MCP Registry — Registry

A central registry for registering and discovering MCP servers under an official naming scheme

Basic information

What is this program?

MCP Registry is the central registry for officially registering and discovering MCP servers. Released in September 2025, it registers servers using reverse DNS names (e.g., io.github.username/server-name).

Registry-aware MCP clients can add registered servers directly. Unlike community directories (mcp.so, Smithery, etc.), this serves as the reference point that manages names and metadata according to the official specification.

What problems does it solve?

• When you need to register and distribute an MCP server under an official name
• When you need to find trustworthy, officially registered servers
• When you need to filter out duplicate or fake servers from community directories

Key features

Reverse DNS registration

Register servers in the form io.github.username/name

• Use case: Official identification without name collisions
• Result: Ownership-verified names
• Limitations: Must follow naming rules

Metadata management

Register server descriptions, homepage, OS information, etc.

• Use case: Provide consistent server information
• Result: Data foundation for search and filtering
• Limitations: Registered information must be kept accurate

Client integration

Add directly from registry-aware clients

• Use case: Add servers without copying configuration
• Result: Standardized installation flow
• Limitations: Not all clients support it

Public API

Query the server list via REST API

• Use case: Automated server discovery
• Result: Connect registry search to pipelines
• Limitations: Check API rate limits

Installation and usage

Web exploration

Search for servers on the registry website.

https://registry.modelcontextprotocol.io

API query

Query the server list using the public API.

curl https://registry.modelcontextprotocol.io/v0/servers

Server registration

Register servers using a reverse DNS name.

io.github.<username>/<server-name> format

Real-world examples

Server search

Find servers by desired functionality on the web or API.

curl https://registry.modelcontextprotocol.io/v0/servers?query=filesystem

Add to a client

Fetch server information from the registry and register it in mcp.json.

Copy the registered server's command·args to configure

Direct registration

Register your own server with a reverse DNS name.

Register after verifying name ownership

Advantages and limitations

Advantages

• Official MCP project, the most trusted registration system
• Reverse DNS prevents name collisions
• Apache-2.0 licensed public API
• Complements community directories

Considerations before use

• Early stage: fewer registered servers than community directories
• Registration requires name ownership verification
• Not all host apps support the registry

Comparison with similar programs

Official resources and further learning

• Official homepage — https://registry.modelcontextprotocol.io
• Official documentation / knowledge base — https://modelcontextprotocol.io/registry
• Installation & deployment — https://registry.modelcontextprotocol.io
• Release notes — https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/registry/releases
• Source / development resources — https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/registry

Version and supported environment information is confirmed from the official site as of 2026-10-18. Installation commands may vary depending on your distribution and version, so also check the official installation documentation.

Actual execution screenshots

Synthetic example — not actual execution output. The screen is a synthetic example and not actual execution output.

!MCP Registry API server query example

Servers in actual operation

Source (HTML): https://games.aidebatehub.com/programs/mcp/registry/registry.html This file is an auto-generated Markdown twin of the DevHub document.