Prerequisites
Before you create your Model Context Protocol (MCP) registry, you should understand the functionality and benefits of MCP management for your company. See MCP server usage in your company.
Option 1: Self-hosting an MCP registry
At its core, an MCP registry is a set of HTTPS endpoints that serve details about the included MCP servers. You can create your registry with any of the following options:
- Fork and self-host the open-source MCP Registry. To get started, see the MCP Registry Quickstart in the
modelcontextprotocol/registryrepository. - Run the open-source registry locally using Docker.
- Publish your own custom implementation.
Note
If you want your developers to have access to local MCP servers, include those servers in your registry with the correct server ID. For more information, see MCP allowlist enforcement.
To create a valid MCP registry that is reachable by GitHub Copilot, the registry must meet the following requirements:
Endpoint and specification requirements
A valid registry must support URL routing and follow the v0.1 MCP registry specification, including the following endpoints:
GET /v0.1/servers: Returns a list of all included MCP serversGET /v0.1/servers/{serverName}/versions/latest: Returns the latest version of a specific serverGET /v0.1/servers/{serverName}/versions/{version}: Returns the details for a specific version of a server
For more details and example JSON responses to requests, see the Official MCP Registry documentation.
Support for the v0.1 specification
While the MCP registry launched using the v0 specification, that version is now considered unstable and should not be implemented. Instead, create your registry according to the v0.1 specification, which is supported in the following IDEs:
| IDE | v0.1 support |
|---|---|
| VS Code Insiders | |
| VS Code | |
| Visual Studio | |
| Eclipse | Coming Dec 2025 |
| JetBrains IDEs | Coming Dec 2025 |
| Xcode | Coming Dec 2025 |
Cross-Origin Resource Sharing requirements
To ensure Copilot can successfully make cross-origin requests when fetching your registry, the registry or reverse proxy must include Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) headers. Add the following headers to all /v0.1/servers endpoints:
Access-Control-Allow-Origin: * Access-Control-Allow-Methods: GET, OPTIONS Access-Control-Allow-Headers: Authorization, Content-Type Option 2: Using Azure API Center as an MCP registry
Azure API Center provides a fully managed MCP registry with automatic CORS configuration, built-in governance features, and no additional web server setup.
- To complete the initial setup for your registry, see Register and discover remote MCP servers in your API inventory in the Azure documentation.
- If you want your developers to have access to local MCP servers, include those servers in your registry with the correct server ID. For more information, see MCP allowlist enforcement.
- To ensure GitHub Copilot can fetch your registry, in the visibility settings of your API Center, allow anonymous access.
- Copy your API Center endpoint URL. In the next article, you will use this URL to make your registry available across your company.
Pricing and limits
Azure API Center offers a free tier for basic API cataloging and discovery, including MCP registry management. If you need higher limits than those included with the free tier, you can upgrade to the Standard plan. For detailed limits and pricing, see Azure API Center limits in the Azure documentation.
Next steps
Now that you have created your MCP registry, you can set MCP policies for your company. See Configure MCP server access for your organization or enterprise.