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Agent skill

MCP CLI

by obra in obra/dotfiles

Use MCP servers on-demand via the mcp CLI tool - discover tools, resources, and prompts without polluting context with pre-loaded MCP integrations

No licenceAuto-check passedAgent Workflows

Install MCP CLI

skills CLI
$ npx skills add obra/dotfiles --skill mcp-cli -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install obra/dotfiles mcp-cli --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/obra/dotfiles.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/.claude/skills/mcp-cli .claude/skills/mcp-cli && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
mcp-cli
GitHub stars
116
Used in
1 other repo
Token cost
~2.3k tokens
SKILL.md length
485 words
Files
1
Skills in repo
12
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
None found

At a glance

Use MCP servers on-demand via the mcp CLI tool - discover tools, resources, and prompts without polluting context with pre-loaded MCP integrations

  • Works in 10 steps: Discover Available Tools → Discover Resources (if supported) → Discover Prompts (if supported) → …
  • Tasks that involve MCP servers
  • SKILL.md covers When to Use This Skill, Prerequisites, Discovery Workflow and Making Tool Calls, plus 6 more sections
  • Calls npx, git and go; reaches github.com; needs GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN and GITHUB_TOKEN

What it does

MCP CLI is an agent skill from obra/dotfiles. Use MCP servers on-demand via the mcp CLI tool - discover tools, resources, and prompts without polluting context with pre-loaded MCP integrations

Its SKILL.md is about 2.3k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. It is a single SKILL.md file with no bundled scripts.

It sits in Agent Workflows, covering MCP servers. It works with Model Context Protocol.

When your agent uses it

  • Tasks that involve MCP servers

Example prompts

  • “/mcp-cli”

Requirements

  • Node.js
  • Docker
  • A credential in GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN
  • A credential in GITHUB_TOKEN

Workflow steps

10 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.

  1. Discover Available Tools
  2. Discover Resources (if supported)
  3. Discover Prompts (if supported)
  4. Get Detailed Info (JSON format)
  5. Always Discover First
  6. Use JSON Format for Parsing
  7. Validate Parameters
  8. Handle Errors Gracefully
  9. Use Aliases for Multi-Step Operations
  10. Restrict Capabilities with Guard

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit df3be56. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    Shell commands in SKILL.md call:

    • npx
    • git
    • go
    • jq

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    Hosts in commands or code, which the agent is likely to contact:

    • github.com

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names these keys or tokens, usually read from environment variables:

    • GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN
    • GITHUB_TOKEN
    • BRAVE_API_KEY

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

MCP CLI loads about 2.3k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 39 tokens; SKILL.md has 485 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~39
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~2.3k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

Without a licence we can't republish the file, so here is its outline and opening line. It has 485 words (~2,305 tokens).

“Use the mcp CLI tool to dynamically discover and invoke MCP server capabilities without pre-configuring them as permanent integrations.”

— opening of SKILL.md by obra
name
mcp-cli

Read the full SKILL.md on GitHub

Files

Just SKILL.md in .claude/skills/mcp-cli of obra/dotfiles.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit df3be56

Used in 2 other repositories

We found 2 copies of this SKILL.md (exact, near-identical or edited) in other folders, from 1 other GitHub owner. This page covers the copy in obra/dotfiles, which our catalogue first saw on October 7, 2026.

Compare with similar skills

MCP CLI next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

MCP CLI compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
MCP CLI this skillobra/dotfiles1161 repos~2.3kAutomated safety check: PassNone
MCP Server Builderanthropics/skills180k62 repos~2.3kAutomated safety check: PassApache-2.0
MCP Server BuildershareAI-lab/learn-claude-code78k5 repos~1.2kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
MCP Integration for Pluginsanthropics/claude-plugins-official37k11 repos~3.1kAutomated safety check: PassApache-2.0
Fastmcp Client CLIPrefectHQ/fastmcp28k1 repos~823Automated safety check: PassApache-2.0
Crush Configurationcharmbracelet/crush29k—~3.7kAutomated safety check: PassCustom licence

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Works with

Categories

Questions about MCP CLI

What does MCP CLI do?

Use MCP servers on-demand via the mcp CLI tool - discover tools, resources, and prompts without polluting context with pre-loaded MCP integrations. MCP CLI is an agent skill from obra/dotfiles.

When should I use MCP CLI?

MCP CLI fits situations like: tasks that involve MCP servers.

How do I install MCP CLI in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add obra/dotfiles --skill mcp-cli -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (.claude/skills/mcp-cli in obra/dotfiles) into .claude/skills/mcp-cli in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install MCP CLI in Codex?

Run `npx skills add obra/dotfiles --skill mcp-cli -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (.claude/skills/mcp-cli in obra/dotfiles) into .agents/skills/mcp-cli in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use MCP CLI in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add obra/dotfiles --skill mcp-cli -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/mcp-cli, .gemini/skills/mcp-cli, .github/skills/mcp-cli and .opencode/skills/mcp-cli in your project.

What does MCP CLI need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, MCP CLI needs the command-line tools its instructions call (npx, git, go and jq) and credentials named GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN, GITHUB_TOKEN and BRAVE_API_KEY. Our summary lists: Node.js; Docker; A credential in GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN; A credential in GITHUB_TOKEN.

Does MCP CLI access the network?

SKILL.md names 1 domain. In commands or code: github.com; the agent is likely to contact it when it follows the instructions. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is MCP CLI safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does MCP CLI use?

No licence was found for MCP CLI or its repository. Without one, default copyright applies: ask the author before reusing or redistributing it.

How many tokens does MCP CLI use?

About 2.3k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 9.2k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to MCP CLI?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with MCP CLI: MCP Server Builder (anthropics/skills, 180k stars), MCP Server Builder (shareAI-lab/learn-claude-code, 78k stars), MCP Integration for Plugins (anthropics/claude-plugins-official, 37k stars) and Fastmcp Client CLI (PrefectHQ/fastmcp, 28k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains MCP CLI?

obra (a GitHub user) maintains it in obra/dotfiles, which has 116 GitHub stars. The repository holds 12 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on August 11, 2026.

Source: obra/dotfiles on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.