# MCPEngine Studio — Product Specification

> **"Retool for MCP"** — The no-code visual builder for MCP servers and MCP Apps.
> Version: 1.0 Draft | Last Updated: June 2025 | Author: MCPEngine Team

---

## Table of Contents

1. [Executive Summary](#1-executive-summary)
2. [Product Vision](#2-product-vision)
3. [Market Context & Competitive Landscape](#3-market-context--competitive-landscape)
4. [User Personas](#4-user-personas)
5. [Core User Journeys](#5-core-user-journeys)
6. [Feature Matrix & Pricing](#6-feature-matrix--pricing)
7. [Pipeline Skills → Product Feature Mapping](#7-pipeline-skills--product-feature-mapping)
8. [Product Roadmap](#8-product-roadmap)
9. [Technical Architecture](#9-technical-architecture)
10. [Integration Points](#10-integration-points)
11. [Launch KPIs & Success Metrics](#11-launch-kpis--success-metrics)
12. [Risks & Mitigations](#12-risks--mitigations)
13. [Appendix: Glossary](#13-appendix-glossary)

---

## 1. Executive Summary

MCPEngine Studio is a browser-based, no-code visual platform for building, testing, and deploying MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers and MCP Apps. Hosted at **mcpengine.com**, it transforms what currently requires senior TypeScript developers and weeks of work into a guided, visual workflow that anyone — from non-technical founders to enterprise platform teams — can complete in minutes.

**Key differentiators:**
- **Visual builder** — drag-and-drop tool/resource/prompt definition (no competitors offer this)
- **MCP Apps designer** — built-in UI builder for rich structured content apps (unique to MCPEngine)
- **Automated 6-layer testing** — every server is validated before deployment (nobody else does this)
- **One-click hosting** — deploy to Docker, Railway, npm, Cloudflare Workers, or GitHub in seconds
- **37 production servers** as templates — the largest library of battle-tested MCP servers in existence
- **11 pipeline skills** powering every step — proven automation from API analysis to deployment

**The opportunity:** The MCP ecosystem is exploding. Anthropic's protocol is becoming the standard for AI-tool integration. Yet building an MCP server still requires deep TypeScript knowledge, understanding of the protocol spec, manual testing, and DevOps expertise. We collapse that entire stack into a visual workflow backed by 11 battle-tested AI pipeline skills.

---

## 2. Product Vision

### The Problem

Building MCP servers today is painful:

| Step | Current State | Time Required |
|------|--------------|---------------|
| API Analysis | Manual reading of docs, trial-and-error | 2-4 hours |
| Server Scaffolding | Copy-paste boilerplate, TypeScript setup | 1-2 hours |
| Tool Implementation | Hand-write each tool handler, schema validation | 4-8 hours |
| Testing | Manual curl commands, no structured testing | 2-4 hours |
| Deployment | Docker config, hosting setup, CI/CD | 2-4 hours |
| MCP App UI | Not possible without custom development | 8-16 hours |
| **Total** | **19-38 hours per server** | |

### The MCPEngine Studio Solution

| Step | MCPEngine Studio | Time Required |
|------|-----------------|---------------|
| API Analysis | Upload spec → auto-analyzed in seconds | 30 seconds |
| Server Scaffolding | Auto-generated from analysis | Instant |
| Tool Implementation | Visual editor with live preview | 5-15 minutes |
| Testing | Automated 6-layer testing, one click | 30 seconds |
| Deployment | One-click to any target | 30 seconds |
| MCP App UI | Visual designer, 9 patterns | 5-10 minutes |
| **Total** | **~20 minutes per server** | |

### Vision Statement

> MCPEngine Studio is the **Retool for MCP** — just as Retool made internal tools accessible to every team, MCPEngine Studio makes MCP server and MCP App development accessible to every developer, agency, and enterprise. We are building the canonical platform where the world's MCP infrastructure is created, tested, and deployed.

### Strategic Moat

1. **37 production servers** — battle-tested templates covering the most popular APIs
2. **11 pipeline skills** — AI-powered automation that improves with every server built
3. **MCP Apps** — the only platform that builds rich structured-content UIs, not just raw tools
4. **Network effects** — every server published to our marketplace makes the platform more valuable
5. **Data flywheel** — every build improves our analyzer, builder, and tester skills

---

## 3. Market Context & Competitive Landscape

### Market Size

- **TAM:** $12B+ (API integration tooling market, growing 25% YoY)
- **SAM:** $2.1B (developer tooling for AI integration)
- **SOM (Year 1):** $5-15M (MCP-specific tooling, early movers)

### Competitor Analysis

| Company | Funding | What They Do | What They Don't Do |
|---------|---------|-------------|-------------------|
| **Stainless** | $15M Series A | Code-gen SDKs from OpenAPI specs | No visual builder, no MCP Apps, no testing, no hosting |
| **Speakeasy** | $15M Series A | CLI-based SDK generation | CLI only, no visual UI, no MCP Apps, no marketplace |
| **Composio** | Undisclosed | Pre-built integration library | No custom server building, no MCP Apps, limited to their catalog |
| **Postman** | $5.6B valuation | API platform with MCP add-on | MCP is an afterthought, no visual builder, no MCP Apps |
| **Mintlify** | $18.5M | API docs generation | Docs only, no server building |
| **Zapier/Make** | $1.4B+ | No-code automation | Workflow automation, not MCP-native, no protocol-level control |

### MCPEngine Studio Positioning

```
                    Visual Builder
                         ↑
                         |
          MCPEngine ★    |
          Studio         |
                         |
  Pre-built ←————————————+————————————→ Custom Build
  Only                   |
                         |
       Composio •        |    • Stainless
                         |    • Speakeasy
                         |
                         ↓
                    Code-Only
```

**Nobody occupies our quadrant.** We are the only platform offering visual building + custom server creation + MCP Apps + testing + hosting in a single product.

---

## 4. User Personas

### Persona 1: Solo Developer ("Sam")

| Attribute | Details |
|-----------|---------|
| **Role** | Full-stack developer, freelancer or indie hacker |
| **Technical Level** | High — comfortable with TypeScript, APIs, Docker |
| **Pain Point** | Building MCP servers is repetitive; wants to ship faster |
| **Goal** | Build and deploy custom MCP servers in minutes, not hours |
| **Willingness to Pay** | $29/mo for unlimited builds and premium templates |
| **Key Feature** | Spec upload → instant server with visual tool editor |
| **Typical Use** | Builds 2-5 MCP servers/month for personal projects or clients |
| **Success Metric** | Time from API doc to deployed server < 30 minutes |

### Persona 2: Agency Builder ("Alex")

| Attribute | Details |
|-----------|---------|
| **Role** | Technical lead at a digital agency (5-20 person team) |
| **Technical Level** | Medium-High — can code but prefers visual tools for speed |
| **Pain Point** | Clients want AI integrations; building from scratch is too slow |
| **Goal** | Rapidly build and white-label MCP servers + Apps for clients |
| **Willingness to Pay** | $79/mo + $15/seat for team collaboration |
| **Key Feature** | MCP Apps designer for client-facing UIs + team workspaces |
| **Typical Use** | Builds 5-15 MCP servers/month across multiple client projects |
| **Success Metric** | Deliver client MCP integrations in days, not weeks |

### Persona 3: Enterprise Platform Team ("Elena")

| Attribute | Details |
|-----------|---------|
| **Role** | Platform engineer at a mid-large company (500+ employees) |
| **Technical Level** | High — manages internal tooling and infrastructure |
| **Pain Point** | Needs to standardize MCP server creation across the org |
| **Goal** | Centralized platform for building, governing, and deploying MCP servers |
| **Willingness to Pay** | $500+/mo for SSO, audit logs, private registry, SLA |
| **Key Feature** | Team governance, private marketplace, SSO, role-based access |
| **Typical Use** | Manages 20-100+ internal MCP servers with multiple teams |
| **Success Metric** | Standardized MCP infrastructure with compliance and governance |

### Persona 4: Non-Technical Founder ("Nina")

| Attribute | Details |
|-----------|---------|
| **Role** | Startup founder or product manager with a vision, limited technical skills |
| **Technical Level** | Low — can navigate a UI but can't write TypeScript |
| **Pain Point** | Wants to add AI capabilities to their product but can't build MCP servers |
| **Goal** | Create MCP servers and Apps visually without writing any code |
| **Willingness to Pay** | $29/mo — happy to pay for something that replaces hiring a developer |
| **Key Feature** | Upload API docs → get a working server + beautiful App UI, no code |
| **Typical Use** | Builds 1-3 MCP servers for their product, iterates on MCP Apps UI |
| **Success Metric** | Ship an MCP integration without hiring a developer |

---

## 5. Core User Journeys

### Journey 1: Spec-to-Server (All Personas)

**Goal:** Upload an API spec or documentation URL → get a fully functional, tested, deployed MCP server.

#### Screen 1: Dashboard / Home

```
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  MCPEngine Studio                    [Profile] [?]  │
│─────────────────────────────────────────────────────│
│                                                     │
│  ┌──────────┐  ┌──────────┐  ┌──────────┐         │
│  │ + New    │  │ My       │  │ Market-  │         │
│  │ Server   │  │ Servers  │  │ place    │         │
│  └──────────┘  └──────────┘  └──────────┘         │
│                                                     │
│  Recent Projects                                    │
│  ┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐       │
│  │ 🟢 stripe-mcp     deployed  2h ago     │       │
│  │ 🟡 shopify-mcp    testing   5h ago     │       │
│  │ 🔵 github-mcp     draft     1d ago     │       │
│  └─────────────────────────────────────────┘       │
│                                                     │
│  Quick Start Templates (37 production servers)      │
│  [Stripe] [GitHub] [Slack] [Notion] [HubSpot] ...  │
│                                                     │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
```

#### Screen 2: API Spec Upload / Import

```
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  New MCP Server                          [← Back]   │
│─────────────────────────────────────────────────────│
│                                                     │
│  How would you like to start?                       │
│                                                     │
│  ┌──────────────┐  ┌──────────────┐                │
│  │ 📄 Upload    │  │ 🔗 URL      │                │
│  │ OpenAPI/     │  │ Paste API   │                │
│  │ Swagger spec │  │ docs URL    │                │
│  └──────────────┘  └──────────────┘                │
│                                                     │
│  ┌──────────────┐  ┌──────────────┐                │
│  │ 📋 Paste     │  │ 🏗️ Template │                │
│  │ Raw API docs │  │ Start from  │                │
│  │ or markdown  │  │ a template  │                │
│  └──────────────┘  └──────────────┘                │
│                                                     │
│  ┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐       │
│  │ Drop file here or click to browse       │       │
│  │         (.json, .yaml, .md, .txt)       │       │
│  └─────────────────────────────────────────┘       │
│                                                     │
│                              [Analyze →]            │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
```

**Behind the scenes:** `mcp-api-analyzer` skill processes the input, extracting endpoints, auth patterns, data models, rate limits, and pagination strategies.

#### Screen 3: Analysis Review & Tool Selection

```
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  API Analysis: Stripe API             [← Back]      │
│─────────────────────────────────────────────────────│
│                                                     │
│  ✅ Analysis Complete — 47 endpoints found          │
│                                                     │
│  Suggested Tools (select which to include):         │
│  ┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐       │
│  │ ☑ create_customer      POST /customers  │       │
│  │ ☑ list_customers       GET  /customers  │       │
│  │ ☑ create_payment       POST /payments   │       │
│  │ ☐ delete_subscription  DEL  /subs/{id}  │       │
│  │ ☑ get_invoice          GET  /invoices   │       │
│  │   ... 42 more tools                     │       │
│  └─────────────────────────────────────────┘       │
│                                                     │
│  Auth: Bearer Token (API Key)                       │
│  Rate Limit: 100 req/sec detected                   │
│  Pagination: cursor-based detected                  │
│                                                     │
│  [Select All] [Deselect All]  [Build Server →]     │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
```

**Behind the scenes:** `mcp-server-builder` generates the full TypeScript MCP server code from the selected tools.

#### Screen 4: Visual Tool Editor

```
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Tool Editor: create_customer         [← Back]      │
│─────────────────────────────────────────────────────│
│  ┌─────────────────┬───────────────────────┐       │
│  │ Tools (12)      │ create_customer       │       │
│  │                 │                       │       │
│  │ • create_cust.. │ Description:          │       │
│  │ • list_custo..  │ [Create a new Stripe] │       │
│  │ • create_pay..  │ [customer record    ] │       │
│  │ • get_invoice   │                       │       │
│  │ • update_sub..  │ Input Schema:         │       │
│  │ • ...           │ ┌─────────────────┐   │       │
│  │                 │ │ email: string ★  │   │       │
│  │ Resources (3)   │ │ name: string     │   │       │
│  │ • config        │ │ phone?: string   │   │       │
│  │ • rate_limits   │ │ [+ Add Field]    │   │       │
│  │ • api_status    │ └─────────────────┘   │       │
│  │                 │                       │       │
│  │ Prompts (2)     │ [Live Preview ▶]      │       │
│  │ • analyze_rev   │ [View Generated Code] │       │
│  │ • suggest_ac..  │                       │       │
│  └─────────────────┴───────────────────────┘       │
│                                                     │
│  [💾 Save] [🧪 Test] [🚀 Deploy] [📱 Build App]   │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
```

#### Screen 5: Testing Dashboard

```
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Test Results: stripe-mcp             [← Back]      │
│─────────────────────────────────────────────────────│
│                                                     │
│  6-Layer Test Suite                                  │
│  ┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐       │
│  │ ✅ Layer 1: Schema Validation    PASS   │       │
│  │ ✅ Layer 2: Type Safety          PASS   │       │
│  │ ✅ Layer 3: MCP Protocol         PASS   │       │
│  │ ✅ Layer 4: Tool Execution       PASS   │       │
│  │ ⚠️ Layer 5: Edge Cases          1 WARN  │       │
│  │ ✅ Layer 6: Integration          PASS   │       │
│  └─────────────────────────────────────────┘       │
│                                                     │
│  ⚠️ Warning: create_customer missing error handler  │
│     for 429 rate limit response                     │
│     [Auto-fix →] [Ignore]                           │
│                                                     │
│  Test Coverage: 94% | Tools Tested: 12/12           │
│                                                     │
│  [Re-run Tests] [View Logs] [Deploy Anyway →]       │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
```

**Behind the scenes:** `mcp-qa-tester` runs all 6 layers of automated validation.

#### Screen 6: Deployment

```
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Deploy: stripe-mcp                   [← Back]      │
│─────────────────────────────────────────────────────│
│                                                     │
│  Choose deployment target:                          │
│                                                     │
│  ┌──────────────┐  ┌──────────────┐                │
│  │ 🚂 Railway   │  │ 🐳 Docker   │                │
│  │ One-click    │  │ Container   │                │
│  │ $5/mo host   │  │ self-host   │                │
│  └──────────────┘  └──────────────┘                │
│                                                     │
│  ┌──────────────┐  ┌──────────────┐                │
│  │ 📦 npm       │  │ ☁️ CF       │                │
│  │ Publish to   │  │ Workers     │                │
│  │ npm registry │  │ Edge deploy │                │
│  └──────────────┘  └──────────────┘                │
│                                                     │
│  ┌──────────────┐  ┌──────────────┐                │
│  │ 🏪 Smithery  │  │ 🐙 GitHub   │                │
│  │ Publish to   │  │ Source repo │                │
│  │ marketplace  │  │ with CI/CD  │                │
│  └──────────────┘  └──────────────┘                │
│                                                     │
│  Environment Variables:                              │
│  STRIPE_API_KEY: [••••••••••••] [👁]               │
│                                                     │
│                              [Deploy Now →]         │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
```

**Behind the scenes:** `mcp-deployment` handles Docker builds, Railway deploys, npm publishing, and GitHub repo creation.

### Journey 2: MCP App Design (Persona 2 & 4)

**Goal:** Create a rich UI for an MCP server that renders structured content in Claude/AI clients.

#### Screen 7: MCP App Designer

```
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  MCP App Designer: stripe-mcp         [← Back]      │
│─────────────────────────────────────────────────────│
│  ┌─────────────────┬───────────────────────┐       │
│  │ App Patterns    │ Preview               │       │
│  │                 │ ┌───────────────────┐ │       │
│  │ • Dashboard  ★  │ │ Stripe Dashboard  │ │       │
│  │ • Data Table    │ │                   │ │       │
│  │ • Form          │ │ Revenue: $12,450  │ │       │
│  │ • Detail View   │ │ ████████░░ 83%    │ │       │
│  │ • List/Feed     │ │                   │ │       │
│  │ • Chart         │ │ Recent Payments:  │ │       │
│  │ • Card Grid     │ │ • $99 - John D.  │ │       │
│  │ • Timeline      │ │ • $249 - Sarah K.│ │       │
│  │ • Settings      │ │ • $49 - Mike R.  │ │       │
│  │                 │ └───────────────────┘ │       │
│  │ Components:     │                       │       │
│  │ [Stat Card]     │ Bind to Tool:         │       │
│  │ [Table]         │ [list_payments ▼]     │       │
│  │ [Chart]         │                       │       │
│  │ [Button]        │ Auto-map Fields:      │       │
│  │ [Form Input]    │ ☑ amount → stat       │       │
│  │ [+ Custom]      │ ☑ customer → label    │       │
│  └─────────────────┴───────────────────────┘       │
│                                                     │
│  [💾 Save] [👁 Preview in Claude] [🚀 Publish]     │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
```

**Behind the scenes:** `mcp-app-designer` generates structured HTML using 9 proven UI patterns. `mcp-apps-official` ensures SDK compliance. `mcp-apps-integration` handles structuredContent formatting.

### Journey 3: Template Marketplace (All Personas)

#### Screen 8: Marketplace

```
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  MCPEngine Marketplace                [Search 🔍]   │
│─────────────────────────────────────────────────────│
│                                                     │
│  Featured Servers                                    │
│  ┌────────┐ ┌────────┐ ┌────────┐ ┌────────┐      │
│  │ Stripe │ │ GitHub │ │ Slack  │ │ Notion │      │
│  │ ★★★★★  │ │ ★★★★★  │ │ ★★★★☆  │ │ ★★★★★  │      │
│  │ 1.2k ↓ │ │ 890 ↓  │ │ 654 ↓  │ │ 1.1k ↓ │      │
│  └────────┘ └────────┘ └────────┘ └────────┘      │
│                                                     │
│  Categories:                                         │
│  [Payments] [DevTools] [Marketing] [CRM]            │
│  [Social] [Analytics] [Productivity] [All]          │
│                                                     │
│  Community Servers (newest)                          │
│  ┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐       │
│  │ 📦 linear-mcp by @dev123    ★★★★☆      │       │
│  │ 📦 airtable-mcp by @agency  ★★★★★      │       │
│  │ 📦 twilio-mcp by @telecom   ★★★★☆      │       │
│  └─────────────────────────────────────────┘       │
│                                                     │
│  [Publish Your Server →]                            │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
```

---

## 6. Feature Matrix & Pricing

### Pricing Tiers

| Feature | **Free** | **Pro — $29/mo** | **Team — $79/mo + $15/seat** | **Enterprise — $500+/mo** |
|---------|----------|-------------------|------------------------------|---------------------------|
| **Server Builds** | 3/month | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| **API Analyzer** | ✅ Basic | ✅ Full (advanced extraction) | ✅ Full | ✅ Full + custom rules |
| **Visual Tool Editor** | ✅ Up to 5 tools | ✅ Unlimited tools | ✅ Unlimited tools | ✅ Unlimited tools |
| **Templates** | 5 free templates | All 37 templates | All 37 templates | All + custom internal |
| **6-Layer Testing** | Layers 1-3 only | All 6 layers | All 6 layers + custom | All 6 + compliance suite |
| **Deployment Targets** | npm only | All 6 targets | All 6 targets | All + private registry |
| **MCP Apps Designer** | ❌ | ✅ All 9 patterns | ✅ + custom patterns | ✅ + white-label |
| **Marketplace** | Browse only | Browse + Publish | Browse + Publish + Revenue | Private marketplace |
| **Collaboration** | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ Team workspaces | ✅ Org-wide governance |
| **Version Control** | ❌ | ✅ Git integration | ✅ Git + branching | ✅ Git + approval flows |
| **SSO / SAML** | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| **Audit Logs** | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| **SLA** | Community | Email (48h) | Email (24h) | Dedicated + 99.9% SLA |
| **Custom Domain** | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| **API Access** | ❌ | ✅ REST API | ✅ REST + Webhooks | ✅ Full API + SDKs |

### Revenue Projections (Year 1)

| Metric | Month 3 | Month 6 | Month 12 |
|--------|---------|---------|----------|
| Free Users | 1,000 | 5,000 | 20,000 |
| Pro ($29) | 50 | 250 | 1,000 |
| Team ($79+) | 5 | 25 | 100 |
| Enterprise ($500+) | 0 | 3 | 15 |
| **MRR** | **$1,845** | **$10,225** | **$45,950** |
| **ARR** | **$22K** | **$123K** | **$551K** |

---

## 7. Pipeline Skills → Product Feature Mapping

This is the core of MCPEngine Studio's architecture. Each of our 11 battle-tested pipeline skills powers specific product features:

### Skill 1: `mcp-api-analyzer`
**Pipeline Role:** API documentation → structured analysis

| Product Feature | How It's Used |
|----------------|---------------|
| **Spec Upload & Import** | Parses OpenAPI, Swagger, raw markdown, and URL-scraped docs |
| **Endpoint Discovery** | Identifies all API endpoints, methods, parameters, response types |
| **Auth Detection** | Automatically detects OAuth, API key, Bearer, session-based auth |
| **Rate Limit Extraction** | Finds rate limiting patterns in docs and headers |
| **Pagination Detection** | Identifies cursor, offset, page-based pagination |
| **Smart Tool Suggestion** | Recommends which endpoints should become MCP tools vs. resources |

**User-facing screen:** API Analysis Review (Screen 3)

### Skill 2: `mcp-server-builder`
**Pipeline Role:** Structured analysis → complete TypeScript MCP server

| Product Feature | How It's Used |
|----------------|---------------|
| **Auto Server Generation** | Transforms analysis into full server code with types, handlers, error handling |
| **Tool Code Generation** | Each selected tool gets a complete implementation with Zod schemas |
| **Resource Generation** | Static and dynamic resources auto-generated from API metadata |
| **Prompt Generation** | Suggested prompts based on API capabilities |
| **Code Preview** | "View Generated Code" shows the TypeScript output in the editor |
| **Custom Code Injection** | Pro users can inject custom logic at specific hook points |

**User-facing screen:** Visual Tool Editor (Screen 4), Code Preview panel

### Skill 3: `mcp-app-designer`
**Pipeline Role:** API analysis → HTML app UIs with 9 proven patterns

| Product Feature | How It's Used |
|----------------|---------------|
| **MCP App Designer** | Full visual designer for structured content apps |
| **9 UI Patterns** | Dashboard, Data Table, Form, Detail View, List/Feed, Chart, Card Grid, Timeline, Settings |
| **Auto Data Binding** | Maps tool outputs to UI components automatically |
| **Responsive Preview** | Shows how the app renders in Claude Desktop, web clients |
| **Component Library** | Stat cards, tables, charts, buttons, inputs — all MCP-compatible |
| **Theme Customization** | Color, typography, spacing customization per app |

**User-facing screen:** MCP App Designer (Screen 7)

### Skill 4: `mcp-localbosses-integrator`
**Pipeline Role:** Wire MCP servers into Next.js applications

| Product Feature | How It's Used |
|----------------|---------------|
| **Next.js Integration** | One-click integration into existing Next.js apps |
| **Route Generation** | Auto-generates API routes for MCP server endpoints |
| **Component Embedding** | Embeds MCP App UIs as React components |
| **Auth Middleware** | Wires authentication from Next.js auth to MCP server |
| **Dashboard Widgets** | Embeddable dashboard widgets for monitoring server usage |

**User-facing screen:** Integration Settings panel, Next.js export option

### Skill 5: `mcp-qa-tester`
**Pipeline Role:** 6-layer automated testing

| Product Feature | How It's Used |
|----------------|---------------|
| **Layer 1: Schema Validation** | Validates all tool input/output schemas are correct |
| **Layer 2: Type Safety** | TypeScript compilation check, Zod schema verification |
| **Layer 3: MCP Protocol Compliance** | Verifies server implements MCP protocol correctly |
| **Layer 4: Tool Execution** | Runs each tool with test data, validates responses |
| **Layer 5: Edge Cases** | Tests error handling, rate limits, timeouts, malformed input |
| **Layer 6: Integration** | End-to-end test with real API calls (sandboxed) |
| **Auto-Fix Suggestions** | AI-powered fix suggestions for failing tests |
| **Test Reports** | Exportable test reports for compliance documentation |

**User-facing screen:** Testing Dashboard (Screen 5)

### Skill 6: `mcp-deployment`
**Pipeline Role:** Docker/Railway/npm/GitHub deployment automation

| Product Feature | How It's Used |
|----------------|---------------|
| **Railway Deploy** | One-click deploy to Railway with auto-config |
| **Docker Build** | Generates optimized Dockerfile, builds and pushes image |
| **npm Publish** | Publishes server as npm package with proper package.json |
| **GitHub Repo** | Creates GitHub repo with README, CI/CD, and proper structure |
| **Cloudflare Workers** | Generates Worker-compatible build for edge deployment |
| **Smithery Publish** | Formats and publishes to Smithery marketplace |
| **Environment Management** | Secure env var storage and injection per deployment |
| **Rollback** | One-click rollback to any previous deployment |

**User-facing screen:** Deployment screen (Screen 6)

### Skill 7: `mcp-apps-official`
**Pipeline Role:** MCP Apps SDK, tool+resource patterns

| Product Feature | How It's Used |
|----------------|---------------|
| **SDK Compliance** | Ensures all generated apps follow the official MCP Apps SDK |
| **Tool+Resource Pattern** | Every app properly exposes both tools and resources |
| **Structured Content** | Generates correct structuredContent format for all UIs |
| **App Metadata** | Proper app manifest, icons, descriptions for marketplace |
| **Client Compatibility** | Validates apps work across Claude Desktop, web, and API |

**User-facing screen:** Embedded in App Designer validation, App publish flow

### Skill 8: `mcp-apps-integration`
**Pipeline Role:** structuredContent from 11 GHL apps

| Product Feature | How It's Used |
|----------------|---------------|
| **GHL App Templates** | 11 pre-built GoHighLevel MCP app templates |
| **structuredContent Engine** | Reference implementation for generating structured content |
| **Field Mapping UI** | Visual mapper from API fields to UI components |
| **Dynamic Content** | Real-time data binding for live dashboards and feeds |
| **Cross-App Data Flow** | Share data between multiple MCP apps |

**User-facing screen:** App Designer data binding panel, GHL template library

### Skill 9: `mcp-apps-merged`
**Pipeline Role:** Complete MCP Apps guide (merged knowledge base)

| Product Feature | How It's Used |
|----------------|---------------|
| **In-App Documentation** | Contextual help and tutorials throughout the app designer |
| **Best Practices Engine** | Warns users when they deviate from MCP Apps best practices |
| **Pattern Library** | Curated library of UI patterns with usage guidelines |
| **API Reference** | Built-in API reference for the MCP Apps SDK |
| **Onboarding Tutorials** | Step-by-step guided tutorials for first-time users |

**User-facing screen:** Help panel, onboarding flow, documentation sidebar

### Skill 10: `mcp-server-development`
**Pipeline Role:** TypeScript patterns from 30+ production servers

| Product Feature | How It's Used |
|----------------|---------------|
| **Pattern Library** | Proven patterns for auth, pagination, error handling, caching |
| **Code Quality Rules** | Enforces patterns from 30+ production servers |
| **Auto-Optimization** | Suggests performance improvements based on real-world patterns |
| **Template Generation** | Powers the 37 production server templates |
| **Best Practice Linting** | Real-time linting in the visual editor based on production learnings |
| **Migration Assist** | Helps migrate existing MCP servers to latest patterns |

**User-facing screen:** Code editor hints, optimization suggestions, template library

### Skill 11: `mcp-skill`
**Pipeline Role:** Exa web search and research

| Product Feature | How It's Used |
|----------------|---------------|
| **API Discovery** | Searches for API documentation when user provides just a company name |
| **Changelog Monitoring** | Watches for API changes that might affect deployed servers |
| **Competitor Analysis** | (Internal) Monitors competitor activity for product decisions |
| **Documentation Enrichment** | Supplements sparse API docs with additional context |
| **Trend Detection** | Identifies trending APIs and suggests new server templates |

**User-facing screen:** "Search for API" in spec upload, API changelog alerts

---

## 8. Product Roadmap

### V1 — MVP (Weeks 1-4)

**Theme:** Core build loop — spec to deployed server

| Week | Deliverables |
|------|-------------|
| **Week 1** | Project scaffolding (Next.js 14, Tailwind, Supabase auth), landing page, waitlist |
| **Week 2** | Spec upload flow + `mcp-api-analyzer` integration, analysis review UI |
| **Week 3** | Visual tool editor + `mcp-server-builder` integration, code preview |
| **Week 4** | `mcp-qa-tester` integration (testing dashboard), `mcp-deployment` integration (npm + Railway), Stripe billing |

**V1 Launch Criteria:**
- User can upload an OpenAPI spec
- Analysis extracts endpoints, auth, and suggests tools
- Visual editor allows tool selection and configuration
- 6-layer tests run automatically
- One-click deploy to npm and Railway
- Free tier (3 builds/mo) and Pro tier ($29/mo) active

### V2 — MCP Apps + Marketplace (Weeks 4-8)

**Theme:** Rich UIs and community

| Week | Deliverables |
|------|-------------|
| **Week 5** | MCP App Designer v1 — 3 patterns (Dashboard, Table, Form) |
| **Week 6** | MCP App Designer v2 — remaining 6 patterns, data binding |
| **Week 7** | Marketplace v1 — browse, search, install from 37 templates |
| **Week 8** | Marketplace v2 — community publish, ratings, revenue share |

**V2 Launch Criteria:**
- All 9 UI patterns available in App Designer
- Data binding from tool outputs to UI components works
- Marketplace shows all 37 production servers as templates
- Community can publish servers (Pro tier)
- structuredContent renders correctly in Claude Desktop

### V3 — Team & Enterprise (Months 3-6)

**Theme:** Collaboration, governance, scale

| Month | Deliverables |
|-------|-------------|
| **Month 3** | Team workspaces, role-based access, shared projects |
| **Month 4** | Git integration (branch/merge/PR workflow), version history |
| **Month 5** | Enterprise SSO (SAML/OIDC), audit logs, compliance reports |
| **Month 6** | Private marketplace, custom deployment targets, white-label option |

**V3 Launch Criteria:**
- Teams can collaborate on servers with proper access control
- Git-based version control with branching and PRs
- Enterprise SSO with at least 2 IdP integrations
- Audit logs capture all build, test, and deploy actions
- At least 3 paying enterprise customers

### V4+ — Future Vision (Months 6-12)

- **AI Co-Pilot:** Conversational server building ("Build me a Stripe MCP server with payment tracking")
- **Auto-Update Engine:** Monitors API changes, auto-updates servers, runs tests, deploys
- **MCP Mesh:** Connect multiple MCP servers together in visual workflows
- **On-Prem Edition:** Self-hosted MCPEngine Studio for air-gapped enterprises
- **Mobile App:** Monitor and manage deployed servers from iOS/Android
- **Plugin System:** Third-party plugins for custom deployment targets, testing layers, UI patterns

---

## 9. Technical Architecture

### Stack

| Layer | Technology | Rationale |
|-------|-----------|-----------|
| **Frontend** | Next.js 14 (App Router), React 18, Tailwind CSS | SSR for SEO, React ecosystem, rapid UI development |
| **UI Components** | shadcn/ui + custom components | Accessible, customizable, consistent design system |
| **State Management** | Zustand + React Query | Lightweight, server-state focused |
| **Backend** | Next.js API Routes + Edge Functions | Collocated with frontend, edge-ready |
| **Database** | Supabase (PostgreSQL) | Auth, real-time, storage, row-level security |
| **Auth** | Supabase Auth + NextAuth.js | OAuth, magic links, SSO (enterprise) |
| **File Storage** | Supabase Storage + R2 | Spec files, generated code, build artifacts |
| **Job Queue** | Inngest or Trigger.dev | Long-running builds, deployments, test suites |
| **AI Pipeline** | Our 11 skills via MCP protocol | Dog-fooding — our skills ARE MCP servers |
| **Payments** | Stripe | Billing, subscriptions, usage metering |
| **Hosting** | Vercel (frontend) + Railway (jobs) | Edge deployment, auto-scaling |
| **Monitoring** | PostHog + Sentry | Analytics, error tracking, feature flags |

### Architecture Diagram

```
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                     MCPEngine Studio                      │
│                                                          │
│  ┌──────────┐  ┌──────────┐  ┌──────────┐              │
│  │ Dashboard │  │ Builder  │  │ App      │   Frontend   │
│  │ & Mgmt   │  │ & Editor │  │ Designer │   (Next.js)  │
│  └────┬─────┘  └────┬─────┘  └────┬─────┘              │
│       │              │              │                     │
│  ─────┼──────────────┼──────────────┼─────────────────  │
│       │              │              │                     │
│  ┌────▼──────────────▼──────────────▼─────┐             │
│  │          API Layer (Next.js Routes)     │   Backend   │
│  └────┬──────────────┬──────────────┬─────┘             │
│       │              │              │                     │
│  ┌────▼────┐  ┌──────▼──────┐  ┌───▼─────┐             │
│  │Supabase │  │ Job Queue   │  │ Stripe  │   Services  │
│  │DB/Auth  │  │ (Inngest)   │  │ Billing │             │
│  └─────────┘  └──────┬──────┘  └─────────┘             │
│                       │                                  │
│  ─────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────── │
│                       │                                  │
│  ┌────────────────────▼────────────────────────┐        │
│  │           MCP Skills Pipeline                │        │
│  │                                              │        │
│  │  ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐       │        │
│  │  │Analyzer │→│ Builder │→│ Tester  │       │ Skills  │
│  │  │ Skill 1 │ │ Skill 2 │ │ Skill 5 │       │ Layer   │
│  │  └─────────┘ └─────────┘ └────┬────┘       │        │
│  │                                │             │        │
│  │  ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐ ┌────▼────┐       │        │
│  │  │App Dsgn │ │Apps SDK │ │ Deploy  │       │        │
│  │  │ Skill 3 │ │Skill 7-9│ │ Skill 6 │       │        │
│  │  └─────────┘ └─────────┘ └─────────┘       │        │
│  └─────────────────────────────────────────────┘        │
│                                                          │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
```

### Data Model (Core Entities)

```
User
├── id, email, name, plan, stripe_customer_id
├── created_at, last_login

Organization (Team/Enterprise)
├── id, name, plan, owner_id
├── members: [{ user_id, role }]

Project (MCP Server)
├── id, name, org_id, creator_id
├── api_analysis: JSON (from Skill 1)
├── server_config: JSON (tool selections, overrides)
├── generated_code: TEXT (from Skill 2)
├── test_results: JSON (from Skill 5)
├── app_config: JSON (from Skill 3)
├── deployment_status: ENUM
├── version: INT

Deployment
├── id, project_id, target, status
├── url, environment_vars (encrypted)
├── deployed_at, version

MarketplaceListing
├── id, project_id, publisher_id
├── title, description, category
├── downloads, rating, revenue
```

---

## 10. Integration Points

### Smithery (MCP Marketplace)

| Integration | Details |
|-------------|---------|
| **Publish to Smithery** | One-click publish from deploy screen |
| **Smithery Format** | Auto-generate Smithery manifest and metadata |
| **Import from Smithery** | Import existing Smithery servers as starting points |
| **Analytics Sync** | Pull install counts and ratings back into Studio dashboard |

### npm Registry

| Integration | Details |
|-------------|---------|
| **npm Publish** | Auto-generate package.json, README, publish to npm |
| **Scoped Packages** | Publish under `@mcpengine/` scope or user's scope |
| **Version Management** | Semantic versioning, auto-increment on re-deploy |
| **Dependency Management** | Auto-resolve and pin dependencies |

### Docker / Container Registry

| Integration | Details |
|-------------|---------|
| **Dockerfile Generation** | Optimized multi-stage Dockerfile for each server |
| **Docker Hub Publish** | Push to Docker Hub or any OCI-compliant registry |
| **Docker Compose** | Generate compose files for multi-server setups |
| **Health Checks** | Built-in health check endpoints in every container |

### Cloudflare Workers

| Integration | Details |
|-------------|---------|
| **Worker Generation** | Transpile MCP server to Worker-compatible format |
| **Edge Deployment** | Deploy to 300+ Cloudflare edge locations |
| **KV Binding** | Auto-configure KV for caching and state |
| **Custom Domains** | Wire up custom domains via Cloudflare DNS |

### GitHub

| Integration | Details |
|-------------|---------|
| **Repo Creation** | Create GitHub repo with proper structure, README, CI/CD |
| **GitHub Actions** | Auto-generate CI/CD pipeline for test → deploy |
| **PR Workflow** | (Team/Enterprise) Create PRs for server changes |
| **Webhook Triggers** | Trigger rebuilds on upstream API doc changes |

### Railway

| Integration | Details |
|-------------|---------|
| **One-Click Deploy** | Deploy directly to Railway via API |
| **Auto-Scaling** | Configure scaling rules in deploy settings |
| **Logs Streaming** | View Railway logs directly in Studio dashboard |
| **Cost Estimation** | Show estimated hosting cost before deployment |

---

## 11. Launch KPIs & Success Metrics

### V1 Launch (Week 4) — Target Metrics

| Metric | Target | Measurement |
|--------|--------|-------------|
| **Waitlist Signups** | 500+ pre-launch | Landing page conversions |
| **Day-1 Signups** | 100+ | PostHog signup events |
| **Week-1 Active Users** | 200+ | Users who complete at least 1 build |
| **Servers Built (Week 1)** | 300+ | Total spec → server completions |
| **Build Completion Rate** | >60% | Users who start a build and deploy |
| **Time to First Deploy** | <15 minutes | Median time from signup to first deployment |
| **Free → Pro Conversion** | >5% | Within first 30 days |
| **NPS Score** | >40 | Post-build survey |

### V2 Launch (Week 8) — Target Metrics

| Metric | Target | Measurement |
|--------|--------|-------------|
| **Total Users** | 2,000+ | Cumulative signups |
| **MCP Apps Created** | 200+ | Apps published via designer |
| **Marketplace Installs** | 500+ | Template installs from marketplace |
| **Community Published Servers** | 50+ | User-published servers |
| **Pro Subscribers** | 100+ | Paying $29/mo customers |
| **MRR** | $3,000+ | Monthly recurring revenue |

### V3 Launch (Month 6) — Target Metrics

| Metric | Target | Measurement |
|--------|--------|-------------|
| **Total Users** | 10,000+ | Cumulative signups |
| **Team Subscriptions** | 25+ | Paying team accounts |
| **Enterprise Customers** | 3+ | Signed enterprise contracts |
| **Servers in Production** | 5,000+ | Actively deployed servers |
| **MRR** | $15,000+ | Monthly recurring revenue |
| **Community Marketplace** | 200+ servers | User-published servers |

### North Star Metric

> **Servers Deployed Per Week** — this single metric captures product-market fit, user activation, and platform value. Target: 500/week by Month 6.

### Leading Indicators (Weekly Review)

1. **Spec uploads** — top of funnel, are people trying it?
2. **Build completion rate** — is the flow working?
3. **Test pass rate** — are we generating quality servers?
4. **Deploy rate** — are people shipping?
5. **Return usage** — do people come back to build more?

---

## 12. Risks & Mitigations

| Risk | Likelihood | Impact | Mitigation |
|------|-----------|--------|------------|
| **MCP protocol changes** | Medium | High | Abstract protocol layer; `mcp-server-development` skill tracks changes; automated migration |
| **Anthropic builds competing tool** | Low-Medium | Critical | Build moat via marketplace, community, and MCP Apps (Anthropic focuses on protocol, not tooling) |
| **Low initial adoption** | Medium | High | Leverage 37 production servers as content marketing; post to every MCP community; partner with AI influencers |
| **Generated server quality** | Medium | High | 6-layer testing catches issues; `mcp-server-development` patterns from 30+ production servers ensure quality |
| **Enterprise sales cycle too long** | High | Medium | Focus on self-serve Pro/Team tiers first; enterprise is V3 gravy |
| **API spec parsing failures** | Medium | Medium | `mcp-skill` (Exa search) supplements sparse docs; graceful fallback to manual tool definition |
| **Security vulnerabilities** | Low | Critical | Row-level security in Supabase; encrypted env vars; SOC 2 prep in V3; no customer code execution on our infra |
| **Competitor copies visual builder** | Medium | Medium | Speed advantage (4-week MVP); 37 templates + 11 skills are years of work; network effects from marketplace |

---

## 13. Appendix: Glossary

| Term | Definition |
|------|-----------|
| **MCP** | Model Context Protocol — Anthropic's open standard for connecting AI models to external tools and data |
| **MCP Server** | A server implementing the MCP protocol, exposing tools, resources, and prompts to AI clients |
| **MCP App** | A rich UI application that renders structured content within AI clients like Claude Desktop |
| **Tool** | An MCP primitive — a function an AI model can call (e.g., `create_customer`) |
| **Resource** | An MCP primitive — data an AI model can read (e.g., `config://settings`) |
| **Prompt** | An MCP primitive — a reusable prompt template with arguments |
| **structuredContent** | MCP's format for returning rich HTML/UI content from tools |
| **Pipeline Skill** | One of MCPEngine's 11 AI-powered automation modules |
| **Smithery** | Third-party MCP server marketplace/registry |
| **OpenAPI Spec** | Standard format for describing REST APIs (formerly Swagger) |

---

## Summary

MCPEngine Studio is uniquely positioned to own the MCP tooling market:

1. **Nobody else has a visual builder** — Stainless, Speakeasy, and Composio are all code-first or pre-built-only
2. **Nobody else has MCP Apps** — we're the only platform building rich structured-content UIs
3. **Nobody else has automated testing** — our 6-layer QA suite is unmatched
4. **Nobody else has 37 production templates** — the largest library of battle-tested MCP servers
5. **Nobody else has 11 pipeline skills** — AI-powered automation at every step of the workflow

The market timing is perfect. MCP adoption is accelerating. The protocol is stabilizing. Enterprises are starting to invest. And we have a 12+ month head start on the technology that powers this platform.

**Build it. Ship it. Own the category.**

---

*MCPEngine Studio — From API to MCP in minutes, not months.*
*© 2025 MCPEngine. All rights reserved.*
