Some time ago our team published three Python packages on PyPI: graphql-mcp-server, nife-restapi-mcp-server, nife-mcp-server. MCP servers - bridges that let AI models talk to GraphQL and REST APIs. We pushed them and got back to work. No launch post. No dashboard. Nobody checked the numbers.
This week I finally did. Last 30 days, per pepy.tech:
- graphql-mcp-server: 381 downloads - https://pypi.org/project/graphql-mcp-server/
- nife-restapi-mcp-server: 338 downloads - https://pypi.org/project/nife-restapi-mcp-server/
- nife-mcp-server: 353 downloads - https://pypi.org/project/nife-mcp-server/
1,072 installs in a month on packages nobody was marketing. The five repos behind them sit at 59 stars.
Small numbers. But a pip install is the most honest metric in software. No signup form, no email captured, no demo call. Someone had a problem, typed install, and left. You never find out who. They just keep choosing the thing you built while you are busy building the next thing.
If you maintain packages and have not looked at your numbers lately - go look. The quiet counter might be ticking.
And if you want to see what these bridges do, the code is here: https://github.com/nifetency/nife-mcp-server?utm_source=devto&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=mcp-downloads
