Finding an MCP server used to mean searching GitHub and hoping the repo was maintained. In 2027 there are dozens of places that list Model Context Protocol servers, and they do very different jobs. Some are the canonical record of who publishes a server. Some grade quality or scan for security problems. Some package servers so they run in a container with one click. A few are simply big, unfiltered indexes.
This list ranks the MCP directories and registries worth knowing, for two kinds of readers: developers and IT teams deciding where to find servers they can trust, and vendors deciding where to list their own server. Figures come from each directory’s own pages and from public counts published in late October 2026. If you already know what you want to connect, start with our list of the best MCP servers instead.
MCP Directories And Registries At A Glance
Directory
Type
Best For
Known For
Official MCP Registry
Canonical metadata registry
Verified publisher names
Namespace verification and an open API other directories read
GitHub MCP Registry
Curated registry
Teams that read source before installing
Servers tied to public repos with an Install button
Docker MCP Catalog
Containerized catalog
Running servers in isolated containers
300+ verified images with provenance and SBOM data
Glama
Graded directory
The broadest searchable index
Automated quality and health grades
PulseMCP
Curated directory and newsletter
Separating official from community servers
Official, reference and community labels
MCP Market
Commercial directory
Vendors who want a fast listing
Paid fast track with an Official badge
Microsoft MCP Center
Vendor showcase
Azure and Microsoft 365 shops
Manually reviewed servers and private registry copies
mcp.so
Community directory
Casual browsing by category
Open submissions and setup guides
Smithery
Directory, now part of Arcade
Finding older community servers
One of the first MCP catalogs
awesome-mcp-servers
Curated GitHub list
Quick scanning by category
Thousands of entries maintained through pull requests
The official MCP Registry is the metadata source of record for public MCP servers. It launched in preview in September 2025 and is maintained by the MCP project, with contributors from Anthropic, GitHub, PulseMCP and Microsoft. Publishers describe a server in a server.json file and push it with the mcp-publisher command line tool, proving ownership of a namespace through a GitHub account or a domain they control.
It is not a browsing site. It stores metadata only, does not rate servers, and is meant to be read by other services through its API. That is exactly why it ranks first: Glama, PulseMCP and several other directories ingest it, so a server published here shows up in multiple places. Public counts at the end of October 2026 put it at about 53,500 entries, and published versions cannot be edited after the fact.
GitHub’s MCP Registry is a much smaller, curated list of servers that connect models to files, APIs and databases. Each entry shows the publisher and an Install button for supported clients, and every listing points at a repository you can read before anything runs on your machine. At the end of October 2026 it showed roughly 650 servers, including Microsoft’s Playwright and MarkItDown servers, GitHub’s own server and Upstash’s Context7.
The trade-off is coverage. GitHub does not document its review process, and niche or industry-specific servers are often missing. For teams that want a short list of well-known servers backed by public source, it is the cleanest starting point.
Docker’s catalog packages MCP servers as Docker images distributed through Docker Hub. Docker describes it as a curated collection of verified servers, each versioned with provenance and SBOM metadata, and it includes partner servers from companies such as Stripe, Grafana and New Relic. The catalog lists 300 plus servers, and Docker Desktop’s MCP Toolkit lets you browse them, add them to a profile and connect clients like Claude Code or Cursor.
The real advantage is isolation: each server runs in its own container rather than directly on a laptop. Teams can also build custom catalogs that expose only approved servers. Vendors submit through a pull request to Docker’s public mcp-registry repository.
4. Glama — The Largest Index With Automated Grades
Glama runs the biggest searchable MCP index. Late October 2026 counts put it at about 113,000 servers and 40,000 remote connectors, built by importing the official registry and crawling public repositories. Each listing gets automated checks, and Glama reports which remote connectors are currently healthy and which are failing.
That health data is the reason to use it. When you are comparing several servers for the same tool, Glama’s grades and status signals help separate maintained projects from abandoned ones. Listing is free, publishers can claim a listing with a glama.json file, and a paid boost is available for vendors who want more visibility.
5. PulseMCP — Clear Labels For Official, Reference And Community Servers
PulseMCP is a hand-curated directory and newsletter that tracks more than 21,000 servers. Its most useful feature is labeling: each server is marked as official, reference or community, which answers the first question any security reviewer asks. A PulseMCP co-founder also sits on the official registry’s working group, and the directory is one of the registry’s named backers.
One caveat for vendors: as of late October 2026 PulseMCP was not accepting new servers or changes to existing listings, and it asks publishers to use the official registry, which it plans to ingest when submissions reopen. For readers, the existing catalog remains a good filter.
6. MCP Market — A Large Commercial Directory With A Paid Fast Track
MCP Market lists around 51,000 servers and accepts submissions through a simple form with a GitHub repository URL. It may already list your server from GitHub before you submit, in which case the listing sits unclaimed until you take it over.
Its model is commercial. The free queue takes several weeks, while a one-time fee gets a listing reviewed within a day and adds an Official badge. That makes it practical for vendors launching a server on a deadline, but readers should treat the badge as a sign the publisher paid, not as a security review.
Microsoft’s MCP Center is a showcase of roughly 110 servers, each reviewed by hand before it appears. Submissions go through a GitHub issue, and review takes one to two weeks. Azure customers can copy servers from the catalog into a private registry for their own organization.
It is small by design. Organizations standardized on Azure, Microsoft 365 or Copilot Studio get a vetted list that fits their stack and governance model, while everyone else will find more choice elsewhere.
8. mcp.so — An Easy Community Directory For Browsing
mcp.so is a community-run directory with roughly 19,700 listings and open submissions. It is organized by category and includes setup guides, which makes it friendly for someone exploring what MCP can connect to.
The trade-off is vetting. Listings come from the community and carry fewer quality signals than Glama or PulseMCP, so quality is uneven. Use it to discover options, then confirm the publisher in the official registry before you install anything.
9. Smithery — One Of The First MCP Catalogs, Now Part Of Arcade
Smithery was one of the earliest public MCP registries and hosting platforms. Arcade.dev acquired it in August 2026, and on October 31, 2026 Smithery shut down its hosted proxy, accounts, API, CLI and Connect services. The directory itself stays online, now powered by Arcade, with about 27,000 listings.
If older setup guides send you to run.tools or server.smithery.ai addresses, those URLs no longer work, so point your client at each vendor’s own endpoint instead. Smithery is still useful for finding community servers, but it is now a plain directory rather than a place to run them.
The awesome-mcp-servers repository is a curated GitHub list of roughly 4,600 servers grouped by category. Additions arrive as one-line pull requests, and entries link to a Glama listing with a score badge, so it doubles as a quick quality check.
It is the fastest way to scan what exists in a category, and the list format is easy to search. The backlog of open pull requests is long, so very new servers may take time to appear.
How To Choose An MCP Directory
Are You Looking For A Server Or Listing One?
Readers and publishers need different things. If you are installing servers, start with sources that verify publishers or package servers safely: the official registry, GitHub’s registry and the Docker catalog. If you are publishing, start with the official registry, because several directories import it automatically, then add Glama, the Docker catalog and the platform marketplaces your users rely on.
How Is The Publisher Verified?
The most important fact about any MCP server is who runs it. The official registry ties names to a verified GitHub account or domain, and PulseMCP labels official servers. A server published by the company that owns the underlying system is almost always a safer choice than a community wrapper around the same API.
Does The Directory Check Quality Or Security?
Directories range from no checks at all to automated grading, health monitoring and manual review. Glama grades listings automatically, Docker ships provenance and SBOM data, and Microsoft reviews every entry by hand. None of these replaces your own review, so pair them with the practices in our guide on how to secure AI agents and MCP integrations and a scanner from our list of MCP security tools.
How Will Your Team Run And Govern Servers?
If many people will connect agents to many servers, a directory alone is not enough. Look at whether it supports private catalogs, as Docker and Microsoft do, and consider routing traffic through one of the MCP gateways we compare, so access, logging and approvals live in one place.
Is The Listing Still Maintained?
MCP moves quickly. The protocol’s 2026-07-28 release changed how servers and clients connect, and some directories stopped hosting servers this year. Check the last update date, look for a healthy status where one is shown, and prefer servers whose publisher keeps their registry entry current.
Conclusion
There is no single MCP app store yet. The official MCP Registry is the source of truth for who publishes what, GitHub and Docker offer the safest curated starting points, and Glama and PulseMCP add the quality and labeling signals the registry leaves out. Commercial and community directories like MCP Market, mcp.so and Smithery add breadth, but they are places to discover servers rather than to trust them. Use two or three of these together, confirm the publisher every time, and keep your list of approved servers short.
