Tiger Skills MCP Server

Emulate Claude Skills with any LLM via a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server.

What are Skills?

Skills are modular components that enhance the capabilities of an MCP-compatible agent by providing specific functionalities, workflows, and domain expertise. They transform a general-purpose agent into a specialized agent equipped with procedural knowledge that no model can fully possess.

The goal is to be fully compatible with Anthropic's skill format. See their Agent Skills Spec and related documentation for more details.

Skill Structure

Skills are modular, self-contained packages that extend agent capabilities by providing specialized knowledge, workflows, and tools. Think of them as "onboarding guides" for specific domains or tasks—they transform the agent from a general-purpose agent into a specialized agent equipped with procedural knowledge that no model can fully possess.

What Skills Provide

1. Specialized workflows - Multi-step procedures for specific domains
2. Tool integrations - Instructions for working with specific file formats or APIs
3. Domain expertise - Company-specific knowledge, schemas, business logic
4. Bundled resources - Scripts, references, and assets for complex and repetitive tasks

Anatomy of a Skill

Every skill consists of a required SKILL.md file and optional bundled resources:

skill-name/
├── SKILL.md (required)
│   ├── YAML frontmatter metadata (required)
│   │   ├── name: (required)
│   │   └── description: (required)
│   └── Markdown instructions (required)
└── Bundled Resources (optional)
    ├── scripts/          - Executable code (Python/Bash/etc.)
    ├── references/       - Documentation intended to be loaded into context as needed
    └── assets/           - Files used in output (templates, icons, fonts, etc.)

SKILL.md (required)

Metadata Quality: The name and description in YAML frontmatter determine when the agent will use the skill. Be specific about what the skill does and when to use it. Use the third-person (e.g. "This skill should be used when..." instead of "Use this skill when...").

Bundled Resources (optional)

Scripts (scripts/)

Executable code (Python/Bash/etc.) for tasks that require deterministic reliability or are repeatedly rewritten.

• When to include: When the same code is being rewritten repeatedly or deterministic reliability is needed
• Example: scripts/rotate_pdf.py for PDF rotation tasks
• Benefits: Token efficient, deterministic, may be executed without loading into context
• Note: Scripts may still need to be read by the agent for patching or environment-specific adjustments

References (references/)

Documentation and reference material intended to be loaded as needed into context to inform the agent's process and thinking.

• When to include: For documentation that the agent should reference while working
• Examples: references/finance.md for financial schemas, references/mnda.md for company NDA template, references/policies.md for company policies, references/api_docs.md for API specifications
• Use cases: Database schemas, API documentation, domain knowledge, company policies, detailed workflow guides
• Benefits: Keeps SKILL.md lean, loaded only when the agent determines it's needed
• Best practice: If files are large (>10k words), include grep search patterns in SKILL.md
• Avoid duplication: Information should live in either SKILL.md or references files, not both. Prefer references files for detailed information unless it's truly core to the skill—this keeps SKILL.md lean while making information discoverable without hogging the context window. Keep only essential procedural instructions and workflow guidance in SKILL.md; move detailed reference material, schemas, and examples to references files.

Assets (assets/)

Files not intended to be loaded into context, but rather used within the output the agent produces.

• When to include: When the skill needs files that will be used in the final output
• Examples: assets/logo.png for brand assets, assets/slides.pptx for PowerPoint templates, assets/frontend-template/ for HTML/React boilerplate, assets/font.ttf for typography
• Use cases: Templates, images, icons, boilerplate code, fonts, sample documents that get copied or modified
• Benefits: Separates output resources from documentation, enables the agent to use files without loading them into context

Progressive Disclosure Design Principle

Skills use a three-level loading system to manage context efficiently:

1. Metadata (name + description) - Always in context (~100 words)
2. SKILL.md body - When skill triggers (<5k words)
3. Bundled resources - As needed by the agent (Unlimited*)

*Unlimited because scripts can be executed without reading into context window.

Configuration

Environment Variables

• SKILLS_FILE: Path to the YAML file configuring the set of skills. Default: ./skills.yaml
• SKILLS_TTL: Time (in milliseconds) to cache loaded skills. Default: 5 minutes

Skills Configuration File

The set of skills is configured via a YAML file. Both local directories and GitHub repositories are supported. Config can point to individual skills or collections of skills.

local-directory-collection:
  # A collection of local skills stored in the `./skills` directory.
  # Each skill should be in its own subdirectory with a `SKILL.md` file.
  type: local_collection
  path: ./skills
local-individual-skill:
  # An individual local skill stored in the `./skills/skill-name` directory.
  type: local
  path: ./path-to/individual/skill-name
anthropic-github-collection:
  # A GitHub repo containing a collection of skills.
  # Each skill should be in its own subdirectory with a `SKILL.md` file.
  type: github_collection
  repo: anthropics/skills
  # path: ./ # not needed for this example since skills are at the root of the repo
  # Optionally specify skills/paths to ignore in this collection
  ignored_paths:
    - .claude-plugin
    - document-skills
  disabled_skills:
    - canvas-design
  # Setting enabled_skills will _only_ load the specified skills from the collection
  # enabled_skills:
  #   - frontend-design
  #   - webapp-testing
single-github-skill-example:
  # A GitHub repo containing an individual skill.
  type: github
  repo: anthropics/claude-cookbooks
  path: ./skills/custom_skills/creating-financial-models

Skill names must be unique across all configured skills. Any duplicates will be ignored with a warning.

Connection string parameters

Individual clients can control the set of skills that are enabled, as well as the protocol(s) used, via parameters in the connection string.

• enabled_skills: Comma-separated list of skill keys to enable. If not provided, all configured skills are enabled.
• disabled_skills: Comma-separated list of skill keys to disable. If not provided, no skills are disabled.
• tools=0: Disable all tools (for resource-only integration).
• resources=0: Disable all resources (for tool-only integration).

Example

http://tiger-skills-mcp-server/mcp?disabled_skills=foo,bar&resources=0

Subagent Task Execution

This MCP server (optionally) provides a subagent tool that can be used to break up complex tasks into smaller subtasks, each handled by its own agent instance. This is useful for tasks that require multiple steps, especially when those steps may require consuming large amounts of data in LLM context.

The subagent will automatically have access to the same set of skills as configured for the view skill tool, as well as the ability to (recursively) invoke further subagents. In addition, a mcp.yaml configuration file can be provided to specify additional tooling to be made available to the subagent.

If you do not wish to use subagents, you can set SUBAGENT_DISABLED=true in the environment to disable the tool.

MCP Configuration for Subagents

Create a mcp.yaml file to specify additional tools for the subagent to have accessible. This file is read from the root directory by default, or you can specify a different path via the MCP_PATH environment variable.

Only the streamable HTTP transport is supported at this time.

pg_aiguide:
  type: http
  url: https://mcp.tigerdata.com/docs

Development

Cloning and running the server locally.

git clone git@github.com:timescale/tiger-skills-mcp-server.git

Building

Run ./bun i to install dependencies and build the project. Use ./bun watch to rebuild on changes.

You will need a GitHub token with the correct scopes. Here is a direct link to create such a new token.

Create a .env file based on the .env.sample file.

cp .env.sample .env

Then update the GITHUB_TOKEN value in .env.

Testing

The MCP Inspector is a very handy to exercise the MCP server from a web-based UI.

./bun inspector

Test via HTTP

./bun watch http

Test via stdio

./bun watch stdio

Testing in Claude Desktop

Create/edit the file ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json to add an entry like the following, making sure to use the absolute path to your local tiger-skills-mcp-server project, and use a valid GitHub token.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tiger-skills": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "/absolute/path/to/tiger-skills-mcp-server/dist/index.js",
        "stdio"
      ],
      "env": {
        "GITHUB_TOKEN": "ghp_whatever"
      }
    }
  }
}