feat: Add website_url field for MCP servers (#422)

Adds optional website_url field to the server.json schema allowing
publishers to provide a url to the server's homepage, documentation, or
project website. This provides a central link for users to learn more
about the server. Particularly useful when the server has custom
installation instructions or setup requirements.

Issue: #183 
PR: #130 
Discussion: #274 

## Motivation and Context
This change addresses the need identified in #130, #183 and #274 for a
standardized way to direct users to an official landing page similar to
`homepage` used in NPM
([example](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@modelcontextprotocol/sdk)). It
is also serves as a viable option for MCP Servers that don't follow
typical package manager patterns (e.g., embedded in a Desktop app).

## How Has This Been Tested?
- Schema validation: All 13 example server.json files validate
successfully against the updated schema
- Go validator tests: Added additional test cases covering URL format
validation and namespace matching
- Run all checks: Updated example files to work with anonymous
publishing and verified `make check` passes

## Breaking Changes
None. The website_url field is optional and backward compatible with
existing server.json files.

## Types of changes
- [ ] Bug fix (non-breaking change which fixes an issue)
- [x] New feature (non-breaking change which adds functionality)
- [ ] Breaking change (fix or feature that would cause existing
functionality to change)
- [x] Documentation update

## Checklist
- [x] I have read the [MCP
Documentation](https://modelcontextprotocol.io)
- [x] My code follows the repository's style guidelines
- [x] New and existing tests pass locally
- [x] I have added appropriate error handling
- [x] I have added or updated documentation as needed

## Additional context
Security considerations:
- Website URL validation enforces that the domain matches the
publisher's reverse-DNS namespace
- HTTP/HTTPS protocols are required (no file:// or other schemes)
- Validation is consistent with existing remote URL validation patterns

docs/reference/api/openapi.yaml

@@ -233,6 +233,11 @@ components:
           type: string
           example: "1.0.2"
           description: "Version string for this server. SHOULD follow semantic versioning (e.g., '1.0.2', '2.1.0-alpha'). Equivalent of Implementation.version in MCP specification."
+        website_url:
+          type: string
+          format: uri
+          description: "Optional URL to the server's homepage, documentation, or project website. This provides a central link for users to learn more about the server. Particularly useful when the server has custom installation instructions or setup requirements."
+          example: "https://modelcontextprotocol.io/examples"
         created_at:
           type: string
           format: date-time

docs/reference/server-json/generic-server-json.md

@@ -23,9 +23,10 @@ The official registry has some more restrictions on top of this. See the [offici
 ```json
 {
   "$schema": "https://static.modelcontextprotocol.io/schemas/2025-07-09/server.schema.json",
-  "name": "io.modelcontextprotocol/brave-search",
+  "name": "io.modelcontextprotocol.anonymous/brave-search",
   "description": "MCP server for Brave Search API integration",
   "status": "active",
+  "website_url": "https://anonymous.modelcontextprotocol.io/examples",
   "repository": {
     "url": "https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/servers",
     "source": "github"
@@ -654,6 +655,21 @@ Some CLI tools bundle an MCP server, without a standalone MCP package or a publi
 }
 ```
 
+### Server with Custom Installation Path
+
+For MCP servers that follow a custom installation path or are embedded in applications without standalone packages, use the `website_url` field to direct users to setup documentation:
+
+```json
+{
+  "$schema": "https://static.modelcontextprotocol.io/schemas/2025-07-09/server.schema.json",
+  "name": "io.modelcontextprotocol.anonymous/embedded-mcp",
+  "description": "MCP server embedded in a Desktop app",
+  "status": "active",
+  "website_url": "https://anonymous.modelcontextprotocol.io/embedded-mcp-guide",
+  "version": "0.1.0"
+}
+```
+
 ### Deprecated Server Example
 
 ```json

docs/reference/server-json/server.schema.json

@@ -73,6 +73,12 @@
           "maxLength": 255,
           "example": "1.0.2",
           "description": "Version string for this server. SHOULD follow semantic versioning (e.g., '1.0.2', '2.1.0-alpha'). Equivalent of Implementation.version in MCP specification. Non-semantic versions are allowed but may not sort predictably."
+        },
+        "website_url": {
+          "type": "string",
+          "format": "uri",
+          "description": "Optional URL to the server's homepage, documentation, or project website. This provides a central link for users to learn more about the server. Particularly useful when the server has custom installation instructions or setup requirements.",
+          "example": "https://modelcontextprotocol.io/examples"
         }
       }
     },

internal/validators/validators.go

@@ -24,6 +24,11 @@ func ValidateServerJSON(serverJSON *apiv0.ServerJSON) error {
 		return err
 	}
 
+	// Validate website URL if provided
+	if err := validateWebsiteURL(serverJSON.WebsiteURL); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
 	// Validate all packages (basic field validation)
 	// Detailed package validation (including registry checks) is done during publish
 	for _, pkg := range serverJSON.Packages {
@@ -44,6 +49,11 @@ func ValidateServerJSON(serverJSON *apiv0.ServerJSON) error {
 		return err
 	}
 
+	// Validate reverse-DNS namespace matching for website URL
+	if err := validateWebsiteURLNamespaceMatch(*serverJSON); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
 	return nil
 }
 
@@ -67,6 +77,31 @@ func validateRepository(obj *model.Repository) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
+func validateWebsiteURL(websiteURL string) error {
+	// Skip validation if website URL is not provided (optional field)
+	if websiteURL == "" {
+		return nil
+	}
+
+	// Parse the URL to ensure it's valid
+	parsedURL, err := url.Parse(websiteURL)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("invalid website URL: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	// Ensure it's an absolute URL with valid scheme
+	if !parsedURL.IsAbs() {
+		return fmt.Errorf("website URL must be absolute (include scheme): %s", websiteURL)
+	}
+
+	// Only allow HTTP/HTTPS schemes for security
+	if parsedURL.Scheme != "http" && parsedURL.Scheme != "https" {
+		return fmt.Errorf("website URL must use http or https scheme: %s", websiteURL)
+	}
+
+	return nil
+}
+
 func validatePackageField(obj *model.Package) error {
 	if !HasNoSpaces(obj.Identifier) {
 		return ErrPackageNameHasSpaces
@@ -319,6 +354,21 @@ func validateRemoteNamespaceMatch(serverJSON apiv0.ServerJSON) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
+// validateWebsiteURLNamespaceMatch validates that website URL matches the reverse-DNS namespace
+func validateWebsiteURLNamespaceMatch(serverJSON apiv0.ServerJSON) error {
+	// Skip validation if website URL is not provided
+	if serverJSON.WebsiteURL == "" {
+		return nil
+	}
+
+	namespace := serverJSON.Name
+	if err := validateRemoteURLMatchesNamespace(serverJSON.WebsiteURL, namespace); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("website URL %s does not match namespace %s: %w", serverJSON.WebsiteURL, namespace, err)
+	}
+
+	return nil
+}
+
 // validateRemoteURLMatchesNamespace checks if a remote URL's hostname matches the publisher domain from the namespace
 func validateRemoteURLMatchesNamespace(remoteURL, namespace string) error {
 	// Parse the URL to extract the hostname

internal/validators/validators_test.go

@@ -27,7 +27,8 @@ func TestValidate(t *testing.T) {
 					Source: "github",
 					ID:     "owner/repo",
 				},
-				Version: "1.0.0",
+				Version:    "1.0.0",
+				WebsiteURL: "https://example.com/docs",
 				Packages: []model.Package{
 					{
 						Identifier:      "test-package",
@@ -170,6 +171,104 @@ func TestValidate(t *testing.T) {
 			},
 			expectedError: validators.ErrInvalidSubfolderPath.Error(),
 		},
+		{
+			name: "server with valid website URL",
+			serverDetail: apiv0.ServerJSON{
+				Name:        "com.example/test-server",
+				Description: "A test server",
+				Repository: model.Repository{
+					URL:    "https://github.com/owner/repo",
+					Source: "github",
+				},
+				Version:    "1.0.0",
+				WebsiteURL: "https://example.com/docs",
+			},
+			expectedError: "",
+		},
+		{
+			name: "server with invalid website URL - no scheme",
+			serverDetail: apiv0.ServerJSON{
+				Name:        "com.example/test-server",
+				Description: "A test server",
+				Repository: model.Repository{
+					URL:    "https://github.com/owner/repo",
+					Source: "github",
+				},
+				Version:    "1.0.0",
+				WebsiteURL: "example.com/docs",
+			},
+			expectedError: "website URL must be absolute (include scheme): example.com/docs",
+		},
+		{
+			name: "server with invalid website URL - invalid scheme",
+			serverDetail: apiv0.ServerJSON{
+				Name:        "com.example/test-server",
+				Description: "A test server",
+				Repository: model.Repository{
+					URL:    "https://github.com/owner/repo",
+					Source: "github",
+				},
+				Version:    "1.0.0",
+				WebsiteURL: "ftp://example.com/docs",
+			},
+			expectedError: "website URL must use http or https scheme: ftp://example.com/docs",
+		},
+		{
+			name: "server with malformed website URL",
+			serverDetail: apiv0.ServerJSON{
+				Name:        "com.example/test-server",
+				Description: "A test server",
+				Repository: model.Repository{
+					URL:    "https://github.com/owner/repo",
+					Source: "github",
+				},
+				Version:    "1.0.0",
+				WebsiteURL: "ht tp://example.com/docs",
+			},
+			expectedError: "invalid website URL:",
+		},
+		{
+			name: "server with website URL that matches namespace domain",
+			serverDetail: apiv0.ServerJSON{
+				Name:        "com.example/test-server",
+				Description: "A test server",
+				Repository: model.Repository{
+					URL:    "https://github.com/owner/repo",
+					Source: "github",
+				},
+				Version:    "1.0.0",
+				WebsiteURL: "https://example.com/docs",
+			},
+			expectedError: "",
+		},
+		{
+			name: "server with website URL subdomain that matches namespace",
+			serverDetail: apiv0.ServerJSON{
+				Name:        "com.example/test-server",
+				Description: "A test server",
+				Repository: model.Repository{
+					URL:    "https://github.com/owner/repo",
+					Source: "github",
+				},
+				Version:    "1.0.0",
+				WebsiteURL: "https://docs.example.com/mcp",
+			},
+			expectedError: "",
+		},
+		{
+			name: "server with website URL that does not match namespace",
+			serverDetail: apiv0.ServerJSON{
+				Name:        "com.example/test-server",
+				Description: "A test server",
+				Repository: model.Repository{
+					URL:    "https://github.com/owner/repo",
+					Source: "github",
+				},
+				Version:    "1.0.0",
+				WebsiteURL: "https://different.com/docs",
+			},
+			expectedError: "website URL https://different.com/docs does not match namespace com.example/test-server",
+		},
 		{
 			name: "package with spaces in name",
 			serverDetail: apiv0.ServerJSON{

pkg/api/v0/types.go

@@ -33,7 +33,8 @@ type ServerJSON struct {
 	Description   string              `json:"description" minLength:"1" maxLength:"100"`
 	Status        model.Status        `json:"status,omitempty" minLength:"1"`
 	Repository    model.Repository    `json:"repository,omitempty"`
-	Version string `json:"version"`
+	Version       string              `json:"version"`
+	WebsiteURL    string              `json:"website_url,omitempty"`
 	Packages      []model.Package     `json:"packages,omitempty"`
 	Remotes       []model.Transport   `json:"remotes,omitempty"`
 	Meta          *ServerMeta         `json:"_meta,omitempty"`

tools/validate-examples/main.go

@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ const (
 	// expectedExampleCount is the number of JSON examples we expect to find in generic-server-json.md
 	// IMPORTANT: Only change this count if you have intentionally added or removed examples. This
 	// check prevents accidental formatting changes from causing examples to be skipped during validation.
-	expectedExampleCount = 12
+	expectedExampleCount = 13
 )
 
 func main() {