Official MCP Registry
by Model Context Protocol
The upstream catalogue other MCP directories syndicate from — and where you publish your own server.
Overview
The Official MCP Registry is the Model Context Protocol project's centralised metadata service for publicly available MCP servers — described by its maintainers as an app store for MCP servers, in the sense that clients query it for a catalogue rather than downloading code from it. The web UI at registry.modelcontextprotocol.io lists recently updated servers, offers a toggle to show only latest versions, and lets you point the same interface at production, a staging deployment, a local instance on port 8080, or a custom endpoint, with an API reference at /docs. The service itself is an open-source Go application with roughly 7.1k stars on GitHub. Publishers install the mcp-publisher CLI, describe their server in a server.json, and then prove they own the namespace they are publishing under, through GitHub OAuth, GitHub Actions OIDC, or a DNS or HTTP challenge for a custom domain — so authorship is verifiable rather than asserted. Because the registry stores metadata and not packages, other catalogues can consume it downstream: GitHub's own MCP Registry, launched 16 September 2025 with Figma, Postman, HashiCorp and Dynatrace among its partners, is built so that servers self-published to this community registry appear there automatically. It launched in preview on 8 September 2025 and froze its v0 API on 24 October 2025 ahead of general availability, so treat endpoint and data stability as preview-grade.
At a Glance
- Topic
- MCP
- Level
- All Levels
- Format
- Documentation
- Cost
- Free
- Duration
- ~20 min to browse; a short setup to publish a server
- Provider
- Model Context Protocol
- Hands-on
- No
- Certificate
- None
What You’ll Learn
- ✓How to discover publicly available MCP servers from a single catalogue
- ✓What a metaregistry stores — metadata, not the server packages themselves
- ✓How MCP clients query the registry API and its live /docs reference
- ✓Publishing a server with the mcp-publisher CLI and a server.json manifest
- ✓Proving namespace ownership via GitHub OAuth, Actions OIDC, or DNS challenges
- ✓How downstream catalogues such as GitHub's registry syndicate from this one
- ✓Why preview status means endpoints and data may still change under you
Highlights
- •The canonical upstream catalogue that other MCP directories, including GitHub's, are built to syndicate from
- •Namespace verification by DNS, HTTP, GitHub OAuth or Actions OIDC, so a server's authorship is provable rather than claimed
- •Open-source Go implementation you can self-host, with the same UI switchable to staging or localhost:8080
- •A public REST API with a live reference at /docs, not just a website to read
- •Honest about its own maturity: launched in preview 8 September 2025 with a v0 API freeze on 24 October 2025, so expect change before general availability
Who It’s For
Best For
- ✓Developers checking for an existing server before writing their own
- ✓Maintainers publishing a server they want MCP clients to discover
- ✓Client and IDE authors building server discovery into a product
- ✓Platform teams auditing which third-party servers their org connects to
Prerequisites
- •A working understanding of what an MCP server is and does
- •To publish: a GitHub account, or control of a domain's DNS records
FAQ
What is Official MCP Registry?
The Model Context Protocol project's centralised metadata service for publicly available MCP servers, with a browsable web UI, a public REST API for clients, and a CLI publishing path that proves namespace ownership. For developers looking for an existing server before writing one, and for maintainers who want clients to find theirs.
Is Official MCP Registry free?
Official MCP Registry is free to access.
What level is Official MCP Registry for?
Official MCP Registry is aimed at a all levels audience. Recommended background: A working understanding of what an MCP server is and does, To publish: a GitHub account, or control of a domain's DNS records.
How long does Official MCP Registry take?
Expect roughly ~20 min to browse; a short setup to publish a server. Most learners work through it at their own pace.
What will I learn from Official MCP Registry?
You'll learn: How to discover publicly available MCP servers from a single catalogue; What a metaregistry stores — metadata, not the server packages themselves; How MCP clients query the registry API and its live /docs reference; Publishing a server with the mcp-publisher CLI and a server.json manifest; Proving namespace ownership via GitHub OAuth, Actions OIDC, or DNS challenges; How downstream catalogues such as GitHub's registry syndicate from this one; Why preview status means endpoints and data may still change under you.
Topics
Sources
This page was written from 3 sources, 2 on domains other than registry.modelcontextprotocol.io.