Desktop MVP launch checklist for indie builders

Most indie desktop launches do not fail because of bad code. They fail because the builder shipped something half‑baked, with no clear success criteria, no plan to learn, and no way to recover when users hit friction.

This desktop mvp launch checklist is here to prevent that outcome.

Think of it as a preflight checklist for your app. Not to slow you down, but to make sure your first public launch actually teaches you something and does not blow up your evenings with support fires.

First, be sure you’re actually ready to launch anything

Launching is not about perfection. It is about being ready to learn in public.

There are two questions you need to answer before anything else.

Define your minimum success criteria for this MVP

If you cannot say what success looks like, you will always feel behind.

For a solo builder, good minimum success criteria are boring and measurable. For example:

50 people complete onboarding within 30 days
At least 10 of them use the app on 3 separate days
3 users say, in their own words, that they would be disappointed if they lost it

That last one sounds soft, but it is what you are really chasing. Evidence of “please do not take this away” energy.

Pick 1 to 3 numbers. Write them in a place you cannot ignore. Your code repo readme, a Vibingbase project note, a sticky on your monitor.

[!TIP] If you feel tempted to list 10 metrics, you are still in fantasy mode. Cut until it feels slightly uncomfortable.

Validate the core use case with a tiny group first

You do not need a big beta. You need a real‑world sanity check.

Before the public launch, get 3 to 10 people who:

Actually suffer the problem your app targets
Can run a desktop app on your target OS
Are willing to give honest feedback, not just cheerlead

Give them a barebones build. Observe:

Can they install it without instructions?
Do they find the main feature without you pointing?
Do they understand what success looks like inside the app?

If you cannot find even 3 people who care enough to try a rough version, that is a signal. Your marketing might be ahead of your product.

What a desktop MVP really needs (and what it doesn’t)

Desktop is different from web. People are letting your code onto their machine. So the bar for trust is higher, even for an MVP.

The trick is to separate non‑negotiables from everything else.

Non‑negotiable basics for a “safe” public release

Your first public version needs to be safe, not polished.

At minimum, you want:

A stable core flow The main path, from app open to “value happened”, should not crash. You can have rough edges elsewhere.
Clean install and uninstall No scary warnings from the OS, no orphaned files, no “how do I get this off my machine” threads.
Basic error handling If something fails, the app should show a human sentence, not a stack trace. Ideal: one line of comfort, one line of what to try next.
Clear identity App name, icon, simple one‑liner in the app window. People need to remember what this thing is on day 3.
Transparent data behavior If you touch files, clipboard, network, or personal data, say what you do and where it goes. Inside the app, not buried on a website.

Imagine a user recording a Loom to a friend: “If you install this, it will do X. If it breaks, you can just uninstall and your stuff is safe.” Your MVP should make that statement mostly true.

Nice‑to‑haves you should ruthlessly postpone

Most indie builders delay launch by chasing things that do not change whether people care.

You can safely postpone:

Fancy theming, animations, and micro‑interactions
Multi‑language support
Complex preference panels
In‑app onboarding tours
Offline mode if your core value is online anyway
“Smart” features powered by heavy ML before people even love the dumb version

A good rule: If removing a feature does not break the main “job” of the app, it is optional for MVP.

[!NOTE] A boring, stable app that does 1 job well beats a pretty, clever app with a flaky core.

The practical desktop MVP launch checklist

Here is the heart of it. Before you publish a download link anywhere, walk through these three buckets.

You can keep this as a literal checklist in your repo or a Vibingbase workspace.

Product and UX checks before you hit publish

You are checking for clarity and friction.

Single sentence value prop, visible inside the app Top bar, about screen, or first screen. “Organize your screenshots into searchable boards” is enough.
First‑time experience is under 2 minutes From install complete to “I see something useful.” If your app needs setup, show a simple progress sense: Step 1 of 3.
One obvious primary action The main button or control that starts the core flow is visually dominant. If you had to pick one thing users should click first, is it obvious?
Empty states are not dead ends When a list or area is empty, show what to do. “No projects yet. Create your first project to start tracking time.”
Keyboard and mouse both work for the main flow Desktop users are opinionated. If your primary action cannot be triggered from the keyboard at all, you will lose power users fast.
Settings kept to the essentials If you need settings, keep them to “must exist for someone not to churn.” Everything else can wait.

Technical and OS‑specific checks you can’t ignore

This part is not glamorous. It is what makes you look competent.

Use a simple matrix like this for each OS you support at launch:

Check	Windows	macOS	Linux
Installs without security panic	✅	✅	✅
Clean uninstall	✅	✅	✅
Basic permissions sane	✅	✅	✅
App icon and name show correctly	✅	✅	✅
Works on your minimum OS version	✅	✅	✅

Things indie builders often forget:

Code signing and notarization On macOS, unsigned apps trigger scary warnings. On Windows, SmartScreen can block unknown publishers. Your first week should not be 20 support emails that say “System says it might be malware.”
Reasonable permissions Only ask for what you need, when you need it. If you need full disk access, explain why in your own UI, not just via OS prompts.
Resource usage sanity check Leave it running for a few hours. Watch memory and CPU. If your tray app eats 1 GB of RAM, people will uninstall before they ever write feedback.

[!IMPORTANT] You do not need to support every OS. You do need to treat each OS you do support as a first‑class citizen, at least for the core flow.

Distribution, install, and update pipeline checks

A great build that is annoying to get installed will quietly kill your launch.

Your distribution checklist:

One default way to get the app Do not make users choose between 5 installers. For each OS, pick the default: dmg for macOS, installer exe or MSIX for Windows, maybe one deb or AppImage flavor for Linux if you support it.
Simple download page On your site or landing page: one clear button, no maze. Short explanation below, then platform specific notes if needed.
Versioning that means something Even a basic 0.3.1 is better than “latest.” Keep a changelog, even if it is a single markdown file.
Update strategy decided in advance Auto‑update, semi‑manual “new version available” banner, or “you are on your own”? Pick one. For an MVP, a simple in‑app notification with a link can be enough.
Back‑up path if auto‑updates break Keep a direct download to the last stable version handy. You might never need it, but you will be glad you have it if a bug slips through.

A rough rule: If a non‑technical friend cannot install and update your app within a few minutes, your funnel is leaking before the product even has a chance.

The hidden cost of skipping feedback and analytics

A surprising number of builders treat their first launch as a blind throw. Ship, tweet, cross fingers.

The cost is not just lower signups. The cost is lack of evidence. You do not know if the idea is weak, the onboarding is confusing, or the channel is wrong.

Instrumentation and feedback are how you buy real learning with minimal effort.

Lightweight instrumentation that fits a solo maker

You do not need a giant analytics stack. You need a few events and a way to read them on a Sunday afternoon.

Aim for:

Environment‑friendly tooling Something that works from a desktop app without you building your own pipeline. For example, a simple HTTP based event collector, PostHog, or a tiny custom endpoint that writes JSON.
Explicit user consent if tracking anything non‑trivial A small “Help improve this app by sending anonymous usage data” toggle on first run goes a long way for trust.
A simple event schema For an MVP, you can get far with: app_opened, onboarding_completed, core_action_completed, error_shown.

[!TIP] Log locally as well during early days. A simple text log with timestamps and event names can uncover patterns without touching any dashboards.

A simple framework to decide what to track from day one

Most builders start from “what is easy to track.” Flip it. Start from your launch questions.

For example:

“Are people making it through onboarding?”
“Are they doing the core job at least once?”
“Do they ever come back after day one?”

Map each question to one or two metrics:

Question	Metric / Signal
Reach core value at least once	Count of `core_action_completed` per user
Onboarding friction	Dropoff between `app_opened` and `onboarding_completed`
Early retention	Users with events on 2 separate days
Stability for real users	Rate of `error_shown` per active user

You can add sophistication later. For the MVP, any event that does not answer a real decision question is optional.

How to compare launch options and choose your next move

By the time you are here, the app is buildable, installable, and trackable. Your next big decision is where and how to launch, without overwhelming yourself.

Think in three dimensions: channels, pricing, scope.

A decision matrix for channels, pricing, and scope

You do not need the “perfect” choice. You need a choice that matches your current stage and energy.

Use a table like this as a quick sanity check:

Dimension	Scrappy option	Focused option	Overkill for MVP (avoid)
Channels	Personal network, 1 community post	1 big channel (HN, Product Hunt, or Reddit)	Trying 5 major launch platforms at once
Pricing	Free with “support me” or very low fee	Simple tier, 1 paid, 1 free	Complex plans, lifetime + subscription mix
Scope	1 OS, 1 core feature	1 OS solid, 2nd OS experimental	Full tri‑OS support with feature parity

Some practical recommendations:

If this is your first desktop product, start with one main launch channel where your users actually hang out. For a developer tool, that might be Hacker News. For productivity, perhaps a targeted subreddit or a makers community.
For pricing, give yourself permission to charge, but keep it guessable. “$5 per month” beats a complex grid. You can even start as “free during beta, planned price is X, tell me what you think.”
For scope, if multi‑OS support is draining your energy, explicitly call one OS “primary” and label others as experimental in your copy.

The point of this matrix is not to be clever. It is to prevent you from committing to three hard things at once.

Your 7‑day post‑launch plan to learn fast without burning out

The first week after launch decides whether you feel energized or wrecked.

You want structured attention, not 24/7 Slack mode.

Here is a simple 7‑day pattern you can adapt:

Day	Focus	What you actually do
1	Stability check	Monitor crashes, fix critical bugs only
2	Onboarding & install friction	Watch where new users drop. Improve 1 friction point
3	Talk to users	Invite 3 to 5 calls or async feedback threads
4	Core value clarity	Refine empty states, copy, and first‑run experience
5	Channel follow‑up	Answer comments, clarify questions, share context
6	Reflection & metrics	Compare real numbers to your minimum success criteria
7	Decide next step	Choose: double down, pivot, or pause and refactor

Guardrails so you do not burn out:

Set office hours for support and feedback. Two blocks per day, not “always on.”
Log every idea, but only act on ones linked to your success criteria.
Treat bug fixes and tiny UX tweaks as “patch releases,” not dramatic relaunches.

By day 7 you should be able to answer:

Did people actually use it?
Did anything obviously break trust?
Is the core idea pulling people in, or are you dragging them?

If the answer is “I still do not know,” your next iteration should focus more on instrumentation and feedback, not more features.

If you use this checklist once, save your version. It should evolve with your style and stack, almost like a personal playbook.

Vibingbase exists for exactly this kind of thing, by the way. A place to keep your own desktop MVP launch checklist, attach experiments, and track what you actually learned instead of what you meant to do.

Your natural next step now: Pick a current or upcoming launch, run it against this checklist, and decide one concrete change. That might be cutting a feature, adding a tiny analytics event, or narrowing your first launch channel.

Then ship. Learn. Edit your checklist. Repeat.