An MCP server that turns your AI assistant into a structured ideation partner. Generate, score, critique, and store software ideas — with a built-in web dashboard. All local.
You talk to your AI assistant like normal. Idea Lab gives it tools to run a structured pipeline.
"Here are my ideas from last month's brainstorm" — paste messy notes and they get auto-structured and scored.
"Refine this with a weekend-buildable constraint" — escalating constraints force clarity until the idea passes or cracks.
"Decompose this into things I can ship" — splits into 3-7 independently shippable micro-products with a "start here" pick.
"Show me my highest-rated ideas"
"What have I not looked at in a while?"
"Reimagine that CLI tool as a SaaS product"
"Create an MVP plan for my top idea"
Every idea is checked for duplicates against your entire database. Your assistant remembers across sessions.
A built-in visual interface for browsing and managing your ideas. Starts automatically — no separate process.
Drag-and-drop ideas between status columns. See title, domain, score, and verdict at a glance on every card.
Force-directed visualization showing how ideas connect through mutations. Node size scales with score. Click to inspect.
Domain heat map and sortable breakdown table. See where your ideas cluster and which domains score highest.
Click any idea for a full breakdown: radar chart scores, critique flags, MVP steps, tags, and lineage links.
Toggle in the navbar. Respects your OS preference and remembers your choice across sessions.
The dashboard starts with the MCP server on port 3001. Just open localhost:3001 or use the open_dashboard tool.
For the full guide, see the Web Dashboard Guide.
Two options — npm package or from source.
npm install idea-lab-mcp cd node_modules/idea-lab-mcp node build/db/migrate.js # creates ~/.idea-lab/ideas.db
git clone https://github.com/mordiaky/idea-lab-mcp.git cd idea-lab-mcp npm install npm run build # compiles server + web dashboard npm run db:migrate # creates ~/.idea-lab/ideas.db
Requires Node.js 22+. If npm install fails, see
platform setup
for macOS / Windows / Linux build tool instructions.
Works with any MCP client. Pick yours and add the config below.
{
"servers": {
"idea-lab": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "node",
"args": ["/absolute/path/to/idea-lab-mcp/build/index.js"]
}
}
}Requires GitHub Copilot with agent mode enabled.
{
"mcpServers": {
"idea-lab": {
"command": "node",
"args": ["/absolute/path/to/idea-lab-mcp/build/index.js"]
}
}
}Global config. For per-project, use .cursor/mcp.json in your project root.
{
"mcpServers": {
"idea-lab": {
"command": "node",
"args": ["/absolute/path/to/idea-lab-mcp/build/index.js"]
}
}
}mcpServers: - name: idea-lab command: node args: - /absolute/path/to/idea-lab-mcp/build/index.js
{
"mcpServers": {
"idea-lab": {
"command": "node",
"args": ["/absolute/path/to/idea-lab-mcp/build/index.js"]
}
}
}Or use the MCP Servers panel in Cline's UI to add it visually.
{
"mcpServers": {
"idea-lab": {
"command": "node",
"args": ["/absolute/path/to/idea-lab-mcp/build/index.js"]
}
}
}Fully quit and restart the app after editing.
claude mcp add idea-lab -- node /absolute/path/to/idea-lab-mcp/build/index.js
{
"context_servers": {
"idea-lab": {
"source": "custom",
"command": "node",
"args": ["/absolute/path/to/idea-lab-mcp/build/index.js"]
}
}
}"source": "custom" is required for Zed.
Each idea is scored 0-10 on 7 dimensions with different weights.
| Dimension | Weight | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| Novelty | 25% | Is this genuinely new? |
| Usefulness | 25% | Does it solve a real problem? |
| Feasibility | 20% | Can it actually be built? |
| Testability | 15% | Can you validate it works? |
| Speed to MVP | 10% | How fast to a working prototype? |
| Defensibility | 5% | Is it hard to copy? |
| Clarity | gate | Is the idea well-defined? (min 5 to pass, not in composite) |
Ideas need to clear minimums to advance: feasibility ≥ 7, usefulness ≥ 7, novelty ≥ 6, composite ≥ 6.5.
Ideas move through stages as they're evaluated. Drag cards on the Kanban board or use MCP tools.
Rejected is reachable from any stage. Needs-revision loops back to in-progress.
Everything your assistant needs to run the full ideation pipeline.