# Launchpad HQ (remote · www.launchpadhq.io)

Read-only, sourced and dated facts on AI tools: search, compare, pricing, free alternatives.

- Trust score: 78/100 (medium)
- Change this week: +3
- Registry status: active
- Liveness: live
- Owner verified: no
- Last scored: 2026-11-05

## Components

- remote · `www.launchpadhq.io`: 78/100 (this document), [markdown](https://verifymcp.io/servers/io-launchpadhq-launchpad-hq/www.md), [page](https://verifymcp.io/servers/io-launchpadhq-launchpad-hq/www)

## Channel facts

- Endpoint: `https://www.launchpadhq.io/mcp`
- Transports: `streamable-http`
- Auth: `none`
- Version: `0.1.2`

## Trust breakdown

How this component scores in each security and reliability category. Every signal is checked automatically against the live server, and we only credit what we can confirm. Scores are 0–100 per category. Scoring method: https://verifymcp.io/docs/scoring (what has changed: https://verifymcp.io/docs/scoring/changelog)

Scored 2026-11-05.

- **Endpoint Security**: 80/100
  - The endpoint's TLS certificate is valid, in date, and uses a strong key.
  - No authorisation is required to call this server. Every tool declares its destructiveHint and none is destructive, so open access doesn't expose one.
  - HTTPS is enforced; there's no plaintext access path.
  - The HSTS (Strict-Transport-Security) header is present.
  - DNSSEC check failed: this domain isn't protected by DNSSEC.
- **Transport & Reachability**: 100/100
  - Verified streamable-http transport via a live MCP handshake.
- **Schema Quality & AI Usability**: 73/100
  - AI-judged instruction clarity (good).
  - Context-footprint check failed: tool/resource definitions use about 518 tokens (~129/item across 4 items; 4 tools + 0 resources), over budget; trim descriptions and params.
  - Usage-examples check failed: none of the tools include examples.
- **Stability & Change Management**: 33/100
  - Stability observed for 10 of 30 days with no destabilising changes; credit accrues until the full window elapses.
- **Tool Coverage**: 100/100
  - 100% of tools have a non-trivial description (not blank, and not just the tool's name).
  - 100% of tool parameters carry a description.
  - Structured output schemas are declared (100% of tools); any adoption earns full credit.
- **Tool Safety**: 100/100
  - No prompt-injection markers were found in the server instructions, tool names or descriptions we captured.
  - We read all 4 captured tool definition(s), and no name or description among them implies an irreversible operation.
  - An AI judge read all 5 captured unit(s) of tool text and found none that tries to manipulate the model reading it.
- **Capabilities**: 100/100
  - Implements a current MCP spec version (2026-07-28).

## Install

### How do I install the Launchpad HQ MCP server?

Launchpad HQ is a hosted endpoint at https://www.launchpadhq.io/mcp, so there is nothing to install locally. Ready-made configuration for Claude, Cursor, VS Code, Codex and 5 more is on this page, copied from each client's own documentation.

### Claude

```bash
claude mcp add --transport http io-launchpadhq-launchpad-hq 'https://www.launchpadhq.io/mcp'
```

### Cursor

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "io-launchpadhq-launchpad-hq": {
      "url": "https://www.launchpadhq.io/mcp"
    }
  }
}
```

### VS Code

```json
{
  "servers": {
    "io-launchpadhq-launchpad-hq": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://www.launchpadhq.io/mcp"
    }
  }
}
```

### Codex

```toml
[mcp_servers.io-launchpadhq-launchpad-hq]
url = "https://www.launchpadhq.io/mcp"
```

### opencode

```json
{
  "$schema": "https://opencode.ai/config.json",
  "mcp": {
    "io-launchpadhq-launchpad-hq": {
      "type": "remote",
      "url": "https://www.launchpadhq.io/mcp",
      "enabled": true
    }
  }
}
```

### OpenClaw

```bash
openclaw mcp add io-launchpadhq-launchpad-hq --url 'https://www.launchpadhq.io/mcp' --transport streamable-http
```

### Hermes

```yaml
mcp_servers:
  io-launchpadhq-launchpad-hq:
    url: "https://www.launchpadhq.io/mcp"
```

### Netclaw

```json
{
  "McpServers": {
    "io-launchpadhq-launchpad-hq": {
      "Transport": "http",
      "Url": "https://www.launchpadhq.io/mcp"
    }
  }
}
```

### Vellum

```bash
assistant mcp add io-launchpadhq-launchpad-hq -t streamable-http -u 'https://www.launchpadhq.io/mcp'
```

### Other

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "io-launchpadhq-launchpad-hq": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://www.launchpadhq.io/mcp"
    }
  }
}
```

The mcpServers block is a cross-client convention. Remote transports vary, so check your client's docs.

## Changelog

Every change recorded for this component, newest first. Days that predate change tracking, or that we cannot explain, say so: "we were watching and nothing happened" and "we were not watching" are different claims.

### 2026-11-05 (score 78, +1)

No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 30 to 33. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 9 days of observed history at the previous scan, 10 at this one. The score rises as the window fills, whether or not the server changes.

### 2026-11-03 (score 77, +1)

No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 23 to 27. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 7 days of observed history at the previous scan, 8 at this one. The score rises as the window fills, whether or not the server changes.

### 2026-10-31 (score 76, +1)

No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 13 to 17. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 4 days of observed history at the previous scan, 5 at this one. The score rises as the window fills, whether or not the server changes.

### 2026-10-29 (score 75, +1)

No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 7 to 10. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 2 days of observed history at the previous scan, 3 at this one. The score rises as the window fills, whether or not the server changes.

### 2026-10-28 (score 74, +1)

- [security] Tool “search_tools” rewrote its description, which is the text the model reads
- [functional regression] Schema quality: pass → fail
- [functional improvement] Tool coverage: 89% → 100%
- [cosmetic] “search_tools” reworded the description of “budget”
- [cosmetic] “search_tools” reworded the description of “platform_type”
- [cosmetic] “search_tools” reworded the description of “task”

### 2026-10-27 (score 73, 0)

- [functional improvement] Stability: unverified → 0.03
- [functional] Server version: 0.1.1 → 0.1.2

### 2026-10-26 (score 73)

First indexed and scored.

## MCP tools (4)

### `search_tools` (~212 tokens)

Search AI tools

Use this when the user wants to find AI tools for a task, optionally within a budget, skill level or platform. Returns Launchpad HQ catalog matches with dated, sourced free-tier facts where available. Items with fallback: true are popular tools, not direct matches; stale: true means the facts are over 90 days old.

Input parameters:

- `budget` (string): Budget band. 'free' keeps only free or freemium tools; 'low' keeps free/freemium tools or a lowest paid plan up to $20/month, 'medium' up to $50/month (unknown prices rank lower).
- `limit` (integer): Max results (1-10, default 5).
- `platform_type` (string): Tools available there rank first.
- `skill_level` (string): User's skill level. Tools above it rank lower.
- `task` (string, required): What the user wants to do, e.g. 'transcribe meetings' or 'make slides'. Only the first 200 characters are searched.

Output parameters:

- `attribution` (string)
- `corrected_query` (string|null)
- `data_as_of` (string|null)
- `fallback`
- `note` (string|null)
- `query` (string)
- `results` (array)
- `total_matches` (integer)

### `compare` (~66 tokens)

Compare AI tools

Use this when the user wants to compare 2 to 4 specific AI tools side by side: plans, API pricing, usage limits and platforms, each with its own as_of date and source.

Input parameters:

- `platforms` (array, required): 2-4 Launchpad HQ platform slugs or names.

Output parameters:

- `attribution` (string)
- `data_as_of` (string|null)
- `did_you_mean` (array)
- `items` (array)
- `not_found` (array)

### `get_pricing_facts` (~63 tokens)

Get pricing facts

Use this when the user asks what one AI tool costs or what its free tier includes. Returns verified pricing facts first; catalog text only when no verified price exists, labeled catalog_only.

Input parameters:

- `platform` (string, required): A Launchpad HQ platform slug or name.

Output parameters:

- `api_pricing`
- `attribution` (string)
- `catalog_pricing_text` (string|null)
- `data_as_of` (string|null)
- `free_tier`
- `lifecycle` (string)
- `plans`
- `platform` (object)
- `usage_limits`
- `verification` (string)

### `find_free_alternatives` (~76 tokens)

Find free alternatives

Use this when the user wants a free or freemium alternative to a specific AI tool. Verified free tiers rank first; catalog-only matches are labeled unverified.

Input parameters:

- `limit` (integer): Max alternatives (1-10, default 5).
- `platform` (string, required): A Launchpad HQ platform slug or name.

Output parameters:

- `alternatives` (array)
- `attribution` (string)
- `data_as_of` (string|null)
- `for`

## Diagnostics

Captured diagnostic sections: TLS, DNSSEC, Authorisation, Transports. The full working is on the page: https://verifymcp.io/servers/io-launchpadhq-launchpad-hq/www#diagnostics

## Score history

- 2026-11-05: 78
- 2026-11-04: 77
- 2026-11-03: 77
- 2026-11-02: 76
- 2026-11-01: 76
- 2026-10-31: 76
- 2026-10-30: 75
- 2026-10-29: 75
- 2026-10-28: 74
- 2026-10-27: 73
- 2026-10-26: 73

## Common questions

### What is the Launchpad HQ MCP server?

Launchpad HQ is an MCP server listed in the public MCP registry as io.launchpadhq/launchpad-hq. Read-only, sourced and dated facts on AI tools: search, compare, pricing, free alternatives. This page covers its hosted endpoint (https://www.launchpadhq.io/mcp).

### Is the Launchpad HQ MCP server safe to use?

Launchpad HQ scores 78 out of 100 on VerifyMCP. That is a record of what we were able to check automatically, not an endorsement. The category breakdown on this page shows every signal behind the number, including the ones we could not confirm.

### What tools does the Launchpad HQ MCP server expose?

Launchpad HQ exposes 4 tools: search_tools, compare, get_pricing_facts, find_free_alternatives. Their descriptions and schemas cost roughly 417 tokens of context every time the server is loaded.

### Does the Launchpad HQ MCP server require authentication?

No. We connected to Launchpad HQ without credentials and it answered, so anything it exposes is reachable by anyone who knows the address.

### Is the Launchpad HQ MCP server still maintained?

Launchpad HQ is still listed as active in the MCP registry. We last reached this channel on 5 November 2026. Those dates come from our own scans of the registry and the channel itself, not from anything the publisher announced.

## Links

- Remote endpoint: https://www.launchpadhq.io/mcp
- Repository: https://github.com/stevensonzj-ai/launchpad-hq
- Website: https://www.launchpadhq.io/connector
- Changelog RSS feed: https://verifymcp.io/servers/io-launchpadhq-launchpad-hq/www.xml
- Changelog JSON feed: https://verifymcp.io/servers/io-launchpadhq-launchpad-hq/www.json
- HTML version of this page: https://verifymcp.io/servers/io-launchpadhq-launchpad-hq/www