MCP Server Market: How to Discover and Contribute MCP Servers in ChatMCP

The MCP Server Market is a community-driven registry that ChatMCP queries at runtime to populate its server catalog, and you can contribute by submitting a pull request to the chatmcpclient/mcp_server_market repository with your server's JSON configuration.

The MCP Server Market serves as the central discovery mechanism for ChatMCP (daodao97/chatmcp), a Flutter-based client for the Model Context Protocol (MCP). It enables users to browse and install third-party servers without updating the application, while allowing developers to distribute their tools through a simple JSON registry.

What Is the MCP Server Market?

The MCP Server Market is a community-curated collection of MCP server definitions hosted in a separate repository at chatmcpclient/mcp_server_market. Unlike static application bundles, ChatMCP fetches this registry dynamically at runtime, merging it with your locally installed servers to present a unified catalog in the MCP Server settings page.

The market registry is a single JSON file (mcp_server_market.json) hosted on GitHub. When users open the server management interface, ChatMCP performs an HTTP GET request to fetch the latest market data, filters entries by platform compatibility, and annotates each entry with an installed flag to indicate whether it's already present in the local configuration.

How ChatMCP Loads and Merges Market Data

The integration logic resides in lib/provider/mcp_server_provider.dart, specifically within the loadMarketServers() method. At lines 92-94, the provider fetches the canonical market file:

final response = await http.get(Uri.parse(
    'https://raw.githubusercontent.com/chatmcpclient/mcp_server_market/refs/heads/main/mcp_server_market.json'));

After retrieving the JSON, the provider parses the mcpServers map and performs platform-specific filtering (lines 19-25). Each server entry is checked against the current platform, and an installed boolean is injected to mark servers that already exist in the user's local assets/mcp_server.json file. This merged dataset powers the UI in lib/page/setting/mcp_server.dart, where users can toggle servers on and off or initiate new installations.

Local vs. Market Server Storage

ChatMCP maintains two distinct data layers:

• assets/mcp_server.json: Stores user-specific server configurations locally, including custom servers not present in the market.
• Remote market JSON: The read-only registry fetched from GitHub that provides the canonical list of community servers.

The McpServerProvider class orchestrates this dual-source architecture, ensuring that locally defined servers take precedence while market servers fill out the catalog.

Contributing a New MCP Server to the Market

You can add your MCP server to the global registry without modifying the ChatMCP application code. The market is data-driven, accepting contributions through standard GitHub workflows.

Step 1: Fork the Market Repository

Navigate to https://github.com/chatmcpclient/mcp_server_market and create a fork. This repository contains the single source of truth for the market registry.

Step 2: Add Your Server Definition

Edit the mcp_server_market.json file in your fork. Add a new entry under the mcpServers top-level object following this structure (reproduced from the ChatMCP README at lines 15-27):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "existing-mcp-servers": {},
    "my-awesome-server": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "--from",
        "git+https://github.com/username/my-awesome-server",
        "my-awesome-server"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Required fields include command (the executable to run), while args, env, and tools are optional depending on your server's requirements.

Step 3: Submit a Pull Request

Commit your changes and open a pull request against the upstream chatmcpclient/mcp_server_market repository. Once merged, your server definition becomes immediately available to all ChatMCP clients, which fetch the updated JSON on their next market refresh.

Programmatic Market Interaction

For developers extending ChatMCP or building automation around MCP servers, the McpServerProvider exposes methods to interact with the market programmatically.

Loading the Market List

To fetch the current market catalog in Dart:

final provider = McpServerProvider();
final market = await provider.loadMarketServers();
print(market['mcpServers'].keys);  // Lists all available server names

This corresponds to the implementation at lines 94-115 of mcp_server_provider.dart.

Adding a Server Programmatically

To inject a new server definition into the local configuration:

await provider.addMcpServer({
  'name': 'my-awesome-server',
  'type': 'custom',
  'command': 'uvx',
  'args': ['--from', 'git+https://github.com/username/my-awesome-server', 'my-awesome-server'],
  'env': {},
  'tools': []
});

The addMcpServer() method (lines 71-79) persists the configuration to assets/mcp_server.json and initializes the client connection.

Starting a Server Instance

Once added, activate a specific server:

await provider.startMcpServer('my-awesome-server');

Behind the scenes, startMcpServer invokes initializeMcpServer (lines 37-51), which spawns the process, loads available tools via the MCP protocol, and registers the client for use in chat sessions.

Key Implementation Files

The market integration spans these critical files in the daodao97/chatmcp repository:

• lib/provider/mcp_server_provider.dart: Core provider handling market fetching, local storage, and client lifecycle management.
• assets/mcp_server.json: Default local configuration file shipped with the application.
• lib/page/setting/mcp_server.dart: UI page rendering the server list and handling user installation requests.
• lib/page/layout/widgets/mcp_tools.dart: Toolbar widget providing quick access to MCP server management.
• README.md: User-facing documentation describing the contribution workflow.

Summary

• The MCP Server Market is a remote JSON registry at chatmcpclient/mcp_server_market that ChatMCP fetches at runtime to discover available servers.
• McpServerProvider.loadMarketServers() merges remote market data with local assets/mcp_server.json, filtering by platform and marking installed servers.
• Contributing requires only editing mcp_server_market.json in the market repository and submitting a pull request—no ChatMCP code changes necessary.
• New servers appear automatically once the PR merges, as clients download the updated JSON on their next fetch cycle.
• Programmatic control is available through addMcpServer() and startMcpServer() methods in the provider class.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to modify the ChatMCP Flutter code to add my server to the market?

No. The market is entirely data-driven. You only need to submit a pull request to the chatmcpclient/mcp_server_market repository with your server's JSON definition. ChatMCP reads this registry at runtime, so updates appear automatically without app redeployment.

What fields are required in the market JSON entry?

At minimum, you must provide a command field specifying the executable to run. Most entries also include an args array for command-line arguments. Optional fields include env for environment variables and tools for pre-declared tool metadata. The exact schema mirrors the structure used in assets/mcp_server.json.

How quickly will my contributed server appear in ChatMCP?

Immediately after your pull request is merged into the main branch of chatmcpclient/mcp_server_market. ChatMCP clients fetch mcp_server_market.json directly from the raw GitHub URL on each app launch or refresh, ensuring zero latency between merge and availability.

Can I distribute private or internal MCP servers through the market?

The public market at chatmcpclient/mcp_server_market is intended for open-source community servers. For private distributions, users should add servers directly to their local assets/mcp_server.json file through the ChatMCP Add Server dialog, or fork the market repository for internal use with a custom build pointing to your private JSON endpoint.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "instagit": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "instagit@latest"]
    }
  }
}