Agent skill

Outline

Conventions and efficient workflows for Outline knowledge bases via mcp-outline tools.

MITAuto-check passedKnowledge Management

Install Outline

skills CLI

$ npx skills add Vortiago/mcp-outline --skill outline -a claude-code

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

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install Vortiago/mcp-outline outline --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/Vortiago/mcp-outline.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/outline .claude/skills/outline && 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/

Paste into Claude Code

Install the "outline" agent skill from https://github.com/Vortiago/mcp-outline/tree/main/skills/outline into .claude/skills/outline/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "outline", then confirm the skill loads.

Claude Code copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

$skill-installer

$skill-installer install https://github.com/Vortiago/mcp-outline/tree/main/skills/outline

Type this inside Codex. $skill-installer <name> installs a curated skill from openai/skills. The installer writes to $CODEX_HOME/skills (default ~/.codex/skills). Restart Codex if the skill does not show up.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add Vortiago/mcp-outline --skill outline -a codex

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install Vortiago/mcp-outline outline --agent codex

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Vortiago/mcp-outline.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/outline .agents/skills/outline && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.

Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/

Paste into Codex

Install the "outline" agent skill from https://github.com/Vortiago/mcp-outline/tree/main/skills/outline into .agents/skills/outline/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "outline", then confirm the skill loads.

Codex copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add Vortiago/mcp-outline --skill outline -a cursor

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install Vortiago/mcp-outline outline --agent cursor

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Vortiago/mcp-outline.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/outline .cursor/skills/outline && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.cursor/skills/ instead of .cursor/skills for a personal install.

Cursor skills documentation · loads skills from .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/

Paste into Cursor

Install the "outline" agent skill from https://github.com/Vortiago/mcp-outline/tree/main/skills/outline into .cursor/skills/outline/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "outline", then confirm the skill loads.

Cursor copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

gemini skills install

$ gemini skills install https://github.com/Vortiago/mcp-outline.git --path skills/outline

--scope user (default) or --scope workspace; --path is the subfolder of the repo that holds the skill; --consent skips the security confirmation prompt.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add Vortiago/mcp-outline --skill outline -a gemini-cli

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install Vortiago/mcp-outline outline --agent gemini-cli

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Vortiago/mcp-outline.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/outline .gemini/skills/outline && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.gemini/skills/ instead of .gemini/skills for a personal install, then run /skills reload.

Gemini CLI skills documentation · loads skills from .gemini/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into Gemini CLI

Install the "outline" agent skill from https://github.com/Vortiago/mcp-outline/tree/main/skills/outline into .gemini/skills/outline/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "outline", then confirm the skill loads.

Gemini CLI copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install Vortiago/mcp-outline outline

Installs for Copilot at project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Preview a skill first with gh skill preview. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

skills CLI

$ npx skills add Vortiago/mcp-outline --skill outline -a github-copilot

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Vortiago/mcp-outline.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/outline .github/skills/outline && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.copilot/skills/ instead of .github/skills for a personal install. Commit .github/skills so cloud agent and code review can use it.

GitHub Copilot skills documentation · loads skills from .github/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into GitHub Copilot

Install the "outline" agent skill from https://github.com/Vortiago/mcp-outline/tree/main/skills/outline into .github/skills/outline/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "outline", then confirm the skill loads.

GitHub Copilot copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add Vortiago/mcp-outline --skill outline -a opencode

OpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install Vortiago/mcp-outline outline --agent opencode

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Vortiago/mcp-outline.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/outline .opencode/skills/outline && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.config/opencode/skills/ instead of .opencode/skills for a personal install.

OpenCode skills documentation · loads skills from .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into OpenCode

Install the "outline" agent skill from https://github.com/Vortiago/mcp-outline/tree/main/skills/outline into .opencode/skills/outline/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "outline", then confirm the skill loads.

OpenCode copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

Facts

Skill name: outline
GitHub stars: 156
Token cost: ~818 tokens
SKILL.md length: 293 words
Files: 1
Skills in repo: 1
Repo updated: Aug 5, 2026
First seen: Oct 7, 2026
Licence: MIT

At a glance

Conventions and efficient workflows for Outline knowledge bases via mcp-outline tools.

Works in 4 steps: get_document_toc — headings with 0-based… → read_document_section(heading=...) —… → search_document_content(query=...) —… → …
Diagramming Outline documents — covers Outline markdown quirks (mermaidjs code fences)
SKILL.md covers Markdown, Structure, Search defaults to published… and Reading large documents, plus 4 more sections
Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md

What it does

Outline is an agent skill from Vortiago/mcp-outline. Conventions and efficient workflows for Outline knowledge bases via mcp-outline tools. Use when creating, editing, restructuring, or diagramming Outline documents — covers Outline markdown quirks (mermaidjs code fences), document and collection structure, string-match editing, staged rewrites, batch operations, and search status filters.

Its SKILL.md is about 820 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 Knowledge Management, covering MCP servers, Knowledge bases and Markdown. It works with Model Context Protocol and Mermaid. The repository describes itself as: A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server enabling AI assistants to interact with Outline documentation services. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

Diagramming Outline documents — covers Outline markdown quirks (mermaidjs code fences)
Document and collection structure
String-match editing
Staged rewrites

Example prompts

“Use the outline skill to convention and efficient workflows for Outline knowledge bases via mcp-outline tools”
“/outline”

Workflow steps

4 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

get_document_toc — headings with 0-based line numbers.
read_document_section(heading=...) — case-insensitive substring;
search_document_content(query=...) — grep within the document
read_document(offset=N, limit=M) — TOC/grep line numbers are

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 1e80cc9. 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
No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md.
From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.
Network
No URLs in SKILL.md.
From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.
Credentials
Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.
From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Outline loads about 818 tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 87 tokens; SKILL.md has 293 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it: ~87
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches: ~818

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

The full file from Vortiago/mcp-outline at commit 1e80cc9, republished under its MIT licence (© Vortiago). 293 words, ~818 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/outline/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).

name: outline
description: Conventions and efficient workflows for Outline knowledge bases via mcp-outline tools. Use when creating, editing, restructuring, or diagramming Outline documents — covers Outline markdown quirks (mermaidjs code fences), document and collection structure, string-match editing, staged rewrites, batch operations, and search status filters.

Working with Outline

Markdown

Mermaid diagrams need ```mermaidjs fences, NOT ```mermaid — the wrong fence silently renders as a plain code block.
Otherwise standard markdown. Use ATX headings (#–######); they power the TOC and section tools.

Structure

Collections contain documents; documents nest via parent_document_id. Browse: list_collections, get_collection_structure.
Lifecycle: draft → published → archived → trash (30-day recovery via restore_document; delete_document(permanent=True) is unrecoverable).
create_document(template=True) / update_document(template=True) adds to the "New from template" picker.
Titles are not unique; resolve to IDs with get_document_id_from_title or search_documents. Check get_document_backlinks before restructuring or deleting.

Search defaults to published only

Drafts and archived docs are invisible to search_documents and list_recently_updated_documents unless widened: status_filter=["draft", "published", "archived"].

Reading large documents

get_document_toc — headings with 0-based line numbers.
read_document_section(heading=...) — case-insensitive substring; accepts headings as the TOC prints them (e.g. "## Background").
search_document_content(query=...) — grep within the document: matching lines with line numbers and context. Use it to locate text for edit_document old_strings or read_document offsets.
read_document(offset=N, limit=M) — TOC/grep line numbers are valid offsets.

Full read_document only for small documents.

Editing

Default to edit_document: each old_string must match exactly once (add surrounding context to disambiguate); edits apply sequentially, all-or-nothing. Batch all edits for one document into a single call.
update_document only for full replacement, title changes, or append=True (sends just the chunk).

Staged rewrites

edit_document(id, edits=[...], save=False)   # stage, repeat as needed
edit_document(id, edits=[...], save=True)    # final batch + push all
edit_document(id, edits=[], save=True)       # or: flush only

One API write total. Staged changes are server-memory only — flush before ending; a restart discards them. Read tools show staged text with an "unsaved changes" notice; export_document bypasses staging and returns the last saved content.

Many documents

Use batch_create_documents, batch_update_documents, batch_move_documents, batch_archive_documents, batch_delete_documents (10–50 per call; per-document results) instead of loops.

Missing tools

Deployments may be read-only, delete-disabled, or scope-filtered. Use what's listed; if an editing tool is absent, say so.

Exploration

For broad search-and-summarize, delegate to the outline-explorer agent (bundled with this plugin).

Files

Just SKILL.md in skills/outline of Vortiago/mcp-outline.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 1e80cc9

Compare with similar skills

Outline 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.

Outline compared with similar skills
Skill	Stars	Used in	Tokens	Auto-check	Licence	Repo updated
Outline this skillVortiago/mcp-outline	156	—	~818	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	2 mo ago
Open Knowledgeinkeep/open-knowledge	4.4k	—	~4.7k	Automated safety check: Pass	GPL-3.0	today
Open Knowledgeojowwalker77/BonsAI	145	—	~5.1k	Automated safety check: Pass	Custom licence	1 mo ago
Context Mode Indexermksglu/context-mode	26k	—	~328	Automated safety check: Pass	Custom licence	today
Confluence To Markdowniurykrieger/claude-bedrock	105	1 repos	~2.8k	Automated safety check: Notes	MIT	5 mo ago
Qmd MCP Skillholon-run/uxc	116	—	~1.3k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	24 days ago

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Works with

Questions about Outline

What does Outline do?

Conventions and efficient workflows for Outline knowledge bases via mcp-outline tools. Outline is an agent skill from Vortiago/mcp-outline. Conventions and efficient workflows for Outline knowledge bases via mcp-outline tools.

When should I use Outline?

Outline fits situations like: diagramming Outline documents — covers Outline markdown quirks (mermaidjs code fences); document and collection structure; string-match editing; staged rewrites.

How do I install Outline in Claude Code?

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

How do I install Outline in Codex?

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

Can I use Outline 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 Vortiago/mcp-outline --skill outline -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/outline, .gemini/skills/outline, .github/skills/outline and .opencode/skills/outline in your project.

What does Outline need to run?

SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Outline is instructions for the agent only.

Does Outline access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Outline 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 Outline use?

Outline is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Outline use?

About 818 tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 3.3k 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 Outline?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Outline: Open Knowledge (inkeep/open-knowledge, 4.4k stars), Open Knowledge (ojowwalker77/BonsAI, 145 stars), Context Mode Indexer (mksglu/context-mode, 26k stars) and Confluence To Markdown (iurykrieger/claude-bedrock, 105 stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Outline?

Vortiago (a GitHub user) maintains it in Vortiago/mcp-outline, which has 156 GitHub stars. The repository was last updated on August 5, 2026.

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

Install Outline

Facts

At a glance

What it does

When your agent uses it

Example prompts

Workflow steps

What it can do on your machine

Tool permissions

Runs code

Network

Credentials

Context cost

Safety

SKILL.md

Working with Outline

Markdown

Structure

Search defaults to published only

Reading large documents

Editing

Staged rewrites

Many documents

Missing tools

Exploration

Files

Compare with similar skills

Similar skills

Open Knowledge

Open Knowledge

Context Mode Indexer

Confluence To Markdown

Qmd MCP Skill

Documentation Server

Related

Questions about Outline