Idea Spark

Generates actionable project ideas by scanning real pain points from Hacker News, Reddit, and GitHub, then optionally validates them with idea-check.

Workflow

1. Extract the domain

From the user's message, extract:

If the domain is vague, ask for clarification before proceeding.

2. Research pain points

Run 3 searches in parallel using the built-in web_search tool to find real problems people are complaining about or requesting:

{ "tool": "web_search", "query": "site:news.ycombinator.com \"I wish\" OR \"someone should build\" OR \"why isn't there\" <domain> 2025 2026" }

{ "tool": "web_search", "query": "site:reddit.com \"looking for\" OR \"is there a\" OR \"frustrated with\" <domain> tool" }

{ "tool": "web_search", "query": "github.com trending <domain> OR \"help wanted\" OR \"good first issue\" <domain>" }

3. Synthesize ideas

From the search results, extract recurring themes and unmet needs. For each idea, produce:

Generate count ideas, ranked by how specific and actionable the pain point is.

4. Validate with idea-check (if available)

For each idea, run a quick validation:

{
  "tool": "exec",
  "command": "mcporter call idea-reality.idea_check idea_text=\"<pitch>\" depth=quick"
}

If mcporter or idea-reality is not available, skip this step and note that validation was not performed.

Add the reality_signal score to each idea. Flag ideas with signal > 70 as "crowded".

5. Present the results

Format — strict:

💡 Idea Spark — <domain> — <count> ideas

1. <name>
   <pitch>
   Pain: <pain> (source)
   Type: <type> · Effort: <effort> · Signal: <score>/100 <status>

2. ...

Status mapping:

• Signal < 30: "open field"
• Signal 30-70: "some competition"
• Signal > 70: "crowded"
• Not checked: "not validated"

6. Follow-up

After presenting, suggest:

• "Want me to deep-check any of these?" → run idea-check with depth=deep
• "Want me to start building #N?" → proceed with development

7. Error handling

• If web searches return no results → broaden the domain, try without site filters
• If all ideas score > 70 → tell the user the space is saturated, suggest narrowing the niche
• If mcporter is not available → present ideas without validation, mention idea-check for later
• If the domain is too broad (e.g. "tech") → ask the user to narrow down

Examples