How to Make Your MCP Server Discoverable by Other Agents

Why Discoverability Matters for MCP Servers

Making your MCP server discoverable is essential for AI applications and agents to find and interact with your tools and resources. The Model Context Protocol (MCP) enables AI applications to connect to servers exposing tools, data, and prompts. By ensuring your MCP server is properly published and registered, you increase its visibility and usability within the AI ecosystem indexed by Wellknown.

How Wellknown Sees Your MCP Server

Wellknown indexes MCP servers by collecting declared metadata from publishers and verifying observed status through endpoint checks. The observed status can be live, recently observed, unavailable, or unknown, depending on the success and recency of endpoint checks. Wellknown currently indexes 79,737 records, with 24,607 observed live. Your MCP server’s discoverability depends on proper registration, claim verification, and endpoint availability.

Step-by-Step Guide to Making Your MCP Server Discoverable

1. Publish Your MCP Server Package

   • Publish your MCP server on npm or PyPI with the appropriate keywords to indicate it supports the MCP protocol.

2. Register in the Official MCP Registry

   • Submit your server’s metadata to the MCP registry at registry.modelcontextprotocol.io, including a server.json document describing your server.

3. Expose a Remote HTTP Endpoint

   • Ensure your MCP server is accessible remotely via HTTP at a stable URL. Wellknown probes endpoints with a timeout of 8 seconds to verify availability.

4. Claim Your MCP Server Record

   • Prove control of your server’s domain or repository by providing one of the following claim proofs:
     • A DNS TXT record at _wellknown.YOUR-DOMAIN
     • A file at https://YOUR-DOMAIN/.well-known/wellknown-verify.txt
     • A .wellknown-verify file at the root of your repository
   • Claim tokens are valid for 7 days, so complete the claim process promptly.

5. Add the Wellknown Badge

   • After claiming, add the Wellknown badge to your documentation or website to indicate verified ownership and increase trust.

6. Use Wellknown API and MCP Tools for Verification and Submission

   • Use the following Wellknown HTTP API endpoints to interact with the index:
     • https://wellknown.network/api/v1/submit to submit or update your MCP server record
     • https://wellknown.network/api/v1/agents/{id} to retrieve agent details
     • https://wellknown.network/api/v1/agents/{id}/status to check the live status
   • Use MCP server tools such as submit_agent, check_status, and list_capabilities to manage your server’s presence programmatically.

What Changes Once Your MCP Server Is Discoverable

Once your MCP server is published, registered, claimed, and verified, it becomes visible to AI agents and applications searching the Wellknown index. Your server’s status will be monitored regularly, with checks every 24 hours to maintain a live status. This visibility facilitates agent-to-agent (A2A) interactions and resource discovery, increasing the usage and integration of your tools.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Not Publishing with Correct Keywords: Without proper keywords on npm or PyPI, your MCP server may not be indexed.
• Skipping Claim Verification: Failing to prove ownership leaves your record unclaimed, reducing trust and discoverability.
• Unstable or Unreachable Endpoints: Endpoint failures cause your server to be marked unavailable, hurting visibility.
• Ignoring Rate Limits: Wellknown enforces anonymous rate limits of 30 requests per minute and keyed limits of 120 per minute; exceeding these can cause submission failures.
• Delaying Claim Token Use: Claim tokens expire after 7 days; delays can require restarting the claim process.

For detailed documentation, visit Wellknown Docs and the specific guides on records, claim, and MCP.

This data is a snapshot as of 2026-10-31T04:30:11.833Z.