docs: correct contributor prerequisites and stale dev-env references (#1520)

The README prerequisites were both stale, and the docs restated the Go
version in three places.

## Prerequisites: name the source, do not restate the version

| README said | Reality |
|---|---|
| `Go 1.24.x` | `go 1.26` in
[go.mod](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/registry/blob/main/go.mod)
|
| `golangci-lint v2.4.0` | `v2.11.4` pinned in
[ci.yml:30](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/registry/blob/main/.github/workflows/ci.yml#L30)
|

Rather than swap in fresher numbers — which only resets the clock on the
same drift — this **removes the numbers** and names the authoritative
file:

```
- **Go** - version per the `go` directive in go.mod; the Go toolchain fetches it for you
- **golangci-lint** - version per the `golangci-lint-action` pin in ci.yml, so local lint matches CI
```

The Go version was stated in **three** places, which is exactly why all
three drifted together. All three now point at a single source, so the
prerequisites list cannot go stale.

Two notes on why the numbers earn so little in prose:

- **Go corrects itself.** `go.mod` has no `toolchain` directive, so
under the default `GOTOOLCHAIN=auto` the toolchain downloads the
required version automatically. A contributor on an older Go gets an
upgrade, not a failure — it only hard-errors under `GOTOOLCHAIN=local`.
(An earlier version of this description said such a contributor "cannot
build"; that was too strong.)
- **golangci-lint does not.** Version skew here genuinely changes what
you see: running CI's config under a newer golangci-lint (2.12.2)
surfaces 23 `goconst` findings in
`cmd/publisher/commands/validate_test.go` that CI's pinned 2.11.4 does
not report. That is why the README now points at the pin rather than a
number someone has to keep in sync.

## `make check` does more than documented

Documented in three files as "lint, unit tests and integration tests".
Actually [`check: dev-down lint validate
test-all`](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/registry/blob/main/Makefile#L85)
— it also runs schema validation and **stops your running `dev-compose`
environment**. Worth knowing before running it mid-session. The
Makefile's own `##` help string already said this correctly; only the
prose was stale.

## Other verified corrections

- **README project structure** omitted `cmd/registry/` — the server
entry point and ko/goreleaser build target — and `internal/importer/`.
- **`tests/integration/README.md`** said the suite launches **MongoDB**.
It launches PostgreSQL (`postgres-integration-test`), as the same file
admits nine lines later. It also cited `/v0/servers/{server_id}`, a path
removed a while ago; the test actually calls `GET /v0/servers` and `GET
/v0/servers/{serverName}/versions/latest`
([main.go:210,255](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/registry/blob/main/tests/integration/main.go#L210)).
- **`scripts/mirror_data/README.md`** pointed at
`internal/database/migrations/008_separate_official_metadata.sql`, which
does not exist — that migration is `009_`, while `008_` is
`clean_invalid_data.sql`. (Migration 008's own header still calls itself
"007a", which is how the numbering slipped.) Also swapped two "edit line
NN" pointers for identifier names, since both had already drifted
(`maxMigration` is at :30 not :24; the connection string at :23 not
:17), and corrected the fetch URL from `/v0.1/servers` to the
`/v0/servers` the script actually requests.
- **`.env.example`** was missing
`MCP_REGISTRY_ENABLE_REGISTRY_VALIDATION`, even though the config reads
it
([config.go:18](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/registry/blob/main/internal/config/config.go#L18))
and README:50 tells contributors to set it while pointing at
`.env.example` as *the* reference.
- **`docker-compose.yml`** set `MCP_REGISTRY_ENVIRONMENT`, which nothing
reads — no `ENVIRONMENT` env tag in `internal/config`, and no other
occurrence in the repo. Removed. (The Pulumi-side
`mcp-registry:environment` key is a separate, real thing and is
untouched.)
- **Deleted `CHANGES.md`** — 0 bytes, untouched since the squashed
history base, zero references anywhere.

## Verification

`docker compose config` validates. `grep` for `Go 1.x` / `golangci-lint
vX` across all `.md`/`.mdx` now returns nothing outside `complete.md`
(which #1522 deletes). Both `../../README.md#pre-requisites` links
resolve and the anchor matches the real `#### Pre-requisites` heading.

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

---------

Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

.env.example

@@ -11,6 +11,11 @@ MCP_REGISTRY_DATABASE_URL=postgres://username:password@localhost:5432/mcp-regist
 # For offline development, use: data/seed.json
 MCP_REGISTRY_SEED_FROM=https://registry.modelcontextprotocol.io/v0/servers
 
+# Validate seed data against the registry rules on import (default: true)
+# Set to false for offline development when seeding from a local file, since
+# data/seed.json is not guaranteed to pass validation
+MCP_REGISTRY_ENABLE_REGISTRY_VALIDATION=true
+
 # GitHub OAuth configuration
 # These creds are for local development with the 'MCP Registry Login (Local)' GitHub App
 # They don't provide any real privileged access, hence why it's okay that they're here

.github/copilot-instructions.md

@@ -9,5 +9,5 @@ To publish an MCP server to the registry, use the `mcp-publisher` CLI tool. See
 ## Development
 
 - Use `make` targets where possible (run `make help` to see available targets)
-- Run `make check` to run lint, unit tests, and integration tests
+- Run `make check` to run lint, schema validation, and all tests (this also stops any running dev-compose environment)
 - Run `make dev-compose` to start the local development environment

CONTRIBUTING.md

@@ -32,7 +32,8 @@ See the [README](README.md#quick-start) for prerequisites and instructions on ru
 ### Running checks
 
 ```bash
-# Run lint, unit tests and integration tests
+# Run lint, schema validation, and all tests
+# Note: this also runs `make dev-down`, stopping any running dev-compose environment
 make check
 ```
 

README.md

@@ -32,9 +32,9 @@ Often (but not always) ideas flow through this pipeline:
 #### Pre-requisites
 
 - **Docker**
-- **Go 1.24.x**
+- **Go** - version per the `go` directive in [go.mod](./go.mod); the Go toolchain fetches it for you
 - **ko** - Container image builder for Go ([installation instructions](https://ko.build/install/))
-- **golangci-lint v2.4.0**
+- **golangci-lint** - version per the `golangci-lint-action` pin in [ci.yml](./.github/workflows/ci.yml), so local lint matches CI
 
 #### Running the server
 
@@ -94,7 +94,8 @@ See [the publisher guide](./docs/modelcontextprotocol-io/quickstart.mdx) for mor
 #### Other commands
 
 ```bash
-# Run lint, unit tests and integration tests
+# Run lint, schema validation, and all tests
+# Note: this also runs `make dev-down`, stopping any running dev-compose environment
 make check
 ```
 
@@ -110,7 +111,8 @@ For Claude and other AI tools: Always prefer make targets over custom commands w
 
 ```
 ├── cmd/                     # Application entry points
-│   └── publisher/           # Server publishing tool
+│   ├── publisher/           # Server publishing tool
+│   └── registry/            # Registry API server
 ├── data/                    # Seed data
 ├── deploy/                  # Deployment configuration (Pulumi)
 ├── docs/                    # Documentation
@@ -119,6 +121,7 @@ For Claude and other AI tools: Always prefer make targets over custom commands w
 │   ├── auth/                # Authentication (GitHub OAuth, JWT, namespace blocking)
 │   ├── config/              # Configuration management
 │   ├── database/            # Data persistence (PostgreSQL)
+│   ├── importer/            # Seed data import
 │   ├── service/             # Business logic
 │   ├── telemetry/           # Metrics and monitoring
 │   └── validators/          # Input validation

docker-compose.yml

@@ -10,7 +10,6 @@ services:
     # See .env.example for more documentation
     environment:
       - MCP_REGISTRY_DATABASE_URL=${MCP_REGISTRY_DATABASE_URL:-postgres://mcpregistry:mcpregistry@postgres:5432/mcp-registry}
-      - MCP_REGISTRY_ENVIRONMENT=${MCP_REGISTRY_ENVIRONMENT:-test}
       - MCP_REGISTRY_GITHUB_CLIENT_ID=${MCP_REGISTRY_GITHUB_CLIENT_ID:-Iv23licy3GSiM9Km5jtd}
       - MCP_REGISTRY_GITHUB_CLIENT_SECRET=${MCP_REGISTRY_GITHUB_CLIENT_SECRET:-0e8db54879b02c29adef51795586f3c510a9341d}
       - MCP_REGISTRY_JWT_PRIVATE_KEY=${MCP_REGISTRY_JWT_PRIVATE_KEY:-8103179d8ef955f6d3de6d6217224a909ec4060529dfeb1d4ca5a994537658cd}

scripts/mirror_data/README.md

@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ These scripts help you:
 
 ## Prerequisites
 
-- Go 1.24.x
+- Go — see the [prerequisites in the root README](../../README.md#pre-requisites) for the required version
 - PostgreSQL (via Docker or local installation)
 - Required Go packages:
   ```bash
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ go run scripts/mirror_data/fetch_production_data.go
 ```
 
 This will:
-- Fetch all servers from https://registry.modelcontextprotocol.io/v0.1/servers
+- Fetch all servers from https://registry.modelcontextprotocol.io/v0/servers
 - Handle pagination automatically
 - Save data to `scripts/mirror_data/production_servers.json`
 - Be respectful to the API with rate limiting
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ This will:
 4. Analyze the data and report statistics
 5. Show sample servers with NULL status values
 
-To test a different migration, edit `maxMigration` in the script (line 24)
+To test a different migration, edit `maxMigration` in `load_production_data.go`
 
 ### 4. Test Migrations
 
@@ -80,8 +80,8 @@ After loading the data, you can test migrations against real production data.
 #### Testing a Single Migration
 
 ```bash
-# Test migration 008
+# Test the separate_official_metadata migration
-cat internal/database/migrations/008_separate_official_metadata.sql | \
+cat internal/database/migrations/009_separate_official_metadata.sql | \
   docker exec -i test-postgres psql -U postgres -d registry_test
 ```
 
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ cat internal/database/migrations/008_separate_official_metadata.sql | \
 1. **Check the error output:**
 ```bash
 # Run migration and capture all output
-cat internal/database/migrations/008_separate_official_metadata.sql | \
+cat internal/database/migrations/009_separate_official_metadata.sql | \
   docker exec -i test-postgres psql -U postgres -d registry_test 2>&1 | \
   grep -E "(ERROR|NOTICE|WARNING)"
 ```
@@ -126,7 +126,7 @@ EOF
 # Start a transaction to test and rollback
 docker exec test-postgres psql -U postgres -d registry_test <<EOF
 BEGIN;
-\i /dev/stdin < internal/database/migrations/008_separate_official_metadata.sql
+\i /dev/stdin < internal/database/migrations/009_separate_official_metadata.sql
 -- Inspect the results
 \d servers
 SELECT COUNT(*) FROM servers;
@@ -145,7 +145,7 @@ go run scripts/mirror_data/load_production_data.go
 
 2. **Test your migration changes:**
 ```bash
-cat internal/database/migrations/008_separate_official_metadata.sql | \
+cat internal/database/migrations/009_separate_official_metadata.sql | \
   docker exec -i test-postgres psql -U postgres -d registry_test
 ```
 
@@ -183,7 +183,7 @@ The `load_production_data.go` script connects to:
 - User: `postgres`
 - Password: `testpass`
 
-Modify line 17 in the script if you need different connection parameters.
+Modify the `sql.Open` connection string in `load_production_data.go` if you need different connection parameters.
 
 ## Example Output
 
@@ -234,4 +234,4 @@ docker logs test-postgres
 ```
 
 ### Migration failures
-The script stops at migration 007 intentionally. To test migration 008, run it manually after the data is loaded.
+The script stops at migration 007 intentionally. To test later migrations (008 onwards), run them manually after the data is loaded, in order.

tests/integration/README.md

@@ -5,14 +5,14 @@ This directory contains an end-to-end test for publishing to the registry.
 ## What the Test Covers
 
 1. **Publisher Tool**: Tests the `publisher` CLI that publishes metadata to the registry
-2. **Registry API**: Validates the `/v0/publish` and `/v0/servers/{server_id}` endpoints work correctly
+2. **Registry API**: Validates that `/v0/publish`, `GET /v0/servers`, and `GET /v0/servers/{serverName}/versions/latest` work correctly
 3. **Example Validation**: Ensures all example JSON in `docs/reference/server-json/generic-server-json.md` is valid and can be published
 4. **Data Consistency**: Verifies published data matches what's retrieved from the registry
 
 ## Test Flow
 
 1. **Build**: Build `publisher` and `registry`
-2. **Start Services**: Launch registry and MongoDB using Docker Compose with test configuration
+2. **Start Services**: Launch registry and PostgreSQL using Docker Compose with test configuration
 3. **Publish Examples**: Extract JSON examples from documentation and run `publisher` to publish each one
 4. **Validate Responses**: GET each published server from the registry and compare it to the example JSON
 5. **Cleanup**: Stop Docker containers and remove temporary files
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ This directory contains an end-to-end test for publishing to the registry.
 ### Prerequisites
 
 - Docker and Docker Compose
-- Go 1.24
+- Go — see the [prerequisites in the root README](../../README.md#pre-requisites) for the required version
 - Make sure you're in the repository root directory
 
 ### Run the Tests