registry/docs/server-json
Repository files (latest commit first)
Filename Latest commit message Latest commit date
Joel Verhagen d42f11e479
Make value_hint optional to allow constant positional arguments (#172)
<!-- Provide a brief summary of your changes -->

## Motivation and Context
<!-- Why is this change needed? What problem does it solve? -->

This is one attempt to resolve
https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/registry/issues/169.

Instead of adding a new "constant" argument type, I expanded the
existing positional one and just dropped the `value_hint` requirement. I
am not sure if this has VS Code impact @sandy081, @connor4312.

Also, removed unneeded release_date values from the samples.

## How Has This Been Tested?
<!-- Have you tested this in a real application? Which scenarios were
tested? -->

I tested the current server.json samples in the repo against the new
(less strict) schema. Of course they passed (aside from an unrelated bug
in my previous NuGet sample 🤦).

## Breaking Changes
<!-- Will users need to update their code or configurations? -->

## Types of changes
<!-- What types of changes does your code introduce? Put an `x` in all
the boxes that apply: -->
- [ ] Bug fix (non-breaking change which fixes an issue)
- [ ] New feature (non-breaking change which adds functionality)
- [ ] Breaking change (fix or feature that would cause existing
functionality to change)
- [x] Documentation update

## Checklist
<!-- Go over all the following points, and put an `x` in all the boxes
that apply. -->
- [x] I have read the [MCP
Documentation](https://modelcontextprotocol.io)
- [x] My code follows the repository's style guidelines
- [ ] New and existing tests pass locally
- [ ] I have added appropriate error handling
- [x] I have added or updated documentation as needed

## Additional context
<!-- Add any other context, implementation notes, or design decisions
-->
2025-07-12 09:34:36 -07:00
..
examples.md Make value_hint optional to allow constant positional arguments (#172) 2025-07-12 09:34:36 -07:00
README.md Split "general" server.json from "registry-specific" server.json (#167) 2025-07-09 14:02:43 -07:00
registry-schema.json Split "general" server.json from "registry-specific" server.json (#167) 2025-07-09 14:02:43 -07:00
schema.json Make value_hint optional to allow constant positional arguments (#172) 2025-07-12 09:34:36 -07:00

server.json file

There are a variety of use cases where a static representation of an MCP server is necessary:

  • Discoverability on a centralized registry (i.e. our official Registry work)
  • Discoverability on a decentralized .well-known endpoint
  • As a response to an initialization call, so the client knows information about the MCP server to which it is connecting
  • As an input into crafting a DXT file
  • Packaged in with the source code of an MCP server, so as to have a structured way to identify a server given just its source code

All of these scenarios (and more) would benefit from an agreed-upon, standardized format that makes it easy to port around and maintain a consistent experience for consumers and developers working with the data. At the end of the day, it's all the same data (or a subset of it). MCP server maintainers should have to manage one copy of this file, and all these use cases can serve that file (or a programmatic derivative/subset of it).

Please note: this is different from the file commonly referred to as mcp.json, which is an MCP client's configuration file for running a specific set of MCP servers. See this issue.

References:

  • schema.json - The official JSON schema specification for this representation
  • examples.md - Example manifestations of the JSON schema
  • registry-schema.json - A more constrained version of schema.json that the official registry supports