AI Marketplace Listing Checklist: Package Your Manifest, OpenAPI, and Trust Signals to Win Agent Curation

Why it matters: Many agent platforms (including plugin and agent frameworks) start discovery by fetching a standard manifest from a well-known location. The manifest signals name, purpose, auth type, and pointer(s) to the API specification. Without this, automated curation often skips your app.

Checklist actions: publish a single JSON manifest at a well-known URL (e.g., /.well-known/ai-plugin.json or a documented /manifest endpoint). Include schema_version, concise name_for_model, short description_for_model, and an api block that points to your OpenAPI URL. Add explicit authentication metadata (type, token location, scopes) so agents can evaluate integration friction.

Why it matters: Agents rely on machine-readable signatures and schema to route user intents to the right endpoints. A spec that is technically valid but noisy or underspecified will be ignored or treated as low-quality by automated systems.

Checklist actions: publish a minimal, accurate OpenAPI document that includes: operationId, clear path and method names, parameter types, request/response schemas, example payloads, and standardized error responses. Avoid unnecessary keywords or advanced constructs unsupported by some LLM-driven consumers (complex anyOf/oneOf nesting can cause mismatch). Provide explicit examples for the most common flows agents will call.

Why it matters: Marketplaces and search agents use knowledge signals (company identity, logo, contact points, authorized domains, and product metadata) to validate ownership and surface trustworthy listings. A clear JSON‑LD block is machine-readable proof you control the domain and brand behind the API.

Checklist actions: put Organization JSON‑LD on your homepage with name, url, logo, contactPoint, and sameAs links to official social profiles. Add a SoftwareApplication or Product JSON‑LD entry for the app with publisher, description, and offers (if you charge). These items make it quicker for curators and indexing agents to verify you and show credible metadata in marketplaces.

Why it matters: Curators and some agent marketplaces require proof-of-work—sample receipts, anonymized transaction logs, or API call receipts—that show the integration works and that billing/usage flows exist. These artifacts reduce friction in curation and speed review.

Checklist actions: create downloadable sample receipts (JSON) that include transaction id, timestamp, sku or plan id, amount, and customer display name (anonymized). Publish a short ‘How we bill’ doc that lists plan ids, features per plan, trial rules, and refund policy. Provide a lightweight webhook/event example so agents can validate asynchronous flows.

Why it matters: Agents and curators prefer apps that expose stable endpoints and attribution. A manifest or spec that moves, or that lacks a contactable owner, is treated as higher risk and may be excluded from curated flows.

Checklist actions: publish canonical @id links in JSON‑LD for organization and product, host the OpenAPI with semantic versioning (v1, v1.1) and redirect old manifests to new ones when necessary. Add a public support email and an engineer contact in the manifest or product page so human curators can reach you for quick fixes.