MCP Directory

How to add Claude Skills MCP Server to Claude Desktop

Semantic search and progressive loading of Claude Agent Skills for any MCP-compatible AI assistant. Paste the config into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json and restart Claude Desktop.

Last updated June 14, 2026 · 392★ · stdio · no auth

Claude Desktop config for Claude Skills MCP Server

uvx claude-skills-mcp
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "claude-skills-mcp-server": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "claude-skills-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Requires `uv` (the Python package runner). Install it from https://docs.astral.sh/uv/ if `uvx` is not found.

Setup steps

  1. 1Open Claude Desktop → Settings → Developer → Edit Config (this opens ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json).
  2. 2Paste the Claude Skills MCP Server config below under the top-level "mcpServers" key.
  3. 3Fill in any placeholder secrets (API keys, paths) in the snippet.
  4. 4Save the file, then fully quit and reopen Claude Desktop.
  5. 5Open a chat and confirm Claude Skills MCP Server's tools appear under the 🔌 tools menu.

Before you start

  • uv / uvx installed (Astral) to run the package
  • Python 3.12
  • Internet access on first run to download the backend (~250 MB) and fetch skill sources from GitHub
  • An MCP-compatible client such as Cursor

What Claude Skills MCP Server can do in Claude Desktop

find_helpful_skills

Semantic search for relevant skills based on a task description, using vector embeddings and similarity matching.

read_skill_document

Retrieve specific files (scripts, data, references) from a skill, supporting progressive disclosure of skill content.

list_skills

View the complete inventory of all loaded skills, intended for exploration and debugging.

Security

No API keys required; runs locally over stdio. On first use the lightweight frontend auto-downloads and starts a ~250 MB backend (PyTorch + sentence-transformers) from PyPI in the background, which can take ~60-120 seconds one time. Skills are fetched from public GitHub repositories and cached locally. The README states the server is no longer hosted or maintained.

Claude Skills MCP Server + Claude Desktop FAQ

Where is the Claude Desktop config file?

Claude Desktop reads MCP servers from ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json. Paste the Claude Skills MCP Server config there under the "mcpServers" key and restart the client.

Is Claude Skills MCP Server safe to use with Claude Desktop?

No API keys required; runs locally over stdio. On first use the lightweight frontend auto-downloads and starts a ~250 MB backend (PyTorch + sentence-transformers) from PyPI in the background, which can take ~60-120 seconds one time. Skills are fetched from public GitHub repositories and cached locally. The README states the server is no longer hosted or maintained.

Do I need an API key?

No. The server runs locally and requires no API keys. Skills are fetched from public GitHub repositories and cached locally.

Why is there a delay on first use?

The lightweight frontend (~15 MB) starts in under 5 seconds and immediately exposes the tools, then auto-downloads the ~250 MB backend (with PyTorch and sentence-transformers) in the background, which takes about 60-120 seconds the first time. Subsequent uses are instant.

Which skills are loaded by default?

About 90 skills: Anthropic's official skills (~15) and K-Dense AI's scientific skills (78+). You can also configure additional GitHub repositories or local directories such as ~/.claude/skills.

View repo Full Claude Skills MCP Server page