How to Authenticate When Publishing to the Official MCP Registry ↗

mcp guide intermediate architecture authentication models

Editorial Notes

Authentication is the first barrier you will hit when trying to publish an MCP server to the official registry, and getting it wrong means silent failures with unhelpful error messages. Focus on how GitHub-based identity verification works and the relationship between your GitHub account and registry publishing permissions. If you are building CI/CD pipelines for MCP server releases, read this before the GitHub Actions guide so you understand the credential flow that automation depends on.

Original Documentation

Documentation Index#
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://modelcontextprotocol.io/llms.txt Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

The MCP Registry is currently in preview. Breaking changes or data resets may occur before general availability. If you encounter any issues, please report them on GitHub.

You must authenticate before publishing to the official MCP Registry. The MCP Registry supports different authentication methods. Which authentication method you choose determines the namespace of your server’s name.

If you choose GitHub-based authentication, your server’s name in server.json MUST be of the form io.github.username/* (or io.github.orgname/*). For example, io.github.alice/weather-server.

If you choose domain-based authentication, your server’s name in server.json MUST be of the form com.example.*/*, where com.example is the reverse-DNS form of your domain name. For example, io.modelcontextprotocol/everything.

Authentication	Name Format	Example Name
GitHub-based	`io.github.username/` or `io.github.orgname/`	`io.github.alice/weather-server`
domain-based	`com.example./`	`io.modelcontextprotocol/everything`

GitHub Authentication#

GitHub authentication uses an OAuth flow initiated by the mcp-publisher CLI tool.

To perform GitHub authentication, navigate to your server project directory and run:

mcp-publisher login github

You should see output like:

Logging in with github...

To authenticate, please:
1. Go to: https://github.com/login/device
2. Enter code: ABCD-1234
3. Authorize this application
Waiting for authorization...

Visit the link, follow the prompts, and enter the authorization code that was printed in the terminal (e.g., ABCD-1234 in the above output). Once complete, go back to the terminal, and you should see output like:

Successfully authenticated!
✓ Successfully logged in

DNS Authentication#

DNS authentication is a domain-based authentication method that relies on a DNS TXT record.

To perform DNS authentication using the mcp-publisher CLI tool, run the following commands in your server project directory to generate a TXT record based on a public/private key pair:

MY_DOMAIN="example.com"

# Generate public/private key pair using Ed25519
openssl genpkey -algorithm Ed25519 -out key.pem

# Generate TXT record
PUBLIC_KEY="$(openssl pkey -in key.pem -pubout -outform DER | tail -c 32 | base64)"
echo "${MY_DOMAIN}. IN TXT \"v=MCPv1; k=ed25519; p=${PUBLIC_KEY}\""

MY_DOMAIN="example.com"

# Generate public/private key pair using ECDSA P-384
openssl genpkey -algorithm EC -pkeyopt ec_paramgen_curve:secp384r1 -out key.pem

# Generate TXT record
PUBLIC_KEY="$(openssl ec -in key.pem -text -noout -conv_form compressed | grep -A4 "pub:" | tail -n +2 | tr -d ' :\n' | xxd -r -p | base64)"
echo "${MY_DOMAIN}. IN TXT \"v=MCPv1; k=ecdsap384; p=${PUBLIC_KEY}\""

MY_DOMAIN="example.com"
MY_PROJECT="myproject"
MY_KEYRING="mykeyring"
MY_KEY_NAME="mykey"

# Log in using gcloud CLI (https://cloud.google.com/sdk/docs/install)
gcloud auth login

# Set default project
gcloud config set project "${MY_PROJECT}"

# Create a keyring in your project
gcloud kms keyrings create "${MY_KEYRING}" --location global

# Create an Ed25519 signing key
gcloud kms keys create "${MY_KEY_NAME}" --default-algorithm=ec-sign-ed25519 --purpose=asymmetric-signing --keyring="${MY_KEYRING}" --location=global

# Enable Application Default Credentials (ADC) so the publisher tool can sign
gcloud auth application-default login

# Attempt login to show the public key
mcp-publisher login dns google-kms --domain="${MY_DOMAIN}" --resource="projects/${MY_PROJECT}/locations/global/keyRings/${MY_KEYRING}/cryptoKeys/${MY_KEY_NAME}/cryptoKeyVersions/1"

# Copy the "Expected proof record":
# ${MY_DOMAIN}. IN TXT "v=MCPv1; k=ed25519; p=${PUBLIC_KEY}"

MY_DOMAIN="example.com"
MY_SUBSCRIPTION="subscription name or ID"
MY_RESOURCE_GROUP="MyResourceGroup"
MY_KEY_VAULT="MyKeyVault"
MY_KEY_NAME="MyKey"

# Log in using Azure CLI (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/cli/azure/install-azure-cli)
az login

# Set default subscription
az account set --subscription "${MY_SUBSCRIPTION}"

# Create a resource group
az group create --location westus --resource-group "${MY_RESOURCE_GROUP}"

# Create a key vault
az keyvault create --name "${MY_KEY_VAULT}" --location westus --resource-group "${MY_RESOURCE_GROUP}"

# Create an ECDSA P-384 signing key
az keyvault key create --name "${MY_KEY_NAME}" --vault-name "${MY_KEY_VAULT}" --curve P-384

# Attempt login to show the public key
mcp-publisher login dns azure-key-vault --domain="${MY_DOMAIN}" --vault "${MY_KEY_VAULT}" --key "${MY_KEY_NAME}"

# Copy the "Expected proof record":
# ${MY_DOMAIN}. IN TXT "v=MCPv1; k=ecdsap384; p=${PUBLIC_KEY}"

Then add the TXT record using your DNS provider’s control panel. It may take several minutes for the TXT record to propagate. After the TXT record has propagated, log in using the mcp-publisher login command:

MY_DOMAIN="example.com"

PRIVATE_KEY="$(openssl pkey -in key.pem -noout -text | grep -A3 "priv:" | tail -n +2 | tr -d ' :\n')"
mcp-publisher login dns --domain "${MY_DOMAIN}" --private-key "${PRIVATE_KEY}"

MY_DOMAIN="example.com"

PRIVATE_KEY="$(openssl ec -in key.pem -noout -text | grep -A4 "priv:" | tail -n +2 | tr -d ' :\n')"
mcp-publisher login dns --domain "${MY_DOMAIN}" --private-key "${PRIVATE_KEY}"

MY_DOMAIN="example.com"
MY_PROJECT="myproject"
MY_KEYRING="mykeyring"
MY_KEY_NAME="mykey"

mcp-publisher login dns google-kms --domain="${MY_DOMAIN}" --resource="projects/${MY_PROJECT}/locations/global/keyRings/${MY_KEYRING}/cryptoKeys/${MY_KEY_NAME}/cryptoKeyVersions/1"

MY_DOMAIN="example.com"
MY_KEY_VAULT="MyKeyVault"
MY_KEY_NAME="MyKey"

mcp-publisher login dns azure-key-vault --domain="${MY_DOMAIN}" --vault "${MY_KEY_VAULT}" --key "${MY_KEY_NAME}"

HTTP Authentication#

HTTP authentication is a domain-based authentication method that relies on a /.well-known/mcp-registry-auth file hosted on your domain. For example, https://example.com/.well-known/mcp-registry-auth.

To perform HTTP authentication using the mcp-publisher CLI tool, run the following commands in your server project directory to generate an mcp-registry-auth file based on a public/private key pair:

# Generate public/private key pair using Ed25519
openssl genpkey -algorithm Ed25519 -out key.pem

# Generate mcp-registry-auth file
PUBLIC_KEY="$(openssl pkey -in key.pem -pubout -outform DER | tail -c 32 | base64)"
echo "v=MCPv1; k=ed25519; p=${PUBLIC_KEY}" > mcp-registry-auth

# Generate public/private key pair using ECDSA P-384
openssl genpkey -algorithm EC -pkeyopt ec_paramgen_curve:secp384r1 -out key.pem

# Generate mcp-registry-auth file
PUBLIC_KEY="$(openssl ec -in key.pem -text -noout -conv_form compressed | grep -A4 "pub:" | tail -n +2 | tr -d ' :\n' | xxd -r -p | base64)"
echo "v=MCPv1; k=ecdsap384; p=${PUBLIC_KEY}" > mcp-registry-auth

MY_DOMAIN="example.com"
MY_PROJECT="myproject"
MY_KEYRING="mykeyring"
MY_KEY_NAME="mykey"

# Log in using gcloud CLI (https://cloud.google.com/sdk/docs/install)
gcloud auth login

# Set default project
gcloud config set project "${MY_PROJECT}"

# Create a keyring in your project
gcloud kms keyrings create "${MY_KEYRING}" --location global

# Create an Ed25519 signing key
gcloud kms keys create "${MY_KEY_NAME}" --default-algorithm=ec-sign-ed25519 --purpose=asymmetric-signing --keyring="${MY_KEYRING}" --location=global

# Enable Application Default Credentials (ADC) so the publisher tool can sign
gcloud auth application-default login

# Attempt login to show the public key
mcp-publisher login http google-kms --domain="${MY_DOMAIN}" --resource="projects/${MY_PROJECT}/locations/global/keyRings/${MY_KEYRING}/cryptoKeys/${MY_KEY_NAME}/cryptoKeyVersions/1"

# Copy the "Expected proof record" to `./mcp-registry-auth`:
# v=MCPv1; k=ed25519; p=${PUBLIC_KEY}

MY_DOMAIN="example.com"
MY_SUBSCRIPTION="subscription name or ID"
MY_RESOURCE_GROUP="MyResourceGroup"
MY_KEY_VAULT="MyKeyVault"
MY_KEY_NAME="MyKey"

# Log in using Azure CLI (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/cli/azure/install-azure-cli)
az login

# Set default subscription
az account set --subscription "${MY_SUBSCRIPTION}"

# Create a resource group
az group create --location westus --resource-group "${MY_RESOURCE_GROUP}"

# Create a key vault
az keyvault create --name "${MY_KEY_VAULT}" --location westus --resource-group "${MY_RESOURCE_GROUP}"

# Create an ECDSA P-384 signing key
az keyvault key create --name "${MY_KEY_NAME}" --vault-name "${MY_KEY_VAULT}" --curve P-384

# Attempt login to show the public key
mcp-publisher login http azure-key-vault --domain="${MY_DOMAIN}" --vault "${MY_KEY_VAULT}" --key "${MY_KEY_NAME}"

# Copy the "Expected proof record" to `./mcp-registry-auth`:
# v=MCPv1; k=ecdsap384; p=${PUBLIC_KEY}

Then host the mcp-registry-auth file at /.well-known/mcp-registry-auth on your domain. After the file is hosted, log in using the mcp-publisher login command:

MY_DOMAIN="example.com"
PRIVATE_KEY="$(openssl pkey -in key.pem -noout -text | grep -A3 "priv:" | tail -n +2 | tr -d ' :\n')"
mcp-publisher login http --domain "${MY_DOMAIN}" --private-key "${PRIVATE_KEY}"

MY_DOMAIN="example.com"
PRIVATE_KEY="$(openssl ec -in key.pem -noout -text | grep -A4 "priv:" | tail -n +2 | tr -d ' :\n')"
mcp-publisher login http --domain "${MY_DOMAIN}" --private-key "${PRIVATE_KEY}"

MY_DOMAIN="example.com"
MY_PROJECT="myproject"
MY_KEYRING="mykeyring"
MY_KEY_NAME="mykey"

mcp-publisher login http google-kms --domain="${MY_DOMAIN}" --resource="projects/${MY_PROJECT}/locations/global/keyRings/${MY_KEYRING}/cryptoKeys/${MY_KEY_NAME}/cryptoKeyVersions/1"

MY_DOMAIN="example.com"
MY_KEY_VAULT="MyKeyVault"
MY_KEY_NAME="MyKey"

mcp-publisher login http azure-key-vault --domain="${MY_DOMAIN}" --vault "${MY_KEY_VAULT}" --key "${MY_KEY_NAME}"

Link last verified June 7, 2026. View original ↗

Source: MCP Docs

Link last verified: 2026-02-26