New on ShipDesk: launch from Claude Code or Cursor, and launch iOS and Android apps
George · 3 min read
It has been a busy week on ShipDesk. Most of what shipped came from founders asking for it in replies and messages, so here is everything new in one place.
Launch from Claude Code or Cursor
If you build with an AI assistant, you can now launch without leaving your editor. ShipDesk has an MCP server: connect Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code or Claude Desktop once, then ask it to launch your project.
"launch this project on ShipDesk"
Your assistant reads your README and your website, writes the name, the one line and the description, picks the tags, adds screenshots, and makes a private draft on ShipDesk. It replies with a link, and you finish on the site: check the draft, pick a launch day and send it in.
Your assistant can make and change drafts. It can not send a launch in or pay for one. Those steps stay with you.
Setting it up takes a minute:
- Make a key in your dashboard settings, under launch from your AI assistant. It is free.
- In Claude Code, run the one line from the setup page. For Cursor, VS Code and Claude Desktop, the same page has the few lines to paste.
- Ask your assistant to launch your project.
MCP, the Model Context Protocol, is an open standard for letting AI assistants use other services. There is nothing to pay for it, on our side or yours.
iOS and Android apps can launch, no website needed
A lot of founders ship phone apps that do not have a landing page. Now they can launch too.
- On the first step of the launch form, tick where people can get it: website, App Store, Google Play, or any mix.
- Paste your App Store or Google Play link and the name, description and icon fill in from your store listing.
- Your launch page shows Download on the App Store and Get it on Google Play badges where the visit button would be.
- Phone screenshots show tall (9:16), side by side, the way the app stores show them. The screenshot step tells you the best size: 1080 × 1920 for phones, 1920 × 1080 for websites.
- The picture your launch shares on X and LinkedIn says iPhone app or Android app.
On all launches you can narrow everything down to web apps, iOS apps or Android apps, one, two or all three.
A launch day spotlight on fast
The fast plan ($5.99) used to mean no upvotes needed and a review within 24 hours. It now also puts your launch in the home page's premium row and at the top of its categories on launch day.
Featured ($19.99) keeps all of that for 7 days, sits above fast, and stays pinned at the top of the weekly board all week. Every category page and all launches now show featured launches first.
The pricing on the home page is now one table, so you can see free, fast and featured side by side. Free still gets its own launch page, a spot on the weekly board and a dofollow backlink.
Smaller fixes
- After paying, you come back to your launch with a thank you, not to the first step of the form.
- Launch page views are counted whether or not a visitor accepts analytics cookies. Counting uses no cookies at all.
- Adding a Google Play link after your App Store details are read no longer clears the form's progress.
What is next
I am building ShipDesk in public, and almost everything here started as a reply from a founder. If something would make your launch easier, tell me on X.