@launchengine-dev/mcp
License
MIT