Smithery
A registry and hosting platform for Model Context Protocol servers — discover, deploy, and connect MCP servers from one place.
Smithery is a registry and hosting platform for Model Context Protocol servers. It tackles the two problems that show up once MCP servers multiply: discovery (finding servers that exist and seeing who published them) and deployment (getting a server running and connectable without standing up your own infrastructure). You browse a catalog of servers, install one into your client with a command, and — for servers that support it — connect to a hosted, remote instance instead of running it yourself.
It is aimed at developers who want to consume MCP servers without hunting through READMEs of unknown provenance, and at server authors who want a place to publish and host what they build. As a registry, it's part of the connective tissue that keeps a growing MCP ecosystem discoverable and governable.
Highlights
- Server registry — a searchable catalog of MCP servers with provenance, so discovery isn't word-of-mouth.
- One-command install — connect a registry server to your client via the Smithery CLI rather than hand-editing config.
- Hosting — deploy and run remote MCP servers on the platform, so consumers connect to a hosted endpoint.
- Discovery for clients — a programmatic catalog that tools and agents can use to find servers.
In an AI-assisted workflow
Use the registry to find and install a server instead of copying setup from a README:
# discover and install an MCP server into your client via the Smithery CLI
npx smithery install <server-name> --client claudeTIP
A registry is where MCP governance starts — provenance and versioning over copy-paste. When you're running more than a handful of servers, pair it with the broader playbook in Connecting and Governing MCP Servers.
Good to know
Smithery is a hosted platform with a free tier for discovery and getting started. Treat third-party servers as supply-chain surface even when installed from a registry — vet provenance, pin versions, and scope credentials to least privilege (see the governance guide). To add a discovered server to a project safely, use the Add MCP Server command.
Related
- Connecting and Governing MCP Servers: Registries, Gateways, and Tool SprawlAs MCP servers multiply, discovery, trust, and tool sprawl become the problem. How registries, gateways, and curation keep a growing fleet secure and usable.
- Building an MCP ServerAn accurate introduction to the Model Context Protocol: server anatomy, transports, and connecting a tool to Claude Code.
- MCP Server EngineerUse this agent to build, harden, or productionize a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server — designing tools/resources/prompts, choosing stdio vs. Streamable HTTP, taking a server remote with OAuth and stateless scaling, and testing it with the MCP Inspector. Examples — "wrap our internal API as an MCP server with three tools", "take our stdio server remote so the team can share it", "our tools confuse the model — fix the names, schemas, and descriptions".
- Add MCP ServerAdd an MCP server to the current project the safe way — pick the transport and scope, wire secrets through env vars, vet provenance, and verify the connection before trusting it.
- MCP InspectorThe official open-source visual tool for testing and debugging Model Context Protocol servers — connect, list, and call tools, resources, and prompts.