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Add registry authorization specification (#756)

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Add a standardized OAuth 2.1-based authentication specification for MCP
sub-registries, aligned with the MCP Authorization Specification.

This enables:
- Private registry entries with access control
- Permission-based server visibility
- Client code reuse (clients can use their existing MCP auth
implementation)

The spec is intended for downstream sub-registries. The official
registry remains public for reading.

Fixes #751

---------

Co-authored-by: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
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adam jones 2025-11-17 19:11:07 +00:00 • committed by GitHub
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# Registry Authorization
MCP registries wishing to implement authentication SHOULD follow the [MCP Authorization Specification](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/specification/draft/basic/authorization).
## How it works
The registry acts as an OAuth 2.1 Resource Server, identical to how MCP servers work. This means:
- **MCP clients** can reuse their existing MCP authorization implementation without any changes
- **Registries** validate access tokens the same way MCP servers do
- **Users** get a consistent login experience across MCP servers and registries
## Registry-Specific Scopes
Registries MAY use these scopes:
- `mcp-registry:read` - List and read server metadata
- `mcp-registry:write` - Publish, update, and delete servers
These are recommendations - registries may use any set of scopes they deem sensible.
Note that scopes only control what *types* of operations a user can perform. Registries should still apply user-level authorization to control which specific resources a user can access. For example, a user with `mcp-registry:write` might only be able to publish servers to namespaces they own, and may not have permissions to edit servers if the registry treats servers as immutable.
## Official Registry Authentication
The official modelcontextprotocol.io registry remains public for reading. For publishing servers, it uses a custom JWT-based authentication system for legacy reasons - see [its API spec](official-registry-api.md#authentication). This may change in future to align with the MCP Authorization Specification.