Idea Launch — Agent Plugin

Idea Launch runs a small, managed ad test for a SaaS or app idea, or for a product you already shipped, and returns a market read: click-through rate, signups, a validation score and a recommended next move. This plugin lets Claude Code, Cursor, Codex and other coding agents set up that test and read the result without leaving the editor. It connects the Idea Launch MCP server (browser sign-in, no API key) and adds two skills: one for writing a brief worth testing, one for reading the result honestly. No agent can spend money; you start each paid test in the web app.

In Claude Code:

/plugin marketplace add apsquared/idea-launch-plugin
/plugin install idea-launch@apsquared

The two skills only, for any agent that reads SKILL.md (connect the server as well): npx skills add apsquared/idea-launch-plugin. Every other client, and the MCP server on its own: https://www.idea-launch.io/mcp.

The package

A portable Agent Plugins v1.0.0 package that connects the Idea Launch MCP server and adds the judgement needed to use it well.

One package, two manifest formats. The Agent Plugins entrypoints sit at the root; Claude Code reads its own manifests from .claude-plugin/ and .mcp.json. Both formats read the same skills/ directory, unmodified.

agent-plugin/
├── plugin.json                          # Agent Plugins manifest
├── mcp.json                             # Agent Plugins MCP server (streamable-http)
├── .claude-plugin/
│   ├── plugin.json                      # Claude Code manifest
│   └── marketplace.json                 # Claude Code marketplace entry (source ./)
├── .mcp.json                            # Claude Code MCP server (http)
├── LICENSE                              # MIT
└── skills/
    ├── reading-a-market-read/SKILL.md   # how to interpret a result honestly
    └── setting-up-an-idea-test/SKILL.md # how to get a test worth paying for

The two MCP files describe the same server at the same URL and carry no credentials. They differ only in the name each format gives the transport: Agent Plugins calls it streamable-http, Claude Code calls it http.

Why a plugin and not just the MCP server

The MCP server exposes capability. It does not carry judgement, and that is the part that decides whether a test is any good:

• A validationScore of 45 at low confidence, on a traffic_backed read, is easy to misreport as "mixed signal, refine the angle". It is closer to "not settled, and it cannot speak to demand at all".
• A targetCustomer of "founders" produces targeting that underperforms, and the user blames the product rather than the brief.

Both skills also restate the two hard rules: an Ad Run is evidence about a positioning rather than proof about a business, and no agent can spend the user's money — starting a run is confirmed by the user in the web app.

Installing — Agent Plugins clients

Install through any client that supports the Agent Plugins format; the client handles discovery, installation, and permissions. Installing the plugin also configures the MCP server, so there is no separate connection step.

For a client that does not support the format yet, connect the MCP server directly — see https://www.idea-launch.io/mcp.

Installing — Claude Code

Add the marketplace, then install from it:

/plugin marketplace add apsquared/idea-launch-plugin
/plugin install idea-launch@apsquared

Then complete the sign-in:

/mcp

Pick idea-launch and authenticate. Until you do, the server answers 401 and Claude Code reports it as failed to connect — that is the unauthenticated state, not a broken install. The skills load either way; the tools need the sign-in.

Installing — Cursor

The button connects the MCP server only. Cursor also supports the Agent Plugins format, which adds the skills too — see https://cursor.com/docs/plugins.

Installing — skills only, any agent

For an agent that reads SKILL.md files but not this plugin format, install the two skills with the skills.sh CLI:

npx skills add apsquared/idea-launch-plugin

That installs the skills, not the server. Connect the MCP server as well (https://www.idea-launch.io/mcp), since the skills call its tools.

Auth

None to configure. Neither mcp.json nor .mcp.json carries credentials by design. The first call opens a browser sign-in over OAuth 2.1 with dynamic client registration.

License

MIT — see LICENSE. The package is manifests and skill documents; the Idea Launch service itself is governed by its terms of service.

Conformance

This package targets Agent Plugins v1.0.0 and the Agent Skills specification, and additionally ships the Claude Code plugin layout. Conformance is enforced by an automated check on every change: the manifest's closed field set and name rules, the streamable-http server shape, and each skill's frontmatter — including that a skill's name matches its directory. The check also asserts that mcp.json carries no credential-shaped values, since this package is distributed publicly.