# Launchpad

> Launchpad is a managed hosting platform and Claude Code connector. Each app gets its own private Ubuntu server with nginx, a MySQL database with backups, HTTPS and its own asklaunchpad.com web address, and Claude Code (in the Claude desktop app) can launch, deploy to, monitor and manage that server through the Launchpad MCP connector, so a person can go from an idea to a live app without handling infrastructure.

Key facts:
- Website: https://asklaunchpad.com
- Launchpad MCP connector (Streamable HTTP): https://mcp.asklaunchpad.com/mcp; every tool call carries the account's secret key (no OAuth). Secret keys can be limited to specific servers.
- Pricing (ZAR, per month): Four server sizes, billed monthly in South African rand: Lite R299, Base R1 199, Plus R1 899, Pro R2 999. Lite is for personal projects; business accounts start at Base.
- Every plan starts with a 14-day free trial (R5 card verification, refunded). Billing is on the 1st of each month from the card stored with PayFast; cancel any time.
- Built for Claude Code in the Claude desktop app. Servers are private Ubuntu servers with nginx, MySQL with backups, and HTTPS.
- Contact: hello@asklaunchpad.com

## Start here
- [Home](https://asklaunchpad.com/): what Launchpad is and how it works
- [Pricing](https://asklaunchpad.com/pricing): the four packages and how billing works
- [Launch your app](https://asklaunchpad.com/launch): create an account and start the free trial
- [About](https://asklaunchpad.com/about): who builds Launchpad and what they believe

## Docs: Getting Started
- [Getting Started](https://asklaunchpad.com/docs/getting-started): Everything you need to go from a fresh Launchpad account to your first live server.
- [Create your account](https://asklaunchpad.com/docs/getting-started/create-account): Complete the launch sequence, activate your plan, and get the secret key that Claude Code will use.
- [Launch your first server](https://asklaunchpad.com/docs/getting-started/launch-first-server): Provision your first Launchpad server through Claude Code and see it come up, step by step.

## Docs: Connecting Claude Code
- [Connecting Claude Code](https://asklaunchpad.com/docs/connecting-claude-code): Add the Launchpad connector to Claude Code, authenticate with your secret key, and run your first session against a live server.
- [Adding the connector](https://asklaunchpad.com/docs/connecting-claude-code/adding-the-connector): Install the Launchpad connector in the Claude desktop app and switch it on for Claude Code.
- [Authenticating](https://asklaunchpad.com/docs/connecting-claude-code/authenticating): How your secret key authenticates every connector call, and the safest ways to give it to Claude.
- [Your first session](https://asklaunchpad.com/docs/connecting-claude-code/first-session): A full walkthrough of a Claude Code session that launches a server, connects to it, and puts an app live.

## Docs: Servers
- [Servers](https://asklaunchpad.com/docs/servers): Plans, subdomains, SSH sessions and health checks for your Launchpad servers.
- [Working with more than one server](https://asklaunchpad.com/docs/servers/multiple-servers): How labels, the .launchpad.json file and the replace check keep Claude deploying to the right server.
- [What's on your server](https://asklaunchpad.com/docs/servers/whats-installed): The tools every Launchpad server already has, and how Claude chooses the simplest way to build for them.

## Docs: Add-ons
- [Add-ons](https://asklaunchpad.com/docs/add-ons): Optional extras for your servers. Some are free, some are billed monthly. Add the ones you need from your dashboard.
- [Email sending](https://asklaunchpad.com/docs/add-ons/email): Send transactional email from your server as client@asklaunchpad.com over a plain HTTPS API — no SMTP setup, no mail server to run.
- [Fixed IP](https://asklaunchpad.com/docs/add-ons/fixed-ip): A permanent public address for your server that never changes when it restarts. R149 a month each, free with Plus and Pro.

## Docs: Databases
- [Databases](https://asklaunchpad.com/docs/databases): What Launchpad manages about your MySQL database, and how backups work.

## Docs: Taking your app live
- [Taking your app live](https://asklaunchpad.com/docs/deploying): Your app works on your laptop. Here's how to put it online with Launchpad, in one conversation with Claude.

## Docs: FAQ & Troubleshooting
- [FAQ & Troubleshooting](https://asklaunchpad.com/docs/faq): Quick answers to the questions we hear most, and fixes for the things that go wrong.

## Blog
- [Introducing Launchpad](https://asklaunchpad.com/blog/introducing-launchpad): Managed servers, a managed database and a Claude Code connector, on one flat plan. Here's what Launchpad is, who it's for, and why we built it.
- [What can I actually build with Claude Code? Ideas for your first app](https://asklaunchpad.com/blog/what-can-i-build-with-claude-code): You've heard Claude Code can build software from a description. Here's what that means in practice, what a first app looks like, and how to start without knowing anything technical.
- [Why we built Launchpad for Claude Code](https://asklaunchpad.com/blog/why-we-built-launchpad-for-claude-code): AI coding tools changed what one person can build in an afternoon. They didn't change how long it takes to put it somewhere real. That gap is the whole reason Launchpad exists.
- [It works on my laptop. Now what?](https://asklaunchpad.com/blog/it-works-on-my-laptop-now-what): You built an app with Claude and it runs on your machine. Here's what "live" actually needs, why it's normally hard, and how Launchpad makes it one sentence.
- [Internal tools shouldn't take a quarter](https://asklaunchpad.com/blog/internal-tools-shouldnt-take-a-quarter): Most internal tools never get built, not because they're hard, but because the path to "live" is long enough that nobody starts. Here's how small teams ship them in days instead.
- [Anatomy of a launch: what happens when you press the button](https://asklaunchpad.com/blog/anatomy-of-a-launch): A friendly technical tour of a Launchpad launch, from the moment Claude asks for a server to the moment your app answers at its own address.

## Optional
- [Full documentation in one file](https://asklaunchpad.com/llms-full.txt)
- [Sitemap](https://asklaunchpad.com/sitemap.xml)
- [Blog feed](https://asklaunchpad.com/blog/feed.xml)