MCP server
@skillsmith/mcp-server
Pick this if: Working in any MCP-compatible agent (Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot, Codex, Windsurf).
Read the docs →Three ways to reach the same registry
MCP for any agent. CLI for the terminal. VS Code for the editor.
One local skill database. One API key. Three surfaces designed for different workflows. Pick the one that fits where you already work — or use all three. (Throughout this page, MCP means the Model Context Protocol — the standard agents like Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot, Codex, and Windsurf use to talk to external tools.)
Capability comparison
Capabilities marked via MCP for VS Code mean the extension actively spawns the MCP server to deliver them — not every tool the MCP server happens to expose. Team workspaces, audit export, SIEM, and RBAC are MCP-only and have no VS Code UI affordance today.
| Capability | MCP | CLI | VS Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Search / get / install / uninstall | yes | yes | via MCP |
| In-session contextual recommendation (skill_suggest) | yes | Not supported | via MCP |
| Side-by-side compare with LLM-readable rationale | yes | Not supported | via MCP |
| Inline install during an agent chat session | yes | Not supported | Not supported |
| Sidebar tree, quick-pick UI, rendered detail panel | Not supported | Not supported | yes |
| SKILL.md frontmatter intellisense + diagnostics | Not supported | Not supported | yes |
| Create-skill wizard (4-step, GUI) | Not supported | partial | yes |
| Skill authoring (init / validate / subagent / transform / mcp-init) | Not supported | yes | Not supported |
| Publish to registry (author publish) | Not supported | yes | Not supported |
| CI-safe exit codes + JSON output | Not supported | yes | Not supported |
| Offline local search after sync | Not supported | yes | Not supported |
| Device-code login (RFC 8628) | Not supported | yes | Not supported |
| Team workspaces / audit export / SIEM / RBAC | yes | Not supported | Not supported |
| Single API key works across all three | yes | yes | yes |
Working in an MCP-compatible agent (Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot, Codex, Windsurf)? Use the MCP server. Scripting, CI, or authoring? Use the CLI. Living in VS Code? Use the extension.
CLI
@skillsmith/cli
Pick this if: Scripting, CI, or authoring your own skills.
Read the docs →VS Code extension
skillsmith-vscode
Pick this if: You live in VS Code and want point-and-click discovery.
Get on the Marketplace →Read the deep dive →All three surfaces read the same local SQLite database at
~/.skillsmith/skills.db. Search runs against an FTS5 full-text index (SQLite's built-in keyword search) by default; semantic search is opt-in and uses local ONNX embeddings (an open ML model format that runs on CPU, no API call) — your queries never leave your machine.