PRIVATE VS PUBLIC MCP REGISTRY
Private MCP registry vs public marketplace — choose the allow-list
Public MCP registries and marketplaces help people discover servers. That is a different job from deciding what your organisation will allow. Joyst is a private MCP registry for your org: document, approve, and govern the servers your team can use — an allow-list, not a storefront.
CATEGORY CLARITY
Public discovery vs private MCP registry allow-list
- Public registry / marketplace intent
Public lists optimise for browse and discovery. Useful for research — weak as the system of record for what your company may connect.
- Private allow-list intent
A private MCP registry answers a different question: which servers is this organisation allowed to use, who owns them, and what is approved.
- Allow-list, annotate, approve
Connect deliberately, document tools, and approve what agents and people may use. Governance and audit sit beside the catalogue.
PRIVATE MCP REGISTRY
What a private MCP registry means
- Org catalogue, not a storefront
Your organisation's catalogue of connected servers, annotations, and approvals — ownership and permissions sit with you.
- Document beside the connection
Annotations live with each MCP so onboarding and reviews do not depend on Slack archaeology or a forgotten wiki.
- Approve what the team can use
The allow-list is deliberate: approved servers feed skills and agents; unapproved ones stay out of wider use.
- Govern and audit
Permissions and audit under AI governance so security can see who changed what on the private set.
PUBLIC LISTS STILL HELP
When public lists still help
- Use public lists for research
Public directories can help you find candidates. That discovery step is useful — it is not the org system of record.
- Bring approved choices into Joyst
Joyst is where approved choices become the private MCP registry allow-list your team actually runs.
- Feed agents from the private set
Skills and agents pull from the approved private catalogue — not from whatever someone bookmarked last week.
- Gateway stays roadmap
Enterprise MCP gateway is roadmap text only. Start with the private catalogue today — document, approve, and govern servers your org allows.
Document MCP tools
Document MCP toolsSkills registry
Skills registryAgents
AgentsSecrets vault
Secrets vaultAI governance
AI governancePrivate vs public MCP registry FAQ
Public registries help discovery. A private MCP registry is your org allow-list: document, approve, and govern servers your team can use.
No. Private org catalogue only — not a public marketplace or directory product.
Yes for research. Bring approved choices into Joyst as the system of record for your team.
Allow-lists, permissions, and audit trail make the private catalogue reviewable — detail under AI governance.
No. Joyst catalogues the AI asset layer beside a developer portal, not instead of one.