I built an MCP server directory that spawns and tests every server it verifies

Background: I run a small portfolio of SaaS products (VNDLY for inventory, Lapsewise for renewals, directree, a software directory). When Smithery, the leading independent MCP registry, got acquired in August 2026 and pivoted enterprise, I saw a gap: the MCP ecosystem (tens of thousands of servers, adopted by Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Microsoft) had no independent quality directory left.

So I built MCPVault (mcpvault.io).

What I have shipped:

- Auto-ingestion from GitHub: 5,000+ MCP servers live, refreshed nightly.

- Quality grades A to F (recency, adoption, license, docs signals).

- README enrichment: install commands, client compatibility, tool extraction.

- 26,000+ tool-level SEO pages (every tool inside a server gets its own page).

- GitHub OAuth claim flow: maintainers prove push access and take control of their listing.

- Owner listing editor: description, category, topics, compatibility, install command, homepage, logo upload.

- A real verification harness: spawns the server sandboxed, requires an actual MCP stdio handshake (initialize + tools/list), re-checks weekly, auto-lapses on failure.

- Status-aware embeddable badges (Listed / Claimed / Verified) that update everywhere when status changes.

- Do-follow website links for verified servers.

The model: listings auto-ingest as minimal "stale" pages with a claim CTA. Claiming is free. Verification is free during early access (paid tier planned later, but the badge stays earned-only: you cannot buy it, your server has to pass the handshake).

The moat: nobody else actually runs the servers. Existing directories do static GitHub analysis at best. "Verified & Working, re-checked weekly" is a different product.

Happy to talk about the ingestion pipeline, the sandboxed verification harness, or the claim-funnel model.