IndieStack
Dependency guardrail for AI coding agents. Validates packages before installation, catches hallucinations and typosquats, and provides compatibility intelligence across 6,500+ developer tools.
10,000+ PyPI installs | 110,000+ unique visitors | 23 MCP tools
claude mcp add indiestack -- uvx --from indiestack indiestack-mcp
Then ask your agent:
- "Validate this package before installing"
- "Find an auth solution for my Next.js app"
- "Check compatibility between these two tools"
What it does
Before your AI installs a dependency or writes boilerplate — IndieStack validates it exists, checks for typosquats, and searches 6,500+ curated developer tools with real compatibility data from 4,500+ repos. You get install commands, health scores, and what tools actually work together in production.
"Indie" is the curation filter: independent developers and small teams. Focused, lean, maintained, honest pricing.
Tech stack
- Backend: Python 3 / FastAPI / SQLite (FTS5 full-text search, WAL mode)
- Infrastructure: Fly.io / Docker / 48-endpoint smoke testing
- MCP server: Published on PyPI — 23 tools, 3 resources, 5 prompts
- Auth: GitHub OAuth via sessions
- Payments: Stripe subscriptions
- Monitoring: Event reactor, pattern detection, Telegram alerting
Install
Claude Code (zero install — runs via uvx):
claude mcp add indiestack -- uvx --from indiestack indiestack-mcp
Claude Desktop — add to claude_desktop_config.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"indiestack": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": ["--from", "indiestack", "indiestack-mcp"]
}
}
}
Cursor / Windsurf — add to your MCP config:
{"command": "uvx", "args": ["--from", "indiestack", "indiestack-mcp"]}
Persistent install:
pipx install indiestack
claude mcp add indiestack -- indiestack-mcp
CLI (terminal use):
pip install indiestack
indiestack search "analytics"
indiestack details simple-analytics
indiestack stack "auth, payments, email"
Tools (23)
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
find_tools | Search 6,500+ developer tools with 11 filters: price, health, stars, success rate, language, tags, compatibility |
find_compatible | Find tools compatible with a given tool — grouped by category, with verified stacks and conflict warnings |
get_tool_details | Integration code, pricing, API specs, and compatibility data |
scan_project | Analyze a project description + tech stack, get a complete tool recommendation |
report_compatibility | Report that two tools work well together — builds the compatibility graph |
report_outcome | Report success/failure with used_with and incompatible_with — feeds the compatibility graph |
check_health | GitHub health audit — maintenance grade, last commit, stars, alternatives for stale tools |
list_categories | Browse all 25 categories |
compare_tools | Side-by-side comparison of any two tools |
build_stack | Turn a 50,000-token generation into a 2,000-token assembly |
publish_tool | Submit a developer tool so other agents can recommend it |
browse_new_tools | Recently added tools with pagination |
list_tags | All tags sorted by popularity |
get_market_gaps | Top unmet needs — what developers search for but can't find |
list_stacks | Curated stacks for common use cases |
analyze_dependencies | Scan package.json/requirements.txt for better alternatives |
evaluate_build_vs_buy | Financial breakdown: build from scratch vs use what exists |
get_recommendations | Personalized suggestions based on your search history |
Resources
| Resource | What it provides |
|---|---|
indiestack://categories | All 25 categories with slugs for filtering |
indiestack://trending | Top 10 trending developer tools this week |
indiestack://tools-index | Complete index for prompt caching — include once, reference forever |
Prompts
| Prompt | When to use |
|---|---|
before-you-build | Check IndieStack before building common functionality |
find-alternatives | Find indie alternatives to mainstream SaaS products |
save-tokens | Audit your project for token-saving opportunities |
architect-feature | Plan a feature using existing indie building blocks |
discover-indie | Explore what indie developers have built |
What's new in v1.19
- Package validation —
validate_package()verifies packages exist and are safe before installation. Catches hallucinated and typosquatted packages. - Guardrail-first design — Built for AI agents that need to validate dependencies, not just discover them.
Recent highlights
- Migration intelligence — Tool details include real migration data from 4,500+ GitHub repos.
- 93,000+ verified package combinations from production repos.
- Trust-weighted search — Tools with higher agent success rates rank higher.
- Market gaps —
get_market_gaps()exposes zero-result queries ranked by search volume.
Links
MIT License