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):

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