* Add draft SEP for Skills Extension
Pre-submission Extensions Track SEP defining the skill:// resource
convention: skills as MCP resources following the Agent Skills spec,
discovered via scoped resources/list (SEP-2093). Includes implementation
guidelines for host-provided read_resource tools, virtual-filesystem
unification with local skills, and SDK convenience wrappers.
* Relax URI structure and make discovery optional
- skill-path may be arbitrarily nested and need not match the
frontmatter name; the URI is a locator, identity lives in SKILL.md
- resources/list(uri="skill://") is SHOULD not MUST; response is
SKILL.md entries only, supporting files excluded
- resource templates are MAY, framed as user-facing (completion API)
- direct URI readability is the baseline; hosts must support loading
skills they have never seen listed
- SEP-2093 dependency is now conditional on whether the server
supports enumeration
* Constrain final path segment to match frontmatter name
The previous draft fully decoupled <skill-path> from the skill name,
which meant the name could not be read from the URI without fetching
and parsing SKILL.md.
Now: the final segment of <skill-path> MUST equal the frontmatter
name. Preceding segments remain an optional server-chosen prefix for
organizational hierarchy. This keeps the hierarchy capability while
making the skill name recoverable from the URI alone.
* Replace scoped resources/list enumeration with skill://index.json
Enumeration now uses a well-known skill://index.json resource whose
format mirrors the Agent Skills .well-known discovery index: same
$schema, same skills[] shape. Two deltas from the HTTP index: url
holds the full skill:// URI, and digest is omitted (transport handles
integrity over an authenticated connection). type MUST be "skill-md"
since archives don't apply when every file is individually
addressable.
This drops the SEP-2093 dependency entirely — the extension now has
zero protocol dependencies beyond resources/read.
Also includes review feedback from PR #69:
- Security: skill content MUST be treated as untrusted input; hosts
MUST NOT honor local-execution mechanisms (hooks, scripts) without
explicit opt-in; "more harm" softened to "as much harm"; user
inspection SHOULD be supported
- Cite agentskills.io parent-directory rule for the final-segment
constraint
- No-nesting constraint reworded per cliffhall suggestion
- Abstract mentions progressive disclosure as delegated concern
- Hosts section: SHOULD load frontmatter into context, SHOULD surface
skills for user enable/disable
- read_resource signature marked illustrative
- "community has explicitly pushed back" softened
* Relax skill:// scheme to SHOULD; add urlTemplate to index
The index is now the authoritative record of which resources are
skills, so the scheme prefix is no longer required for identification.
Servers SHOULD use skill:// but MAY serve skills under a
domain-native scheme (github://, etc.) provided they're listed in
skill://index.json. Structural constraints (final segment = name,
explicit SKILL.md, no nesting) apply regardless of scheme.
Index entries now carry exactly one of url or urlTemplate. type stays
"skill-md" either way — it describes what the resolved URL points to,
not whether the entry is parameterized. Template entries omit name.
Servers SHOULD register the same urlTemplate as an MCP resource
template so the completion API works.
The Resource Templates subsection is deleted; templates are now an
index feature (a "template entry") rather than a parallel discovery
mechanism. Discovery is down to two mechanisms: the index and server
instructions.
skill://index.json remains the one fixed URI.
* Use type:"mcp-resource-template" for template index entries
Template entries now reuse the url field with type as the
discriminator, rather than a separate urlTemplate field. This is
consistent with the upstream schema where type already discriminates
how to interpret url (skill-md vs archive). The mcp-resource-template
type is namespaced so upstream consumers skip it safely per the
existing unrecognized-type rule.
* docs: transition from Interest Group to Working Group
Follow-up to modelcontextprotocol/modelcontextprotocol#2586, which
converted the charter from IG to WG.
- Rename Interest Group → Working Group in headings and prose
- Update Discord (#skills-over-mcp-wg) and Discussions
(meeting-notes-skills-over-mcp-wg) references; channel renames
coordinated separately
- CONTRIBUTING.md: align meeting norms with MCP group governance
(7-day advance notice, meet.modelcontextprotocol.io) and rewrite
Decision-Making to reflect WG authority (lazy consensus → formal
vote → escalation), linking to the charter's Authority table
- Keep CODEOWNERS team at skills-over-mcp-ig pending access-repo
rename; TODO comment added
- decisions.md: update present-tense preamble, log the IG → WG
transition as a new ADR entry, and preserve historical entries
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
* docs(contributing): link to governance/charter instead of duplicating
Meetings and Decision-Making sections now point to the MCP group
governance doc and charter for canonical rules, keeping only the
repo- or group-specific bits (notes location, coordination
channels, outputs list). Also drops a leftover "rough consensus"
IG-era phrase in the Decision Log guidelines.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
* docs(codeowners): fix sentence fragment in default-owner comment
"Has day-to-day governance" read as an incomplete sentence and
overstated what CODEOWNERS actually encodes (review routing, not
governance). Replace with a direct one-liner.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
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Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
* Add why-and-when doc explaining value proposition and decision guide
Adds docs/why-and-when.md covering why skills over MCP matters (same
channel as tools, discovery, dynamic updates, control model, multi-server
composition, enterprise distribution) and when MCP distribution adds
value vs simpler alternatives. Linked from README and problem-statement.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
* Add why-and-when summary to README before problem statement
Gives newcomers the value proposition immediately: skills are context,
MCP is a context protocol, and remote MCP servers can serve tools and
know-how together. Links to the full doc for depth.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
* Add portable sub-agent point to why-and-when doc
Skills over MCP replaces the pattern of independently wrapping each
MCP server in a custom sub-agent with hand-written instructions —
the server author ships orchestration guidance once, everyone benefits.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
* Acknowledge enterprise trust trade-offs in both directions
Address PR feedback: git-based and MCP-based skill distribution each
raise different governance concerns. Link to open question on security
and trust boundaries.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
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Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
* Add decision log with ADR-lite format (#49)
Create docs/decisions.md seeded with 6 historical decisions reconstructed
from closed issues and meeting notes. Update CONTRIBUTING.md with guidance
on when to add decision log entries and add to README documents table.
* Address review feedback: reframe Decision 1 scope, fix relative links
* Update meeting notes and discussion links to main MCP repo
Meeting notes are published in the main modelcontextprotocol repo
discussions, not in this IG repo. Update CONTRIBUTING.md and README.md
to reflect this and note that future meetings/surveys are posted in
the Discord channel.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
* Add out of scope item for plugin/bundle packaging in README
* Revert "Add out of scope item for plugin/bundle packaging in README"
This reverts commit 75b962ea59f0af0b29e3bd1fcb0994eb2ff0b73d.
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Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
