devpost-mcp-server

MCP server that queries Devpost.com, the hackathon platform. Search hackathons, fetch winning projects, analyze tech stack trends, and research what actually wins. Works with Claude Code, Cursor, or any MCP client.

This is not a hackathon project. This is a tool that reads data from the Devpost website.

What it does

Data Tools

Raw access to Devpost data.

| Tool | Input | Output | |------|-------|--------| | search_hackathons | query, status (upcoming/open/ended) | Hackathon names, URLs, dates, participant counts, prizes | | get_winners | hackathon slug (e.g. "hackillinois-2026") | Winning projects with names, taglines, teams, prizes, tech stacks | | get_project | project slug | Full project info: description, team, GitHub URL, demo video, tech stack | | search_projects | query, sort (recent/popular) | Matching projects across all of Devpost |

Research Tools

Analytical layer on top of the raw data. The part that's actually useful for hackathon prep.

| Tool | Input | Output | |------|-------|--------| | check_idea_exists | idea description | Similar projects that already exist, how they did, how many times it's been built | | analyze_winning_stacks | hackathon slug | Aggregated tech stacks across winners. "React shows up in 60% of winners" | | analyze_sponsor_tracks | hackathon slug | Submissions per track, win rates, competition density per sponsor | | get_submission_template | hackathon slug or project slug | Structure of a winning submission: sections, tone, length, formatting patterns | | compare_hackathons | two hackathon slugs | Size, prize pool, typical winner profile, tech trends side by side | | trending_tools | time range (optional) | Across recent winners globally: most used APIs, frameworks, tools |

Use Cases

• "Has someone built an AI interview tool at a hackathon before?"
• "What tech stacks did the last 3 years of HackIllinois winners use?"
• "Which sponsor track at this hackathon had the fewest submissions?"
• "Show me how the winning Devpost submission was formatted"
• "What APIs are trending across hackathon winners right now?"
• "Compare HackIllinois and TreeHacks: size, prizes, what wins"

Install

Add to your Claude Code MCP settings (~/.claude/settings.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "devpost": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["devpost-mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

Or for Cursor, add to .cursor/mcp.json.

From source (for development): ``bash git clone https://github.com/RohanMuppa/devpost-mcp-server.git cd devpost-mcp-server npm install && npm run build ``

How it works

Devpost doesn't have a public API. This server fetches HTML pages from devpost.com and parses them with cheerio. Results are cached in memory for 5 minutes to avoid repeated requests. The research tools aggregate data across multiple pages to produce analytical results.

Uses stdio transport per the MCP specification.

License

MIT