ShortsCut MCP

Check before you build. A similar SaaS might already exist.

An MCP server for vibe coders. Validate your idea, analyze competitors, and get tech stack recommendations — all inside your AI coding tool (Claude Code, Cursor, etc.).

한국어 README

Why?

You:  "Build me an AI receipt organizer app"
AI:   "Sure, let me start coding..." → starts building immediately 😱

With ShortsCut MCP:
AI:   "I found 5 similar services. Here are differentiation opportunities..."

Before you vibe-code a SaaS, check if someone already built it.

Installation

Claude Code

claude mcp add shortscut -- npx -y shortscut-mcp

Or add to your config file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "shortscut": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "shortscut-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Cursor

Settings → MCP Servers:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "shortscut": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "shortscut-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Environment Variables (Optional)

Add API keys for better search results. Works without them too.

# Web search (pick one)
TAVILY_API_KEY=tvly-...        # Tavily (recommended, https://tavily.com)
SERPAPI_KEY=...                 # SerpAPI (https://serpapi.com)

# Additional sources
PRODUCTHUNT_TOKEN=...          # Product Hunt API
GITHUB_TOKEN=ghp_...           # GitHub (relaxes rate limits)

Tools

search_similar

Search for existing products similar to your idea. Returns competitor analysis and differentiation suggestions.

Input: "AI invoice generator for freelancers"

Output:
  🔍 5 similar products found | Competition: ★★★☆☆

  Product Hunt (2)
  - InvoiceBot — AI invoice generation (▲ 89)
  - FreelancePay — Freelancer payment management (▲ 45)

  GitHub (1)
  - invoice-ninja — Open source invoicing (⭐ 8.2k · PHP)

  💡 Differentiation opportunities
  - Localization (🟢 Low) — No Korean/Japanese market tools
  - Mobile app (🟢 Low) — Most are web-only
  - Browser extension (🟢 Low) — No extension-based solution

suggest_differentiation

Analyze differentiation strategies against competitors.

Input: idea="AI copywriting", competitors=["CopyGenius", "WriteFlow"]

Output:
  Common traits: English-focused, web app, subscription model
  Gaps: non-English markets, short-form social content, browser extension
  Recommended: "Short-form social media copy generator (browser extension)"

tech_stack_suggest

Get tech stack recommendations based on your idea. Auto-detects your current project setup.

Input: idea="AI invoice tool", category="fintech"

Output:
  Recommended stack:
  - Next.js + Supabase — Auth, Row Level Security
  - Stripe or local payment gateway
  - Chart.js or Recharts — Data visualization

  Estimated monthly cost: $0 (free tier)

Data Sources

Source	API Key Required	Description
Web Search	Tavily or SerpAPI	General web search for similar SaaS
Product Hunt	Yes	Search launched products
GitHub	Optional (rate limits)	Search open source projects

Without any API keys, basic analysis (keyword extraction, category matching, differentiation suggestions) still works.

Want to add a new data source? → CONTRIBUTING.md

Contributing

This is an open source project. We especially welcome:

• 🔌 New data sources — Indie Hackers, AlternativeTo, SaaS directories, regional platforms
• 🔧 Search accuracy improvements — keyword extraction, category matching algorithms
• 🌍 Localization — better support for non-English searches (Japanese, Chinese, etc.)
• 🛠 New tools — demand estimation, pricing strategy suggestions, etc.

See CONTRIBUTING.md for details.

License

MIT