Where to list your MCP server in 2026: the official registry and the directories that matter
Official registry, community directories, Claude connectors: what each channel asks for and in what order to show up.
Building an MCP server is the easy part. Getting it found is the rest of the work, and it plays out across a handful of specific places.
Here are the channels that matter, what each one asks for, and the order to do them in.
Order matters more than the list
The classic mistake is submitting everywhere at once, with a rushed listing, right after getting the server running locally. You burn your first impression on every channel in a single day.
The order that works:
- Your own install page
- The official registry
- Community directories
- The Claude connectors directory, last
The last point surprises people, and it is the most important. It is the most demanding and most visible channel. You go there when your server is ready, not to test.
1. Your install page
Before any directory, you need a page of your own explaining how to install your server, client by client. One page per client if you can: Claude, Cursor, VS Code, and whichever others your users run.
Why first:
- It is the page every directory will link to
- It is the only one you fully control
- It is a durable SEO asset, unlike a directory listing
- It forces you to verify that installation actually works on each client
That last point will surface bugs. Everyone tests on a single client.
2. The official registry
The protocol registry is the reference, the one other tools consume. It is the first place to be present.
What to have ready: your server URL, the description, the capabilities exposed, the authentication method, and a verifiable identity behind the project.
3. Community directories
mcp.so, Smithery, Glama and the rest. They ask for little, they bring moderate but real traffic, and above all they bring links and presence in model answers.
Two pieces of advice:
Keep the description identical everywhere. Same name, same sentence, same category. Entity consistency is what gets you cited by answer engines.
Do not spray. One listing on a serious directory beats fifteen on aggregators with no traffic.
4. The Claude connectors directory
The most visible, the most demanding. Clean OAuth chain, per-client revocation, accurate privacy policy, well described and annotated tools, hardened infrastructure.
Covered in detail in its own article. The one thing to remember here: do not show up before doing the three previous steps and migrating to the current revision.
What every channel looks at
Whatever the directory, the same elements decide:
- One sentence saying what it does for the user, not what it does technically
- Tool names understandable without documentation
- A credible public identity: domain, contact, legal notices
- A server that answers, all the time
That last one eliminates more candidates than all the others. A server that drops one time in ten survives no listing.
What does not work
Listing before you are ready. A botched first impression on a directory is hard to undo.
A technical description. "MCP server exposing twelve CRUD tools" tells nobody anything. "Create and publish your forms by asking your AI" does.
Ignoring clients other than the one you use. Your users are not all on the same client, and a failed installation elsewhere turns into negative sentiment you never see.
FAQ
How much traffic does a directory bring?
Variable and generally moderate. The main value is credibility and citation by models, not raw volume.
Should I pay for placement?
Rarely worth it while your listing and install journey are not dialled in. Optimise conversion before buying traffic.
What if my server is private or customer-only?
You skip the public directories, but you keep the install page and the per-client documentation. The clarity work is the same.
Get your distribution prepared
The Claude directory submission is €1,200, and it includes cleaning up what also serves the other channels: description, listing, install page, blocking issues.
Interested? Talk about the directory submission →
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