Register Remote Custom MCP Servers

A custom remote MCP server is an external web service endpoint that provides specific tools and capabilities to AI agents but isn't hosted as an artifact within JFrog Artifactory. Once you register the server in the JFrog MCP Registry, it becomes discoverable in the AI Catalog so developers can connect coding agents (such as Claude Code, Cursor, or VS Code) to internal or external company assets through the governed JFrog Agent Guard.

Registration is the approval mechanism for these servers in your organization. You can register remote servers through the JFrog Platform UI or the MCP Registry REST API. For package-based servers stored in Artifactory, see Registering Local Custom MCP Servers.

Prerequisites Before Registering a Remote Custom MCP Server

Ensure the following requirements are met:

• Permissions: You must have Allow or Manage permissions for the target project in the AI Catalog.
• Connection details: You must have a valid endpoint URL that supports the required transport protocol.
• Network access: The JFrog Platform must have network connectivity to the remote endpoint.

Register a Remote Custom MCP Server

Registering a remote MCP server approves the external endpoint for organizational use and applies tool policies you define during registration. Use either procedure:

• Register Through the UI
• Register Through the REST API

Register Through the UI

Use the Platform registry when you want to register one remote endpoint and configure tool policies in the UI.

To register a remote custom MCP server through the UI:

1. In the Platform module, navigate to AI/ML > Registry.

2. Select the project for which you want to register the MCP server.

3. Click Register Custom Server.

4. Set up the endpoint:

   1. Enter the connection details:
      • Server Name: A unique identifier for the catalog (for example, acme-internal-db-mcp).
      • Endpoint URL: The secure address (HTTPS recommended) where the MCP server is hosted.
      • Transport Protocol: Select SSE (Server-Sent Events) or Streamable HTTP (see the transport table in Prerequisites Before Registering a Remote Custom MCP Server).
      • Description: Add a description of your MCP server.

5. Click Next.

6. Define the tool policy for how tools in this server are governed:

   • Allow all tools: Automatically approves all current and future tools on this server.
   • Select tools manually: Enables granular control with an Allow List or Deny List and regular expression patterns. See Configure Tool Policies.

7. Click Next.

8. Under the Configuration step, define HTTP headers the Agent Guard sends when it proxies requests to your remote endpoint.

   The Agent Guard connects to your external server on behalf of coding agents. If the endpoint expects API keys, bearer tokens, or other metadata in headers, define that header schema here: header names, descriptions, and whether each value is required or secret. You do not enter secret values at registration; developers provide them when they connect through the Agent Guard.

   Define headers when the endpoint requires authentication. Skip them only if the service is reachable without auth on your network (HTTPS and authentication are still recommended).

   Field	Description	When to enable
   Header name	Standard HTTP header key (for example, Authorization, X-API-Key).	Always, when the remote server expects a header.
   Description	What the value is for; shown to developers at connect time.	Always.
   Required	Developers must supply a value before they can use this MCP.	Auth tokens and other mandatory headers.
   Secret	Input is masked and handled as sensitive data.	Passwords, API keys, and bearer tokens.

   Example: For a Jira integration, set header name to Authorization, description to "Bearer token for Jira API access", and enable Required and Secret.

9. Click Complete Registration. The MCP server appears on the Registry page for the selected project.

Register Through the REST API

Use the REST API to automate remote MCP registration in a CI/CD pipeline.

To register a remote custom MCP server through the REST API:

1. Send a POST request to the custom-server registration endpoint:

   https://<JFROG_DOMAIN>/ml/core/api/v1/mcp-registry/custom-server

2. Include a JSON body that sets mcpServerInfo.type to remote and supplies the endpoint URL, transport, and any required custom headers. For example:

curl --location 'https://<JFROG_URL>/ml/core/api/v1/mcp-registry/custom-server' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--header 'Authorization: Bearer <JFROG_ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
--data '{
  "projectKey": "<PROJECT_KEY>",
  "mcpServerInfo": {
    "description": "<DESCRIPTION>"
  },
  "remoteServerSpec": {
    "name": "<SERVER_NAME>",
    "displayName": "<DISPLAY_NAME>",
    "server": {
      "endpoints": [
        {
          "url": "<ENDPOINT_URL>",
          "transportType": "<TRANSPORT_TYPE>",
          "headers": [
            {
              "mcpInput": {
                "mcpInputDetails": {
                  "name": "<HEADER_NAME>",
                  "description": "<HEADER_DESCRIPTION>",
                  "format": "string",
                  "isRequired": true,
                  "isSecret": true
                }
              }
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}'

Where:

• <JFROG_URL>: Your JFrog Platform domain (for example, mycompany.jfrog.io).
• <JFROG_ACCESS_TOKEN>: A valid access token with permissions to register MCP servers in the target project.
• projectKey: The project identifier for isolation.
• type: Set to remote for external endpoints.
• endpointUrl: The URL where the server is hosted.
• transport: Communication protocol (sse or http).
• customHeaders: Headers required for the connection, including whether each is required and treated as a secret.

📘

Constraints for Remote Custom MCP

• remoteServerSpec.name must match ^[a-zA-Z0-9][a-zA-Z0-9._-]{0,127}$
• transportType must be MCP_REMOTE_SERVER_TRANSPORT_TYPE_SSEorMCP_REMOTE_SERVER_TRANSPORT_TYPE_STREAMABLE_HTTP
• At least one endpoint is required
• Header names must be unique (case-insensitive)
• mcpServerInfo.version, environmentVariables, and runtimeArguments` are forbidden on remote registrations

Once registered, the server appears in the AI Catalog for members of the selected project. Developers can discover the server and its configuration, then connect an AI agent through the JFrog Agent Guard. The guard prompts for any secret values defined in the header schema.

Frequently Asked Questions

These questions cover common issues when you register a remote custom MCP server in the MCP Registry.

Related Topics

• Custom MCP Servers
• Registering Local Custom MCP Servers
• Configure Tool Policies
• MCP Registry troubleshooting
• Get started with MCP