provider: Smithery
providerId: smithery-ai
created: '2026-05-25'
modified: '2026-05-25'
description: Vocabulary mapping for the Smithery MCP registry and hosting platform. Captures the platform's
  core concepts (Server, Connection, Tool, Trigger, Skill, Namespace, Release) and their roles in the
  Model Context Protocol ecosystem.
sources:
  - https://smithery.ai/docs
  - https://smithery.ai/docs/openapi.json
  - https://modelcontextprotocol.io
terms:
  - term: MCP
    definition: Model Context Protocol — the open specification (stewarded via modelcontextprotocol.io) for
      connecting AI agents to tools, resources, and prompts via JSON-RPC.
  - term: MCP Server
    definition: A software component that exposes tools, resources, prompts, and triggers to MCP clients
      via the MCP protocol. Smithery hosts Streamable HTTP servers and distributes stdio servers as MCPB bundles.
  - term: MCP Client
    definition: An application (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Continue, custom agent) that connects to MCP servers
      to expand an agent's tool surface. Smithery provides deep-linking for one-click client integration.
  - term: Qualified Name
    definition: A server's globally unique identifier in the form `namespace/server`.
  - term: Namespace
    definition: A grouping unit that owns servers, connections, and skills. Owned by a user or an organization.
  - term: Connection
    definition: A stateless link between an agent and a hosted MCP server. Created under a namespace, used
      to execute MCP JSON-RPC via /connect/{namespace}/{connectionId}/mcp.
  - term: Tool
    definition: A function exposed by an MCP server, described with a JSON Schema for inputs and (optionally)
      an inferable Zod schema for outputs. Searchable across the entire registry at /tools.
  - term: Trigger
    definition: An event type exposed by an MCP server. Agents subscribe to triggers to receive webhook
      notifications when the event fires.
  - term: Subscription
    definition: A standing registration to receive trigger events. Scoped per-namespace or per-connection.
  - term: Skill
    definition: A reusable prompt-based capability backed by a GitHub repository. Installed via
      `npx skills add` from the Smithery Skills Registry.
  - term: Release
    definition: A versioned deployment of an MCP server. Created via PUT /servers/{qualifiedName}/releases
      with a multipart upload (URL or MCPB bundle). Logs stream via SSE.
  - term: Gateway
    definition: Smithery's managed runtime that handles MCP protocol compliance, metadata enrichment,
      caching, OAuth UI, and credential refresh on behalf of the agent.
  - term: Uplink
    definition: A Smithery feature that exposes a local MCP server as a hosted connection without
      deploying the server itself to Smithery infrastructure.
  - term: Deep Link
    definition: A Smithery-issued URL that installs a server into a compatible MCP client (Claude Desktop,
      Cursor, etc.) in one click.
  - term: MCPB Bundle
    definition: A packaged stdio-based MCP server artifact uploaded to Smithery and downloadable via
      GET /servers/{qualifiedName}/download.
  - term: Streamable HTTP
    definition: The HTTP transport variant of MCP that Smithery hosts natively. Servers exposing
      Streamable HTTP can be published via the URL method.
  - term: Service Token
    definition: A machine-to-machine bearer token issued by POST /tokens with optional per-namespace
      and per-connection scoping.
  - term: Team API Key
    definition: An organization-scoped admin API key. Create/list/revoke under
      /organizations/{orgId}/api-keys; admin role required.
  - term: Insights
    definition: Smithery's observability tab. Free for both Smithery-hosted servers and external
      registered servers.
  - term: External Server
    definition: A server hosted on customer infrastructure and registered (free) on Smithery's
      registry rather than deployed to Smithery's hosting plane.
relationships:
  - from: Namespace
    to: Server
    relation: contains
  - from: Namespace
    to: Connection
    relation: contains
  - from: Namespace
    to: Skill
    relation: contains
  - from: Server
    to: Tool
    relation: exposes
  - from: Server
    to: Trigger
    relation: exposes
  - from: Server
    to: Release
    relation: hasMany
  - from: Connection
    to: Server
    relation: targets
  - from: Subscription
    to: Trigger
    relation: subscribesTo