About SaaS Puppy
SaaS Puppy MCP lets AI assistants look up and compare free-tier developer tools using the live directory. It returns plan details, trade-offs, and caveats without changing anything.
Key features
- 01Look up a tool by name
- 02Compare two or three tools
- 03Browse category examples
- 04Filter by plan type
- 05Show verification dates and listing links
Use cases
- 01Check what a developer tool’s free plan includes
- 02Compare hosting options for a side project
- 03Find free email tools that require no card
MCP support
Exposes `list_tools` and `compare_tools` to MCP clients. The hosted endpoint needs no authentication; a local package also forwards requests to it.
Configuration
Remote servers need no local install. Pick your client, then copy the config or install in one click.
https://saaspuppy.com/MCPclaude mcp add --transport http rahulparathy-saas-puppy https://saaspuppy.com/MCP{"mcpServers":{"rahulparathy-saas-puppy":{"type":"http","url":"https://saaspuppy.com/MCP"}}}Open in Cursor{"servers":{"rahulparathy-saas-puppy":{"type":"http","url":"https://saaspuppy.com/MCP"}}}Open in VS Code{"mcpServers":{"rahulparathy-saas-puppy":{"type":"http","url":"https://saaspuppy.com/MCP"}}}{"mcpServers":{"rahulparathy-saas-puppy":{"serverUrl":"https://saaspuppy.com/MCP"}}}Run commands in a terminal; paste JSON into the client’s MCP config and restart. Servers that need sign-in will prompt on first connect.
Tools
Details
From the project README
SaaS Puppy MCP
Let your AI assistant look things up in SaaS Puppy, a directory of free-tier developer tools.
Ask it about one tool, or have it compare two or three. For each one you get what the free plan includes, the good and bad points, and the catch, plus a link to the full listing.
- No sign-up, no API key, no cost.
- Read-only. It can look things up. It cannot change anything.
- Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, VS Code, Claude Code and any other app that supports MCP.
What is MCP?
MCP (Model Context Protocol) is a standard way to plug extra abilities into an AI assistant. Think of it as a power adapter: once this one is plugged in, your assistant can check SaaS Puppy for you instead of guessing from memory.
What can I ask?
After you connect it, ask in plain language:
- "What does Neon's free plan include, and what's the catch?"
- "Compare Supabase and Neon for a side project."
- "Show me a few free hosting options."
- "Show me a few free email tools and tell me which ones need a credit card."
- "Is there a free open-source option for uptime monitoring?"
The assistant picks the right tool and shows you the answer. You never call the tools yourself.
Set it up
Pick the way that matches your app. The first is the easiest because there is nothing to install.
The easy way: use the web address
Use this address, with no authentication:
https://saaspuppy.com/MCP
| App | What to do |
|---|---|
| Claude (web and desktop) | Settings, then Connectors, then add a custom connector. Paste the address and choose no authentication. |
| ChatGPT | Add a custom remote MCP connection (where your plan supports it). Paste the address and choose no authentication. |
| Cursor | Settings, then MCP, then add a remote server with the address. |
| Claude Code | Run claude mcp add --transport http saas-puppy https://saaspuppy.com/MCP |
| VS Code | See docs/clients.md. |
More apps (Hermes Agent, OpenClaw and others) are in docs/clients.md. App menus change often, so if a step looks different, follow the app's own MCP help and use the address above.
The local way: run the package on your computer
Some apps only support local servers. For those, install Node.js (version 20 or newer), then add this to the app's MCP settings:
{
"mcpServers": {
"saas-puppy": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "saas-puppy-mcp"]
}
}
}
For Claude Code: claude mcp add saas-puppy -- npx -y saas-puppy-mcp
Check that it works
On your computer, run:
npx -y saas-puppy-mcp --check
You should see:
Checking the SaaS Puppy MCP at https://saaspuppy.com/MCP
PASS Connected to the directory.
PASS Found both tools: list_tools and compare_tools.
PASS Asked a test question and got an answer.
All good. Your AI app can use this server.
If a line says FAIL, it also tells you what to try next.
Questions
Is it really free? Yes. There is no account, key or limit you need to manage. The hosted address is shared, so it has fair-use limits and may slow down if someone sends too many requests.
Does it see my files or chats? No. It only receives the lookup your assistant sends (for example, "Neon") and returns an answer. It holds no keys, reads no files and has no analytics of its own.
Why won't it list every tool? On purpose. The full directory is on saaspuppy.com. The assistant can look up one tool, a few examples from one category, or compare two or three tools. It declines requests to dump or page through everything.
What does "temporarily unavailable" mean? The package could not reach saaspuppy.com. Wait a minute and ask again. If it keeps happening, run the check above.
Where does the data come from? From the live SaaS Puppy directory. Each answer includes the date the listing was last verified. Prices and limits change, so open the linked page before you rely on a number.
npx says "command not found". Install Node.js from nodejs.org (the LTS version is fine), then restart your app.
Something else is wrong. Open an issue and paste the output of --check.
The two tools
| Tool | What it returns |
|---|---|
list_tools | A short summary of one tool by exact name or slug, or up to three examples from one category. Can filter by free-forever, free-trial, open-source or self-hosted. |
compare_tools | Side-by-side summaries for two or three tools in the same category. |
Each summary has the tool's purpose, up to three good things and three bad things, the catch, a free-tier summary, pricing models, trial days, whether a card is required, the date it was last verified, and the SaaS Puppy page URL.
For developers
How it works
This package is a small proxy. It defines the two tools locally, with the same names, input schemas and instructions as the hosted public MCP, so clients and registries can list them without a network call. When a tool runs, the package forwards the request to the hosted endpoint and returns the answer.
- No secrets and no database access. All data and all limits live on the SaaS Puppy server.
- One source of truth. Listings, verification dates and rate limits come from the site, so the package never serves stale data.
- Fail-soft. If the hosted endpoint is unreachable, tools return a plain error that points to saaspuppy.com instead of crashing the client.
- Local guard. Bulk, wildcard and pagination requests are refused before they leave your machine.
Run modes
npx -y saas-puppy-mcp # stdio (default)
npx -y saas-puppy-mcp --http --port 8080 # Streamable HTTP at /mcp, health check at /healthz
npx -y saas-puppy-mcp --check # self-test
The HTTP mode is stateless, so it runs behind any load balancer. A Dockerfile is included:
docker build -t saas-puppy-mcp .
docker run --rm -p 8080:8080 saas-puppy-mcp
Configuration
| Setting | Flag | Environment variable | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upstream public MCP | --endpoint | SAAS_PUPPY_MCP_URL | https://saaspuppy.com/MCP |
| Upstream timeout (ms) | --timeout | SAAS_PUPPY_MCP_TIMEOUT_MS | 20000 |
HTTP port (with --http) | --port | PORT | 8080 |
| HTTP bind address | --host | none | 0.0.0.0 |
The upstream address must use https. Plain http is accepted only for localhost, for development.
Develop
npm install
npm run check # typecheck, build and test in one go
The tests run a mock of the hosted endpoint, so they need no network.
| File | Purpose |
|---|---|
src/server.ts | Builds the MCP server and registers the two tools. |
src/tools.ts | Tool names, descriptions and input schemas. |
src/lookup.ts | Local copy of the bulk-request guard. |
src/remote.ts | Client for the hosted endpoint, with reconnect and timeout. |
src/http.ts | Stateless Streamable HTTP server. |
src/check.ts | The --check self-test. |
src/cli.ts | Command-line entry point. |
See CONTRIBUTING.md to send a change.
Publishing
Maintainers: docs/launch-guide.md is a step-by-step launch checklist in plain English, and docs/publishing.md has the registry details.
License
MIT. SaaS Puppy listing data belongs to SaaS Puppy and is served under the terms at saaspuppy.com.
Comments
New to MCP?
From what the protocol is to installing your first server, these answers cover most first questions.
An open protocol that defines how AI applications connect to external tools and data in a uniform way. Clients talk to the model; MCP servers provide tools, resources and prompt templates. They exchange standard messages, so one server can be reused by many clients.