ai · saas · dev-tools
ToolDirs: requirements, how to submit, and what you actually get
A tools directory that reviews inside two days and gives every listing a followed link, as long as their badge is in your footer.
tooldirs.com
Eligibility
Who ToolDirs accepts
You need
An account, since the submit form sits behind Sign In
A tool URL, name and a tagline of 160 characters or less
A description of at least 500 characters, up to 5,000, in Markdown
A logo under 500kb as SVG, WebP, PNG or JPG
One to three categories, a pricing model and a platform list
Their badge in your site footer for the free lane
You'll be rejected if
A product you cannot write 500 characters about: the description field enforces the floor
A site you cannot add a footer badge to, unless you pay the $9.99 lane
AI toolsSaaS productsDeveloper toolsSoftwareProductivity tools
What you actually get
A product page at /product/<slug> whose Visit button carries no rel attribute at all, which is a plain followed link, checked on four separate listings. The page is generated with a ChatGPT-written summary alongside your own copy. Traffic is modest and the value here is the link plus a two-day turnaround, which is faster than almost anything else in this bracket.
How to submit to ToolDirs
1
Sign in
The /submit page renders in full signed out, including every field, but the Sign In control in the header is the real first step and nothing posts without it.
2
Fill Tool Information
Step 1 of 2. Tool URL with an AI button that auto-fills the rest, then name, a 160-character tagline, a Markdown description of 500 to 5,000 characters, a logo under 500kb, up to four screenshots, up to three categories, a pricing model and a platform list.
3
Add the optional block
Discount code, founded year, YouTube demo video, GitHub repository, founder's Twitter and affiliate programme. All optional and all rendered on the listing.
4
Choose a submission type
Step 2. $9.99 lifetime, $19.99 featured, or the free lane, which asks you to copy a dark, light or transparent badge embed and put it on your site.
5
Wait for the two-day review
The free lane states a review within two days; the paid lanes are effectively immediate.
ToolDirs requirements
An account on the site
Tool URL, name and a tagline of 160 characters or less
A Markdown description between 500 and 5,000 characters
A logo under 500kb (SVG, WebP, PNG or JPG)
One to three categories, a pricing model and a platform list
Their badge on your site for the free lane
Up to four screenshots under 5MB eachoptional
Discount code, founded year, YouTube demo, GitHub repo, founder's Twitter, affiliate programmeoptional
Gotchas
The description has a 500-character floor, which is longer than the blurb most makers arrive with and is enforced by a counter rather than announced anywhere before you start typing.
The free lane's price is a permanent footer badge on your own site. It is the same trade the $9.99 tier exists to buy you out of, and the pricing page words it as a benefit of the free plan rather than as its cost.
The logo cap is 500kb, an order of magnitude tighter than the 5MB it allows per screenshot, so the asset most likely to be rejected is the small one.
Let your agent submit to ToolDirs
Connect SubmitMap to your AI over MCP and this page stops being something you read and copy. Your agent asks for the ToolDirs playbook and gets the brief for this exact form, with the values already taken from your submission pack instead of placeholders you fill in by hand.
What it does for this platform
Checks your product against the 8 ToolDirs rules above, so you find out you would be rejected before you open a tab.
Hands your agent all 8 fields this form asks for, 2 of them optional, already filled from your pack.
Warns you that ToolDirs looks for its badge on your site, so it has to be live before you submit rather than after.
Tells you what paying buys here, so you pick it on purpose: $9.99 one-time for a lifetime listing with no badge, discounted 40% with the EARLY1 code shown on the pricing page. Featured is $19.99, struck through to $14.99 for a first month, and adds premium placement and ten or more followed links. The free lane is a badge trade rather than a payment.
Types it into ToolDirs in your own browser, and stops for you when the form wants a sign-in.
Records what it sent, so the dashboard can answer "did I ever submit to ToolDirs?".
Connect your agentHow this worksTools and endpointsWorks with Claude Code, Claude, Codex, Cursor, VS Code and Hermes.
ToolDirs FAQ
How long does ToolDirs approval take?
ToolDirs's typical time from submission to going live is 1-2 days.
How much does it cost to submit to ToolDirs?
ToolDirs has a free submission option plus paid placement ($9.99 one-time for a lifetime listing with no badge, discounted 40% with the EARLY1 code shown on the pricing page. Featured is $19.99, struck through to $14.99 for a first month, and adds premium placement and ten or more followed links. The free lane is a badge trade rather than a payment.).
Does ToolDirs give a dofollow backlink?
Yes, a listing on ToolDirs carries a dofollow link. The site has a domain rating of 66.
Does ToolDirs require a backlink to your site?
Yes, ToolDirs expects a link back from your site as part of listing.
What gets you rejected from ToolDirs?
A product you cannot write 500 characters about: the description field enforces the floor; A site you cannot add a footer badge to, unless you pay the $9.99 lane.