How to Install an MCP Server from the Official Registry

Installing an MCP server from the official registry involves a few steps. First, you need to ensure that SAFi is installed and the virtual environment is activated. This can be done by running `docker compose exec app python scripts/safi_mcp.py search [package name]` on Docker or `cd /var/www/safi source venv/bin/activate python3 scripts/safi_mcp.py search [package name]` on bare metal. Skipping these steps can lead to Python not finding the necessary dependencies and the script failing.

When searching, note the output, which includes the package name, version, and a description of what it does. For example, `io.github.christianclaudio/smartsheet-rm (package, v1.0.2) [pypi:mcp-server-smartsheet-rm@1.0.2]`. The name indicates the server was published by an individual developer, not by the company itself, making it a community package. This is not a reason to avoid it, but it's important to understand what it does before granting access.

The package is installed using the command `scripts/safi_mcp.py add [package name]` on Docker or `python3 scripts/safi_mcp.py add [package name]` on bare metal. On a fresh install, SAFi will check if the launcher exists and provide an error message if it doesn't, such as "uvx is not on PATH here, so this server could never start. install uv (pip install uv), which provides uvx."

Some servers may require an API token to function. This is specified in the server's documentation and can be passed to SAFi using environment variables. For example, `python3 scripts/safi_mcp.py add io.github.christianclaudio/smartsheet-rm --env SMARTSHEET_RM_API_TOKEN=${SMARTSHEET_RM_API_TOKEN} --env SMARTSHEET_RM_READONLY=true`. This ensures the server connects securely and only uses the intended permissions.

In summary, installing an MCP server involves verifying SAFi, searching the registry for the desired package, activating the virtual environment, installing the server, and providing necessary credentials and permissions.