---
title: "Quickstart: Publish an MCP Server to the MCP Registry"
sidebarTitle: "Quickstart: Publish a Server"
---

<Note>
  The MCP Registry is currently in preview. Breaking changes or data resets may occur before general availability. If you encounter any issues, please report them on [GitHub](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/registry/issues).
</Note>

This tutorial will show you how to publish an MCP server written in TypeScript to the MCP Registry using the official `mcp-publisher` CLI tool.

## Prerequisites

- **Node.js** — This tutorial assumes the MCP server is written in TypeScript.
- **npm account** — The MCP Registry only hosts metadata, not artifacts. Before publishing to the MCP Registry, we will publish the MCP server's package to npm, so you will need an [npm](https://www.npmjs.com) account.
- **GitHub account** — The MCP Registry supports [multiple authentication methods](./authentication.mdx). For simplicity, this tutorial will use GitHub-based authentication, so you will need a [GitHub](https://github.com/) account.

If you do not have an MCP server written in TypeScript, you can copy the `weather-server-typescript` server from the [`modelcontextprotocol/quickstart-resources` repository](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/quickstart-resources) to follow along with this tutorial:

```bash
git clone --depth 1 git@github.com:modelcontextprotocol/quickstart-resources.git
cp -r quickstart-resources/weather-server-typescript .
rm -rf quickstart-resources
cd weather-server-typescript
```

And edit `package.json` to reflect your information:

```diff package.json
 {
-  "name": "mcp-quickstart-ts",
-  "version": "1.0.0",
+  "name": "@my-username/mcp-weather-server",
+  "version": "1.0.1",
   "main": "index.js",
```

```diff package.json
   "license": "ISC",
-  "description": "",
+  "repository": {
+    "type": "git",
+    "url": "https://github.com/my-username/mcp-weather-server.git"
+  },
+  "description": "An MCP server for weather information.",
   "devDependencies": {
```

## Step 1: Add verification information to the package

The MCP Registry verifies that a server's underlying package matches its metadata. For npm packages, this requires adding an `mcpName` property to `package.json`:

```diff package.json
 {
   "name": "@my-username/mcp-weather-server",
   "version": "1.0.1",
+  "mcpName": "io.github.my-username/weather",
   "main": "index.js",
```

The value of `mcpName` will be your server's name in the MCP Registry.

Because we will be using GitHub-based authentication, `mcpName` **must** start with `io.github.my-username/`.

## Step 2: Publish the package

The MCP Registry only hosts metadata, not artifacts, so we must publish the package to npm before publishing the server to the MCP Registry.

Ensure the distribution files are built:

```bash
# Navigate to project directory
cd weather-server-typescript

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build the distribution files
npm run build
```

Then follow npm's [publishing guide](https://docs.npmjs.com/creating-and-publishing-scoped-public-packages). In particular, you will probably need to run the following commands:

```bash
# If necessary, authenticate to npm
npm adduser

# Publish the package
npm publish --access public
```

You can verify your package is published by visiting its npm URL, such as https://www.npmjs.com/package/@my-username/mcp-weather-server.

## Step 3: Install `mcp-publisher`

Install the `mcp-publisher` CLI tool using a pre-built binary or [Homebrew](https://brew.sh):

<CodeGroup>

```bash macOS/Linux
curl -L "https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/registry/releases/latest/download/mcp-publisher_$(uname -s | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')_$(uname -m | sed 's/x86_64/amd64/;s/aarch64/arm64/').tar.gz" | tar xz mcp-publisher && sudo mv mcp-publisher /usr/local/bin/
```

```powershell Windows
$arch = if ([System.Runtime.InteropServices.RuntimeInformation]::ProcessArchitecture -eq "Arm64") { "arm64" } else { "amd64" }; Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/registry/releases/latest/download/mcp-publisher_windows_$arch.tar.gz" -OutFile "mcp-publisher.tar.gz"; tar xf mcp-publisher.tar.gz mcp-publisher.exe; rm mcp-publisher.tar.gz
# Move mcp-publisher.exe to a directory in your PATH
```

```bash
brew install mcp-publisher
```

</CodeGroup>

Verify that `mcp-publisher` is correctly installed by running:

```bash
mcp-publisher --help
```

You should see output like:

```text Output
MCP Registry Publisher Tool

Usage:
  mcp-publisher <command> [arguments]

Commands:
  init          Create a server.json file template
  login         Authenticate with the registry
  logout        Clear saved authentication
  publish       Publish server.json to the registry
```

## Step 4: Create `server.json`

The `mcp-publisher init` command can generate a `server.json` template file with some information derived from your project.

In your server project directory, run `mcp-publisher init`:

```bash
mcp-publisher init
```

Open the generated `server.json` file, and you should see contents like:

```json server.json
{
  "$schema": "https://static.modelcontextprotocol.io/schemas/2025-12-11/server.schema.json",
  "name": "io.github.my-username/weather",
  "description": "An MCP server for weather information.",
  "repository": {
    "url": "https://github.com/my-username/mcp-weather-server",
    "source": "github"
  },
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "packages": [
    {
      "registryType": "npm",
      "identifier": "@my-username/mcp-weather-server",
      "version": "1.0.0",
      "transport": {
        "type": "stdio"
      },
      "environmentVariables": [
        {
          "description": "Your API key for the service",
          "isRequired": true,
          "format": "string",
          "isSecret": true,
          "name": "YOUR_API_KEY"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}
```

Edit the contents as necessary:

```diff server.json
 {
   "$schema": "https://static.modelcontextprotocol.io/schemas/2025-12-11/server.schema.json",
   "name": "io.github.my-username/weather",
   "description": "An MCP server for weather information.",
   "repository": {
     "url": "https://github.com/my-username/mcp-weather-server",
     "source": "github"
   },
-  "version": "1.0.0",
+  "version": "1.0.1",
   "packages": [
     {
       "registryType": "npm",
       "identifier": "@my-username/mcp-weather-server",
-      "version": "1.0.0",
+      "version": "1.0.1",
       "transport": {
         "type": "stdio"
-      },
-      "environmentVariables": [
-        {
-          "description": "Your API key for the service",
-          "isRequired": true,
-          "format": "string",
-          "isSecret": true,
-          "name": "YOUR_API_KEY"
-        }
-      ]
+      }
     }
   ]
 }
```

The `name` property in `server.json` **must** match the `mcpName` property in `package.json`.

## Step 5: Authenticate with the MCP Registry

For this tutorial, we will authenticate with the MCP Registry using GitHub-based authentication.

Run the `mcp-publisher login` command to initiate authentication:

```bash
mcp-publisher login github
```

You should see output like:

```text Output
Logging in with github...

To authenticate, please:
1. Go to: https://github.com/login/device
2. Enter code: ABCD-1234
3. Authorize this application
Waiting for authorization...
```

Visit the link, follow the prompts, and enter the authorization code that was printed in the terminal (e.g., `ABCD-1234` in the above output). Once complete, go back to the terminal, and you should see output like:

```text Output
Successfully authenticated!
✓ Successfully logged in
```

## Step 6: Publish to the MCP Registry

Finally, publish your server to the MCP Registry using the `mcp-publisher publish` command:

```bash
mcp-publisher publish
```

You should see output like:

```text Output
Publishing to https://registry.modelcontextprotocol.io...
✓ Successfully published
✓ Server io.github.my-username/weather version 1.0.1
```

You can verify that your server is published by searching for it using the MCP Registry API:

```bash
curl "https://registry.modelcontextprotocol.io/v0.1/servers?search=io.github.my-username/weather"
```

You should see your server's metadata in the search results JSON:

```text Output
{"servers":[{ ... "name":"io.github.my-username/weather" ... }]}
```

## Troubleshooting

{/* prettier-ignore-start */}

| Error Message | Action |
| --- | --- |
|"Registry validation failed for package"|Ensure your package includes the required validation information (e.g, `mcpName` property in `package.json`).|
|"Invalid or expired Registry JWT token"|Re-authenticate by running `mcp-publisher login github`.|
|"You do not have permission to publish this server"|Your authentication method doesn't match your server's namespace format. With GitHub auth, your server name must start with `io.github.your-username/`.|

{/* prettier-ignore-end */}

## Next Steps

- Learn about [support for other package types](./package-types.mdx).
- Learn about [support for remote servers](./remote-servers.mdx).
- Learn how to [use other authentication methods](./authentication.mdx), such as [DNS authentication](./authentication.mdx#dns-authentication) which enables custom domains for server name prefixes.
- Learn how to [automate publishing with GitHub Actions](./github-actions.mdx).
