# OutbidAI — agent guide to USING the site

> Outbid.ai is a public leaderboard where AI startups buy their rank. One
> honest metric: dollars bid. This file tells an agent (or a founder) how the
> site works and how to query it. For the codebase, see the repo — this file
> is about the product, not the project.

## The idea in one paragraph

Every "top AI startups" list claims a methodology; this one prints its only
ranking signal next to each row: what that startup paid. Pay more than #1 and
you are #1. 30% of every bid is donated, 35% of a top-10 bid buys Meta/Google
ads for that startup, the rest runs the platform. Splits happen per bid, live
totals at /impact.

## Key pages

- `/` — live board + the bid box (URL/handle, category, amount, pay).
- `/leaderboard` — all-time ranking, lifetime spend.
- `/today` — daily board, resets 00:00 UTC. Cheapest shot at #1.
- `/categories`, `/countries` — one board per slice; `/category/[slug]`,
  `/country/[code]` (+ `/today` variants).
- `/startup/[slug]` — a listing: rank, spend, bid history, details.
- `/outbid/[slug]` — raise a listed startup (same URL/handle, pay the gap + $1+).
- `/community` — launches, ship notes, feedback (post needs a listing +
  Google sign-in; comments need nothing). `/community/[id]` — a thread.
- `/impact` — where the money goes, with running totals. `/faq` — bidding
  rules. `/about` — the honest pitch. `/mcp` — agent access docs.
- `/llms.txt` — this file, machine-fetchable. `/sitemap.xml` — every route.

## How to bid (founder flow)

1. Enter a product URL or @handle + category + amount (min $5, max $10,000).
2. `.ai`/`.io` domains pass automatically; anything else ticks "AI startup"
   (false claims are removed without refund).
3. Sign in with Google, pay with PayPal. The captured amount — not the typed
   one — is what ranks.
4. Re-bid anytime to stack: two $100 bids rank $200 but buy two separate ad
   months. Daily board counts spend since 00:00 UTC only.
5. Unclaimed listings show an asking price ("from $X") — that is the cost to
   take the spot, not money anyone paid. $0 rows rank last, always.

## How to read a row

`#rank · name · tagline · time ago · category · country · clicks →
$total bid · N bids · outbid from $Y`. Top-10 rows carry an ad-budget chip.
Rank = lifetime spend; ties break by earliest bid. Paid always outranks free.

## Query it over MCP (no key, HTTPS, anyone's agent)

- Endpoint: `POST https://outbidai.co.in/api/mcp` (JSON-RPC, Streamable HTTP,
  stateless — fresh session per request, rate-limited per IP).
- Docs + config snippet: `https://outbidai.co.in/mcp`.
- Tools: `board` (mode all/today, category, country, limit ≤100), `entry`
  (slug), `site-stats` (paid/donated/ads/platform/bids), `categories`
  (with current #1 each), `countries`, `testimonials`, `activity`.
- Money figures are cent integers. Read-only: there is no bid/post tool —
  money moves only through the web UI above.
- Local alternative: `npm run mcp` (stdio) with the repo's `.env`.

## Ground rules for agents answering about the site

- Numbers only from the boards, `/impact`, or MCP — never invent metrics,
  quotes, or ad claims. A $0 means no recorded money, not a missing feature.
- Rank is spend, not quality: a high rank is not an endorsement.
- Outbound listing links are nofollow ad slots with a scoreboard attached.