MCP Registry

What is MCP Registry?

The MCP Registry provides MCP clients with a list of MCP servers, functioning like an app store for MCP servers. It is intended for developers who want to discover or publish MCP servers.

How to use MCP Registry?

You can run the registry server locally using Docker and Go with make dev-compose, or use a pre‑built Docker image from GitHub Container Registry. To publish a server, use the included mcp-publisher CLI built with make publisher.

Key features of MCP Registry

• Provides a browsable, searchable list of MCP servers
• Supports publishing via GitHub OAuth, GitHub OIDC, DNS, and HTTP verification
• Seeded from the production API for realistic local development
• Input validation on all published servers
• API freeze (v0.1) for stable integration during preview

Use cases of MCP Registry

• MCP clients discover available servers for tool integration
• Developers publish and manage their own MCP servers
• Namespace ownership verification via GitHub identity or domain challenges
• Local development and testing with an ephemeral PostgreSQL database

FAQ from MCP Registry

What is the current status of the MCP Registry?

The Registry API is in a preview release (announced 2025‑09‑08) with an API freeze (v0.1) as of 2025‑10‑24. Breaking changes and data resets may still occur before general availability.

How do I run the MCP Registry locally?

Run make dev-compose to start the full development environment at localhost:8080 with PostgreSQL. The database uses ephemeral storage and resets on container restart. Alternatively, use a pre‑built Docker image from ghcr.io/modelcontextprotocol/registry.

How can I publish a server to the MCP Registry?

Build the publisher CLI with make publisher, then use ./bin/mcp-publisher --help for instructions. Full details are in the publisher guide.

What authentication methods does the MCP Registry support?

Publishing supports GitHub OAuth, GitHub OIDC (for GitHub Actions), DNS verification, and HTTP verification to prove ownership of a domain or GitHub namespace.

Where is data stored in the MCP Registry?

The registry uses PostgreSQL for data persistence. In the local development environment, storage is ephemeral and resets each time the containers are restarted.