---
title: MCP Server Registry
description: Browse and install curated Official and Community MCP servers.
---

The **MCP Server Registry** is a curated catalog of publicly available MCP servers you can deploy on MCPLambda. It is backed by the [ToolHive](https://toolhive.dev) registry cache and groups entries into **Official** and **Community** tiers.

Use the registry when you want to discover a known server, inspect its transport and required environment variables, then install it into a project — without hunting package names or image tags yourself.

> **Honest positioning:** The catalog is growing. Bring-your-own-server remains first-class — deploy any package (`npx` / `uvx` / `pip` / `go`), Git repository, or container image via the [deployment strategies](/docs/deployment-strategies/) flows. The registry is discovery and install convenience, not the only path.

---

## What you get

- **Browse, search, and filter** — find servers by name, description, or tier (Official / Community).
- **Server details** — transport, package or image source, tools, tags, and required env vars (including which ones are secrets).
- **One-click install into a project** — open the create-deployment flow pre-filled from the registry entry.

---

## In the dashboard

1. Sign in to [mcplambda.io](https://mcplambda.io).
2. Open **Registry** in the sidebar.
3. Search or filter by tier.
4. Open a server to review tools, env vars, and source.
5. Install into your project — the deployment form is seeded from the registry entry.

After install, the deployment behaves like any other: configure auth, secrets, profile, and connect AI clients as usual.

---

## Public API (read, no auth)

Registry reads are public. You do not need a session or service account token to list or fetch servers.

### List servers

```http
GET https://api.mcplambda.io/v1/registry/servers
```

| Query param | Description |
| :--- | :--- |
| `search` | Case-insensitive substring match on name and description |
| `tier` | `Official` or `Community` |
| `tag` | Exact tag match |
| `page` | Page number (default `1`) |
| `page_size` | Results per page (default `20`) |

### Get one server

```http
GET https://api.mcplambda.io/v1/registry/servers/{name}
```

`{name}` is the reverse-DNS registry name and may contain slashes (for example `io.github.stacklok/fetch`). Encode the path segment when calling the API.

---

## CLI

Browse the same public catalog from the terminal with `mcpl` (login is still required for deploy; registry search/info use the public API).

```bash
# Search by name or description
mcpl registry search fetch
mcpl registry search github --limit 5
mcpl registry search time -o json

# Full details (transport, package/image, tools, env vars)
mcpl registry info io.github.stacklok/fetch
```

| Command | Description |
| :--- | :--- |
| `mcpl registry search <query>` | Substring search; `--limit` defaults to 20 |
| `mcpl registry info <name>` | Details for one entry (aliases: `get`, `show`) |

When you are ready to deploy a package or image from an entry:

```bash
mcpl deploy npx://@mcp/server-time
# or use the package/image hint printed by `mcpl registry info`
```

See the full [mcpl CLI reference](/docs/cli/) for install, login, and deploy flags.

---

## MCPLambda MCP server

From an AI client connected to the [MCPLambda MCP server](/docs/mcp-server/), agents can search and inspect the catalog:

| Tool | Description |
| :--- | :--- |
| `search_registry` | Search the registry; results include `create_deployment` mapping guidance |
| `get_registry_server` | Fetch one registry server by name |

Typical flow: search → pick a deployable result → create secrets if required → `create_deployment` with the mapped fields.

---

## Registry vs bring-your-own

| Approach | When to use |
| :--- | :--- |
| **Registry install** | Known community/official server; you want metadata and a pre-filled form |
| **Package / Git / Image deploy** | Custom server, private repo, pinned image, or anything not yet in the catalog |

All paths land on the same deployment model (URL, transport, auth, compute units).

---

## Next steps

<Cards>
  <Card
    title="Getting Started"
    href="/docs/getting-started/"
    description="Dashboard or CLI path to your first deployment."
  />
  <Card
    title="Deployment Strategies"
    href="/docs/deployment-strategies/"
    description="Package, Git, Docker, and registry discovery."
  />
  <Card
    title="The mcpl CLI"
    href="/docs/cli/"
    description="Deploy and manage from the terminal."
  />
  <Card
    title="MCPLambda MCP Server"
    href="/docs/mcp-server/"
    description="search_registry and manage deployments from your AI client."
  />
</Cards>