How much does it cost to launch on LaunchMCP?

Listing your MCP server is free. There is no fee to submit, schedule a launch, or appear in the daily ranking.

What is the best day to launch an MCP server?

Tuesday or Wednesday gives you the highest concentration of weekday traffic without competing against the Monday backlog. Avoid Fridays (low engagement) and the first week of a month if you can wait.

How long does the launch ranking last?

Each server has 24 hours on the Today tab from its launch date. After that it moves to Trending (last 7 days), then to All time. You can bump a listing once every 12 hours to refresh its momentum.

Do I need a finished product to launch?

You need a working server that can be installed and run at least one tool successfully. Polish the README and install command first - those are the only things most visitors will read.

Playbook

How to launch your MCP server

You shipped an MCP server. Now you need installs, not stars. This is the playbook we wrote for makers launching on LaunchMCP: what to do before launch day, what to do on the day, and what to do in the two weeks after. New to MCP itself? Start with what is MCP.

Why launch on a directory at all?

GitHub stars are not installs. A GitHub release reaches your followers; a launch on LaunchMCP reaches developers who came specifically looking for an MCP server to install today. Average launch on LaunchMCP drives 3-5x the install volume of an unscheduled GitHub release in the first 72 hours.

What makes a good MCP launch

Three things matter, in order:

A tagline that names the verb.“Query Postgres from Claude.” “Edit Figma files in Cursor.” Skip adjectives. The user is scanning a list of 30 servers; you have about 1.2 seconds.
A one-line install command. If the user has to read a README to figure out how to install, you lose them. Make the copy-paste work in Claude Desktop and Cursor on the first try.
A demo GIF or screenshot in the README.First impression is “does this thing actually run?” A 5-second GIF answers it.

Pre-launch checklist (T-7 days)

- README has install command for at least Claude Desktop and Cursor.
- Tagline is under 60 characters and leads with the verb.
- Icon is a 512x512 PNG with a transparent background.
- At least one demo GIF or screenshot in the README.
- A real description (2-3 paragraphs) of what the server does and why it exists.
- Tags chosen: pick the 3 most specific tags, not 8 generic ones.
- Repo has a v0.1.0+ release with semver, not a bare main branch.
- You can install your own server fresh in 60 seconds without referring to your notes.

Launch day

Schedule for 9am UTC on a Tuesday or Wednesday. That captures the EU morning, US morning waking up, and Asia evening - the widest overlap of MCP-curious developers in a single window.
Post the LaunchMCP link first. Then cross-post to Hacker News (Show HN), the r/ClaudeAI subreddit, and the Anthropic Discord. The order matters - the LaunchMCP link is what you want the upvote button on.
Reply to every comment in the first 4 hours. The Today ranking weights early engagement. A maker who replies in 10 minutes gets a measurable lift over one who replies after dinner.
Pin a tweet with the install command. Not the website link. The install command. Drive-by readers want the literal text.
Ship a small fix at hour 6.Bumps your listing's freshness and lets you reply “just shipped X in response to your feedback” - which converts the most.

Post-launch growth (week 2 onward)

Bump every 12 hours for the first week. Bumping refreshes your position in the Trending tab without resetting upvote credit.
Write a “how I built X” post. Link the LaunchMCP listing. The post is content; the listing is the conversion.
Track installs, not stars. The LaunchMCP analytics tab shows weekly install velocity. If it drops below 5 per week, your tagline or install instructions need work, not your code.
Respond to every issue within 24 hours. Even “I'll look into this Friday” - silence loses installs.
Ship one improvement per week for the first month. Each improvement justifies a bump and a tweet. Compound momentum beats one big launch.

Ready to ship?

Create a free account, paste your repo or npm package, and we auto-fetch the README, install command, and metadata. You can schedule the launch date or go live immediately.

Submit your server Browse the directory