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wtf is registry?

modelcontextprotocol/registry — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-06-24

★ 6,804GoAudience · developerComplexity · 3/5Setup · moderate

TL;DR

A directory service where developers can publish MCP servers, tools that let AI assistants connect to external services like search or databases, and AI clients can browse and discover what is available.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((MCP Registry))
    What it does
      List MCP servers
      Publish new servers
      Ownership verification
    Tech Stack
      Go
      PostgreSQL
      Docker
      HTTP API
    Use Cases
      Discover AI tools
      Publish MCP server
      Local dev testing
    Audience
      AI developers
      MCP server authors

Code map

Detail Auto

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filefunction / class

Why would anyone build with this?

REASON 1

Browse available MCP servers to find tools that connect your AI assistant to external services like search or databases

REASON 2

Publish your own MCP server to the registry so other developers can discover and use it

REASON 3

Run the registry locally with Docker to test your MCP server integration before publishing

REASON 4

Build a client that queries the registry HTTP API to list and filter available servers

What's in the stack?

GoPostgreSQLDocker

How it stacks up

modelcontextprotocol/registrylibp2p/go-libp2pgo-gost/gost
Stars6,8046,8026,791
LanguageGoGoGo
Setup difficultymoderatemoderatemoderate
Complexity3/54/53/5
Audiencedeveloperdeveloperops devops

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you spin it up?

Difficulty · moderate Time to first run · 30min

Running locally requires Docker, publishing requires GitHub login or DNS/web domain verification.

Wtf does this do

This repository holds the MCP Registry, a directory service for MCP servers. MCP (Model Context Protocol) is a standard that lets AI assistants connect to external tools and data sources. The registry functions like an app store: developers publish their MCP servers here, and AI clients can browse and discover what is available. The analogy the README uses is apt. Just as an app store lists applications that a phone can install, the MCP Registry lists servers that an AI assistant can connect to. A server might give the AI access to a search engine, a database, a calendar, or any other external system. The registry is a web service built in Go and backed by PostgreSQL. It exposes an HTTP API that clients can query to find available servers. Developers who want to list their server can publish it using a command-line tool included in the repository. Publishing requires proving ownership, either by logging in with GitHub or by verifying that you control a domain name through a DNS or web challenge. For contributors or developers who want to run it locally, the setup uses Docker and a single make command spins up the registry along with a database. The API reached a stable v0.1 freeze in late 2025, meaning the endpoints will not have breaking changes while integrators build against it. The project is maintained by contributors from Anthropic, PulseMCP, GitHub, and Stacklok. It launched in preview in September 2025. Community discussion happens on Discord and in GitHub Discussions.

Yoink these prompts

Prompt 1
Help me write the configuration to publish my MCP server to the Model Context Protocol registry, using GitHub login for ownership verification.
Prompt 2
Query the MCP Registry HTTP API to find all available servers that provide database access, and show me how to connect one to my AI assistant.
Prompt 3
Set up a local instance of the MCP Registry using Docker so I can test my server integration before submitting it to the public registry.
Prompt 4
Build a Go client that queries the MCP Registry API to list all available servers and filter them by capability type.

Frequently asked questions

wtf is registry?

A directory service where developers can publish MCP servers, tools that let AI assistants connect to external services like search or databases, and AI clients can browse and discover what is available.

What language is registry written in?

Mainly Go. The stack also includes Go, PostgreSQL, Docker.

How hard is registry to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated moderate, with roughly 30min to a first successful run.

Who is registry for?

Mainly developer.

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