# Idea Launch — Agent Plugin
[Idea Launch](https://www.idea-launch.io) 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](https://agent-plugins.org) 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
[](https://cursor.com/install-mcp?name=idea-launch&config=eyJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy5pZGVhLWxhdW5jaC5pby9hcGkvbWNwIn0%3D)
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](https://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](./LICENSE). The package is manifests and skill documents;
the Idea Launch service itself is governed by its
[terms of service](https://www.idea-launch.io/tos).
## 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.