Configure MCP server access for your organization or enterprise

Overview

An MCP registry is a directory of Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers that acts like a catalog for IDEs and Copilot (as well as other host applications). Each registry entry points to a server's manifest, which describes the tools, resources, and prompts that the server exposes.

As an enterprise or organization owner, you can configure an MCP Registry URL along with an access control policy to determine which MCP servers your developers can see and run in supported IDEs with GitHub Copilot.

By configuring an MCP Registry, you can:

• Provide a curated catalog of MCP servers your developers can discover and use
• Restrict access to unapproved servers for more granular access control
• Give clarity to developers when a server is blocked by policy

If you don't have an MCP registry set up yet, see Setting up an MCP Registry later in this article.

About MCP policy settings

The following settings let you control how MCP servers are discovered and accessed in your organization or enterprise.

MCP servers policy

First, you must set the overall MCP servers in Copilot policy:

• Enabled: MCP servers are allowed (default behavior depends on registry configuration)
• Disabled: No MCP servers can be used by any users with Copilot seats from this enterprise or organization
• No policy (Enterprise only): Child organizations can set their own MCP policies

MCP Registry URL

The MCP Registry URL is an optional field where you specify the endpoint of your discoverable or restricted internal MCP registry.

When configured:

• The servers listed in the registry are displayed in IDEs that support MCP
• Enables the "Restrict MCP access to registry servers" option

"Restrict MCP access to registry servers" setting

Under the Restrict MCP access to registry servers setting, you choose how strictly to enforce registry-based access:

• Allow all (default): Developers can run any local and remote MCP servers. Registry servers are still shown in the IDE catalog as a curated list for easier discoverability.
• Registry only: Developers can only run MCP servers that are explicitly listed in the uploaded MCP registry. All other servers—whether remote (hosted) or local (running client-side on the user's machine)—will be blocked at runtime. In IDE UIs, blocked servers appear greyed out with a warning message. In the mcp.json configuration file, they may also show "run": "blocked".

Configuring the MCP allowlist policy for an enterprise

1. GitHub の右上隅にあるプロフィール画像をクリックします。
2. ご自分の環境に応じて、[Your enterprise] または [Your enterprises] をクリックし、表示するエンタープライズをクリックします。
3. ページの上部にある [ Policies] をクリックします。
4. [Policies] セクションで [Copilot] をクリックします。
5. 「GitHub Copilot」ページで、[ポリシー] タブをクリックします。
6. Under "Features", ensure MCP servers in Copilot is set to Enabled.
7. In the MCP Registry URL (optional) field, enter the URL of your specification-compliant MCP registry.
8. Click Save.
9. Next to Restrict MCP access to registry servers, select one of the following from the dropdown:

   • Allow all: No restrictions. All MCP servers can be used.

   • Registry only: Only servers from the registry may run.

   メモ

   If no registry URL is set, the "Registry only" option blocks all MCP servers.

Your chosen policy will immediately apply to developers in your enterprise.

Configuring the MCP allowlist policy for an organization

1. GitHub の右上隅でプロフィール写真を選んでから、 [Your organizations] をクリックします。
2. 組織の隣の [設定] をクリックします。
3. In the sidebar, under "Code, planning, and automation", click Copilot, then click Policies.
4. Under "Features" ensure MCP servers in Copilot is set to Enabled.
5. In the MCP Registry URL (optional) field, enter the URL of your specification-compliant MCP registry.
6. Click Save.
7. Next to Restrict MCP access to registry servers, select one of the following from the dropdown:

   • Allow all: No restrictions. All MCP servers can be used.

   • Registry only: Only servers from the registry may run.

   メモ

   If no registry URL is set, the "Registry only" option blocks all MCP servers.

Your chosen policy will immediately apply to developers in your organization.

How are MCP allowlists enforced?

GitHub uses the following strategies for MCP allowlist enforcement.

Local servers

MCP allowlist enforcement applies to local MCP servers as well. When "Registry only" is configured, local servers must be included in the registry to be allowed.

Including local servers in your registry:

• Local servers must be listed in your registry with their correct server ID
• The server ID must match exactly between the registry entry and the installed server
• Consult the server's documentation or manifest for its canonical ID
• For consistent deployment across your organization, provide installation instructions that ensure users install the server with the expected ID

Policy resolution for users with multiple seats

MCP allowlist enforcement is always tied to the organization or enterprise that assigns the GitHub Copilot seat. If a user has multiple seats (for example, from several organizations or from both an enterprise and its child organizations), GitHub automatically resolves conflicts and applies a single active policy.

The resolution logic is:

1. Scope: Policies set by a parent enterprise override those set by an organization. Enterprise policies trickle down to all organizations and members within that enterprise.
2. Enforcement strictness: Registry only outranks Allow all.
3. Recency of registry upload: If two policies have the same scope and strictness, the registry most recently uploaded (saved) wins.
4. Tie-breaker: If all else is equal, the lowest internal ID wins (rare edge case).

Setting up an MCP Registry

If you don't already have an MCP Registry configured, there are a few different ways you can create one depending on your needs.

Simple/static registry

At its core, a registry is just an HTTPS endpoint that serves a list of MCP server manifests. You can publish this as a static JSON file on GitHub Pages, an S3 bucket, or any web server. This is the fastest and most lightweight option.

Example registry format

Your registry must return a JSON response with the following structure:

{
  "servers": [
    {
      "id": "github",
      "name": "GitHub MCP Server",
      "description": "Tools and resources for GitHub repos, issues, PRs, and Actions.",
      "manifest_url": "https://registry.yourcompany.com/servers/github/manifest.json",
      "categories": ["code", "devops", "github"],
      "version": "1.0.0",
      "release_date": "2025-09-01T00:00:00Z",
      "latest": true
    },
    {
      "id": "local-linter",
      "name": "Local Linter",
      "description": "Runs lint checks against local files",
      "manifest_url": "file:///path/to/local/manifest.json",
      "categories": ["linting", "local", "devtools"],
      "version": "1.0.0",
      "release_date": "2025-09-01T00:00:00Z",
      "latest": true
    }
  ],
  "total_count": 2,
  "updated_at": "2025-09-09T12:00:00Z"
}

Required fields:

• id: Unique identifier for the server
• name: Display name for the server
• description: Brief description of the server's functionality
• manifest_url: URL pointing to the server's MCP manifest

Optional fields that provide additional metadata:

• categories: Array of category tags
• version: Version identifier
• release_date: ISO format release date
• latest: Boolean indicating if this is the latest version
• Additional fields like total_count and updated_at at the root level

Azure API Center

For enterprises that want a dynamic and fully managed option, Azure API Center (part of Azure API Management) can be used as an MCP Registry. It provides governance features, discovery UI, and integration with existing API catalogs.

Steps to set up with Azure API Center:

1. Go to the Azure API Center portal.
2. Create a new API Center instance (or reuse an existing one).
3. Add your MCP servers as APIs, including their manifests and metadata.
4. Publish your API Center instance.
5. Copy the API Center endpoint URL—this becomes your MCP Registry URL.
6. Paste this URL into the MCP Registry URL (optional) field in your GitHub Enterprise or organization settings.

For more information, see Azure API Center Documentation and Azure API Center Quickstart.