UluP Nexus is the public index of indie projects that you explore on a node map and that AI assistants can query through an MCP server. It went live today, November 5, 2026, and within a few hours I made a first round of changes, partly after the comments I received. This post goes through them one by one.
Search for AI assistants is smarter
The Nexus MCP server has two tools: `search_projects` (text, category, language, pricing model) and `list_categories`. Testing it with a real assistant I found a problem: searching for "indie" returned nothing, because the word appears in almost everything and tells projects apart from none. Search now:
- ignores generic words ("indie", "app", "tool", "free") and returns the whole index if nothing else is left;
- understands plurals: "games" also finds games;
- also matches category names, not only the text of projects;
- says when it isn't sure: if no project matches, it returns the closest ones with `exact_match: false` and a note telling the assistant not to present them as exact results. For example, "kanban board" has no exact match today and gets the closest projects with that warning.
Every result includes the name, description, address, pricing, categories, languages and the link to the project's page on Nexus.
What "verified" means
A reader asked me what the word "verified" actually checks. The answer is now written on the site, on the submission page and on the page for AI: whoever submits a project adds a meta tag to their site's homepage to prove it's theirs, and then a person checks and approves the listing. Nexus does not assess the quality or security of the project. Assistants only receive approved projects.
Why list your project on Nexus
That was a fair question too: why do it if Product Hunt already exists? The differences I can honestly state today are three:
- Your own permanent page, with structured data that search engines and assistants can read, and that doesn't sink after launch day.
- Findable by assistants connected to Nexus, not only through the names they already know.
- A place on the map, next to similar projects.
One limit has to be said: few people use MCP connectors today, so the most concrete benefit is the permanent page. The rest grows if use grows.
The "Listed on UluP Nexus" badge
Every project page now has a section for adding a badge to your own site, in a dark and a light version, with the code to copy. The badge links to the project's page on Nexus: for whoever uses it, it's a simple way to show where it's listed; for Nexus, it's one more link. For now it is a static image; it doesn't work as proof of ownership yet.
A search log
From today Nexus stores the text of searches made by assistants, with the filters used, how many results came back and whether the match was exact or approximate. It stores nothing about who searched. It serves one purpose: finding out which searches return nothing, because those are the categories to fill first. The "For AI" page says so.
Small navigation fixes
From every inner page you can now get back to the map with a Map link in the bar, in the phone menu and in the footer, and there's a 404 page in the site's style with buttons back to the map or the list.
What's still missing
These things are planned, but not there yet:
- Category pages with their own address, and more specific text for each project, because pages that look too alike get indexed poorly by search engines.
- An alternative to the meta tag for verification, for people who can't edit their site's HTML. The badge could serve this too.
- More projects. Today the index holds 6 projects, all mine. I add other people's projects only with their consent, starting from a single category (probably indie games) so the map makes sense.
- Automatic "build in public", turning development logs into small, indexable updates. It's the furthest-off and most uncertain part.
How you can be part of it
- Add your project at nexus.ulupstudio.com/submit: one address, a prefilled listing, one line on your homepage.
- Connect an assistant with the address `https://nexus.ulupstudio.com/mcp`, explained on For AI, and ask it to find indie projects.
- Tell me what doesn't work or what's missing: the first readers' comments already changed three things in this update.
*Status: UluP Nexus is live at nexus.ulupstudio.com. It holds 6 projects, all by UluP Studio. Other projects are added only with their authors' consent.*