MCP & ChatGPT apps guide

How to publish an MCP server: official registry, Smithery and awesome lists

Updated 2026-10-26

Short answer: Publish the package (npm, PyPI or a container image), add a server.json, publish it to the official MCP registry with the mcp-publisher CLI, then list it on Smithery and the community awesome lists.

Official MCP registry

Choose a namespace you can prove: io.github.<user>/<name> via GitHub login, or a reverse domain via DNS or HTTP.
For npm packages, add "mcpName" to package.json so the registry can verify ownership.
Write server.json, then run mcp-publisher login and mcp-publisher publish.

Example server.json

{
  "$schema": "https://static.modelcontextprotocol.io/schemas/2025-12-11/server.schema.json",
  "name": "io.github.your-org/acme-mcp",
  "description": "Read and manage Acme invoices from Claude and ChatGPT.",
  "version": "0.1.0",
  "packages": [{ "registryType": "npm", "identifier": "@acme/mcp", "version": "0.1.0",
    "transport": { "type": "stdio" },
    "environmentVariables": [{ "name": "ACME_API_KEY", "isRequired": true, "isSecret": true }] }]
}

Other places to list

Smithery: connect the GitHub repo or publish a hosted server.
awesome-mcp-servers on GitHub: a one-line pull request in the right category.
Your own docs: a "Use with Claude / ChatGPT" page with copy-paste config.

Cofounderbase build service

Get a free 2-minute demo of your product in Claude

Besides running this directory, our team builds MCP servers and ChatGPT apps for small SaaS. Send your product URL and we'll record a short video of it working inside Claude, built only from your public API docs. Free, no call needed. Pilots start at $1,500. This service is separate from the agency rankings, which it never affects.

Prefer email? Write to us. Want an outside agency instead? See agencies that do MCP work.

Agencies in our index that mention MCP work

Listed in their normal directory order. Our own build service is not part of this list or the rankings.

Teamvoy (Ukraine)
AiAdvisors (Poland)
Context Studios (Germany)
AI Agency Manchester (United Kingdom)
Focused (United States)
Autor Technologies (Canada)
Pentridge (United States)
Hourglass AI (Australia)
Enabled Minds (United States)
AppStream Studio (United States)

Questions

Does the registry host my code?

No. It stores metadata pointing to your package or remote URL.

Do I need a remote server to list?

No. Local stdio packages can be listed too.

How do customers find it?

Clients and directories read the registry, plus search and your own docs.

More MCP guides

Cost and effort figures on this page are rough estimates, not quotes.