diff --git a/registry/client/README.md b/registry/client/README.md
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+++ b/registry/client/README.md
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+# @pnpm/registry.client
+
+Client library for the pnpm registry server. Reads the local store state, sends it to the server, and writes the received files into the content-addressable store.
+
+## How it works
+
+1. Reads integrity hashes from the local store index (`index.db`).
+2. Sends `POST /v1/install` to the pnpm registry server with the project's dependencies and the store integrities.
+3. Decodes the binary streaming response — JSON metadata followed by raw file entries.
+4. Writes each received file directly to the local CAFS (`files/{hash[:2]}/{hash[2:]}`).
+5. Writes store index entries for all new packages in a single SQLite transaction.
+6. Returns the resolved lockfile for use with pnpm's headless install (linking phase).
+
+## Usage
+
+This package is used internally by pnpm when the `pnpm-registry` config option is set. It is not intended to be called directly, but can be used programmatically:
+
+```typescript
+import { fetchFromPnpmRegistry } from '@pnpm/registry.client'
+import { StoreIndex } from '@pnpm/store.index'
+
+const storeIndex = new StoreIndex('/path/to/store')
+
+const { lockfile, stats } = await fetchFromPnpmRegistry({
+  registryUrl: 'http://localhost:4000',
+  storeDir: '/path/to/store',
+  storeIndex,
+  dependencies: { react: '^19.0.0' },
+  devDependencies: { typescript: '^5.0.0' },
+})
+
+console.log(`Resolved ${stats.totalPackages} packages`)
+console.log(`${stats.alreadyInStore} cached, ${stats.filesToDownload} files downloaded`)
+// lockfile is ready for headless install
+```
+
+## Configuration
+
+Set in `.npmrc` to enable automatically during `pnpm install`:
+
+```ini
+pnpm-registry=http://localhost:4000
+```
diff --git a/registry/server/README.md b/registry/server/README.md
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+# @pnpm/registry.server
+
+A pnpm registry server that resolves dependencies server-side and streams only the files missing from the client's content-addressable store.
+
+## How it works
+
+1. Client sends `POST /v1/install` with dependencies, an optional existing lockfile, and the integrity hashes of packages already in its store.
+2. Server resolves the full dependency tree using pnpm's own resolution engine.
+3. Server computes which file digests the client is missing — at the individual file level, not just the package level.
+4. Server streams a binary response: JSON metadata (lockfile + per-package file indexes) followed by the raw content of missing files.
+
+This eliminates sequential metadata round-trips (the server resolves in one shot) and avoids downloading files that already exist in the client's store from other packages.
+
+## Starting the server
+
+### From the command line
+
+```bash
+# Build first
+pnpm --filter @pnpm/registry.server run compile
+
+# Run with defaults (port 4873, upstream https://registry.npmjs.org/)
+node lib/bin.js
+
+# Or configure via environment variables
+PORT=4000 \
+PNPM_REGISTRY_STORE_DIR=./my-store \
+PNPM_REGISTRY_CACHE_DIR=./my-cache \
+PNPM_REGISTRY_UPSTREAM=https://registry.npmjs.org/ \
+node lib/bin.js
+```
+
+### Environment variables
+
+| Variable | Default | Description |
+|----------|---------|-------------|
+| `PORT` | `4873` | Port to listen on |
+| `PNPM_REGISTRY_STORE_DIR` | `./store` | Directory for the server's content-addressable store |
+| `PNPM_REGISTRY_CACHE_DIR` | `./cache` | Directory for package metadata cache |
+| `PNPM_REGISTRY_UPSTREAM` | `https://registry.npmjs.org/` | Upstream npm registry to resolve from |
+
+### Programmatic usage
+
+```typescript
+import { createRegistryServer } from '@pnpm/registry.server'
+
+const server = await createRegistryServer({
+  storeDir: '/var/lib/pnpm-registry/store',
+  cacheDir: '/var/lib/pnpm-registry/cache',
+  registries: { default: 'https://registry.npmjs.org/' },
+})
+
+server.listen(4000, () => {
+  console.log('pnpm-registry listening on port 4000')
+})
+```
+
+## Configuring pnpm to use the server
+
+Add to `.npmrc`:
+
+```ini
+pnpm-registry=http://localhost:4000
+```
+
+Then `pnpm install` will use the registry server for resolution and fetching instead of the normal flow.
+
+## API
+
+### `POST /v1/install`
+
+**Request body** (JSON):
+
+```json
+{
+  "dependencies": { "react": "^19.0.0" },
+  "devDependencies": { "typescript": "^5.0.0" },
+  "overrides": {},
+  "lockfile": null,
+  "storeIntegrities": ["sha512-abc...", "sha512-def..."]
+}
+```
+
+**Response** (binary, `Content-Type: application/x-pnpm-install`):
+
+```
+[4 bytes: JSON metadata length]
+[N bytes: JSON metadata — lockfile, package file indexes, stats]
+[file entries: 64B digest + 4B size + 1B mode + content, repeated]
+[64 zero bytes: end marker]
+```
diff --git a/registry/server/package.json b/registry/server/package.json
index c9b6361564..6dd8527e71 100644
--- a/registry/server/package.json
+++ b/registry/server/package.json
@@ -17,6 +17,9 @@
   "type": "module",
   "main": "lib/index.js",
   "types": "lib/index.d.ts",
+  "bin": {
+    "pnpm-registry": "./lib/bin.js"
+  },
   "exports": {
     ".": "./lib/index.js"
   },
diff --git a/registry/server/src/bin.ts b/registry/server/src/bin.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..5c86cd08c4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/registry/server/src/bin.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+import { createRegistryServer } from './createRegistryServer.js'
+
+const port = parseInt(process.env['PORT'] ?? '4873', 10)
+const storeDir = process.env['PNPM_REGISTRY_STORE_DIR'] ?? './store'
+const cacheDir = process.env['PNPM_REGISTRY_CACHE_DIR'] ?? './cache'
+const upstream = process.env['PNPM_REGISTRY_UPSTREAM'] ?? 'https://registry.npmjs.org/'
+
+async function main (): Promise<void> {
+  const server = await createRegistryServer({
+    storeDir,
+    cacheDir,
+    registries: { default: upstream },
+    port,
+  })
+
+  server.listen(port, () => {
+    console.log(`pnpm-registry server listening on http://localhost:${port}`)
+    console.log(`  store: ${storeDir}`)
+    console.log(`  cache: ${cacheDir}`)
+    console.log(`  upstream: ${upstream}`)
+  })
+}
+
+main().catch((err) => {
+  console.error(err)
+  process.exit(1)
+})