Smithery is shutting down its MCP proxy on October 31: how to migrate

Smithery, one of the best-known MCP registries, joined Arcade.dev in August 2026. On October 31, 2026 it switches off everything that sits between your client and an MCP server. The directory stays; the connections do not.

If you use Claude Code or Claude Desktop with servers you found on Smithery, this guide helps you find out whether you are affected and move each server somewhere that will still work on November 1.

What changes on October 31

According to Smithery's own notice, these stop working on October 31, 2026:

• Server URLs on server.smithery.ai and run.tools. This includes servers hosted by Smithery and any server reached through its proxy.

• The Smithery API, Connect and Toolbox.

• Smithery accounts and API keys.

• The Smithery CLI and SDKs. Smithery says it will mark the current versions as deprecated. On October 22 the npm packages (@smithery/cli 4.11.1, smithery 1.2.0, @smithery/sdk, @smithery/api) were not yet flagged, so do not wait for a warning in your terminal.

What stays:

• smithery.ai as a public directory of MCP servers, "now powered by Arcade.dev". It will be a non-proxied registry: useful to discover servers, not to connect to them.

• Verified server pages that, according to Smithery, will show the vendor's direct MCP URL. When we checked Linear's page on October 22 it did not show it yet, so go to the vendor's documentation instead.

Paid plans: Smithery says it is refunding every charge since August 5 and cancelling subscriptions. Refunds usually arrive within 5 to 10 business days.

What Smithery has not said: the exact time and time zone of the shutdown, whether you can export anything, and what happens to stored data. Plan to finish by October 29 and assume nothing on Smithery's side can be recovered after the 31st.

Are you affected? Five checks

1. Claude Code. Run claude mcp list and look for server.smithery.ai, run.tools or smithery in any URL or command. Then search the files where Claude Code stores servers:

   grep -n -i "smithery\|run\.tools" ~/.claude.json .mcp.json 2>/dev/null

   ~/.claude.json holds local and user scope servers; .mcp.json in each project root holds project scope ones, so repeat the check in every repository you work in.

2. Claude Desktop. Open Settings > Developer > Edit Config, or search the file directly:

   # macOS
   grep -n -i "smithery\|run\.tools" ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

   On Windows the file is %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json. Look for entries whose command is npx with @smithery/cli (or smithery) in args. Older versions of the CLI added these entries for you with smithery install --client claude.

3. Custom connectors on claude.ai and Claude Desktop. Under Customize > Connectors, check whether any custom connector points to a Smithery URL.

4. Your own code. If you build agents, search your repositories for server.smithery.ai, run.tools, @smithery/sdk, @smithery/api, @smithery/cli and the smithery Python package, plus any environment variable or secret that holds a Smithery API key.

5. Servers you published or deployed on Smithery. If other people reach your server through a Smithery URL, that URL dies on October 31. You need a new public endpoint and a note to your users.

If none of the checks finds anything, you are not affected.

Pick a replacement

The right option depends on what you were using Smithery for. Prices are in USD and were checked on October 22, 2026 on each provider's pricing page.

Two notes on the table. First, "Do it yourself" OAuth means your server must handle authorization; for a personal server a bearer token in a header is often enough. Second, Claude's custom connectors connect from Anthropic's cloud, not from your laptop, so any remote server you host must be reachable from the public internet.

Provider sites (none of these are affiliate links): Railway, Fly.io, Render, Vercel, Cloudflare Workers, Glama, Arcade.

Step by step: Claude Code

1. Remove the Smithery entry

claude mcp list
claude mcp get <name>      # shows the URL or command and its scope
claude mcp remove <name>

If the same name exists in more than one scope (local, project, user), check claude mcp get again after removing it. For project scope servers, edit .mcp.json and commit the change so your team gets it too.

2a. Add the vendor's official remote server

These URLs come from each vendor's documentation:

# Linear (OAuth)
claude mcp add --transport http linear-server https://mcp.linear.app/mcp

# Sentry (OAuth; you can append /<org>/<project>)
claude mcp add --transport http sentry https://mcp.sentry.dev/mcp

# Notion (OAuth)
claude mcp add --transport http notion https://mcp.notion.com/mcp

# GitHub (personal access token in a header)
claude mcp add-json github '{"type":"http","url":"https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp","headers":{"Authorization":"Bearer YOUR_GITHUB_PAT"}}'

Then open Claude Code and run /mcp to complete the sign-in for OAuth servers. Add --scope user if you want the server available in every project.

2b. Or run the server locally

If there is no official remote server, run the server's own package with stdio. Use the package name and variables from the server's repository, not from Smithery:

claude mcp add --env AIRTABLE_API_KEY=YOUR_KEY --transport stdio airtable -- npx -y airtable-mcp-server

Everything after -- is the command Claude Code runs.

2c. Or point to your new self-hosted URL

claude mcp add --transport http my-server https://my-server.example.com/mcp \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN"

3. Verify

Run claude mcp list (it shows each server's health) and call one tool from a session.

Step by step: Claude Desktop

Remote servers: use Connectors

For a vendor's remote server, the cleanest route is the app itself: Customize > Connectors > + Add > Add custom connector, paste the URL and sign in. On the Free plan you are limited to one custom connector. If the server uses a fixed API key, add it under request headers.

One exception: GitHub's own guide says its remote server is not supported in Claude Desktop yet and recommends the local Docker image instead.

Local servers: edit claude_desktop_config.json

A Smithery CLI entry typically looks like this (exact arguments vary by CLI version):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "some-server": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@smithery/cli@latest", "run", "some-server"]
    }
  }
}

Replace it with the server's own package, run directly. For example, GitHub's official local server:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "github": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": ["run", "-i", "--rm", "-e", "GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN", "ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server"],
      "env": { "GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN": "YOUR_GITHUB_PAT" }
    }
  }
}

Or, to reach a remote URL from the config file, use the mcp-remote bridge:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "my-server": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["mcp-remote", "https://my-server.example.com/mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Quit Claude Desktop completely and reopen it. If a server does not appear, check the logs in ~/Library/Logs/Claude (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\logs (Windows).

If you also use Claude Code on macOS or WSL, claude mcp add-from-claude-desktop imports the cleaned-up servers from Desktop.

If you host your own server on Smithery

Your code is yours; the server.smithery.ai URL is not. To move:

1. Make sure your server speaks Streamable HTTP and exposes an /mcp endpoint. Stdio-only servers need an HTTP wrapper, or a host like Glama that wraps them for you.

2. Choose a host from the table. Cloudflare Workers and Vercel suit lightweight TypeScript servers; Railway, Fly.io and Render suit Docker images or long-running processes. On Cloudflare, start a new server from the mcp-worker example, which uses createMcpHandler(): Cloudflare's own guide says its quick-deploy templates (remote-mcp-authless, remote-mcp-github-oauth) still use the deprecated McpAgent path and should not be used for a new server. On Vercel, mcp-handler is the quickest starting point.

3. Decide on authentication before you go public: OAuth for multi-user servers, a bearer token for personal ones.

4. Publish the new URL in your README, in the official MCP Registry and on smithery.ai if your page is listed there.

5. Tell your users before October 31 and give them the replacement command.

If you used Smithery Connect to manage MCP connections for your own users, Smithery asks you to contact them (ani [at] smithery [dot] ai) for help choosing a replacement, "even if it isn't Arcade".

Checklist before October 31

• claude mcp list shows no smithery or run.tools entries

• ~/.claude.json and every project's .mcp.json checked

• claude_desktop_config.json has no @smithery/cli entries

• Custom connectors on claude.ai checked

• Code searched for Smithery URLs, SDKs and API keys

• Each server replaced and one tool call tested

• Vendor API keys you entered into Smithery's configuration rotated, as a precaution, since Smithery has not said what happens to stored data

• Smithery API keys removed from your secrets and CI

• Users of any server you published notified

• Refund received, if you were on a paid plan (5 to 10 business days)

FAQ

When does Smithery shut down, and what stops working?

On October 31, 2026, Smithery shuts down its connection management services: server URLs on server.smithery.ai and run.tools, the Smithery API, Connect and Toolbox, Smithery accounts and API keys, and the CLI and SDKs, whose current versions are being deprecated. Smithery has not published a time of day or time zone.

Is smithery.ai going away?

No. Smithery says smithery.ai stays as a public, non-proxied directory of MCP servers, now powered by Arcade.dev. You can still browse it; you just cannot connect through it.

Will I get a refund for my paid Smithery plan?

Smithery says it is refunding every charge since August 5, 2026 and cancelling subscriptions going forward. Refunds usually show up within 5 to 10 business days.

Do servers I installed with the Smithery CLI keep working?

Treat them as at risk. Any config entry that launches @smithery/cli or points at a Smithery URL depends on services that end on October 31. Replace it with the vendor's official remote URL or the server's own package run locally.

What is the fastest replacement in Claude Code?

If the vendor runs an official remote server, remove the Smithery entry and add the vendor URL, for example claude mcp add --transport http linear-server https://mcp.linear.app/mcp, then run /mcp in Claude Code to sign in.

Is Arcade a drop-in replacement for Smithery?

Not a drop-in. Arcade acquired Smithery and offers managed tools and an MCP gateway (free tier: 2,000 tool calls and 2,000 auth events a month). It is a reasonable option if you want ready-made integrations or managed auth, but you configure it from scratch.

Sources

Checked on October 22, 2026:

• Smithery, "What's changing": https://smithery.ai/future

• Arcade, "Smithery is now part of Arcade.dev" (August 5, 2026): https://www.arcade.dev/blog/smithery-joins-arcade/

• Claude Code MCP documentation: https://code.claude.com/docs/en/mcp

• Claude Help Center, custom connectors: https://support.claude.com/en/articles/11175166-get-started-with-custom-connectors-using-remote-mcp

• MCP docs, local servers in Claude Desktop: https://modelcontextprotocol.io/docs/develop/connect-local-servers

• GitHub MCP server: https://github.com/github/github-mcp-server

• Linear MCP: https://linear.app/docs/mcp

• Sentry MCP: https://mcp.sentry.dev/

• Cloudflare Workers pricing and remote MCP guide: https://developers.cloudflare.com/workers/platform/pricing/ and https://developers.cloudflare.com/agents/model-context-protocol/guides/remote-mcp-server/

• Railway pricing: https://railway.com/pricing

• Fly.io pricing: https://fly.io/pricing/

• Render pricing and free tier: https://render.com/pricing and https://render.com/docs/free

• Vercel pricing and MCP guide: https://vercel.com/pricing and https://vercel.com/docs/mcp/deploy-mcp-servers-to-vercel

• Glama hosting: https://glama.ai/mcp/hosting

• Arcade pricing and Arcade Deploy: https://www.arcade.dev/pricing and https://docs.arcade.dev/en/build/arcade-deploy