local-skills-mcp-guide

This guide serves as a comprehensive technical reference for the local-skills-mcp repository, an open-source Model Context Protocol server. It is designed for developers who wish to integrate, extend, or understand the internals of the codebase, which enables AI agents to access modular skills from the local filesystem. The system leverages TypeScript and the official MCP SDK to provide a robust, context-efficient interface for skill management.

• Core implementation details in src/index.ts, covering server initialization, transport management, and tool registration.

• In-depth explanation of the skill-loader.ts engine, detailing how the system performs multi-directory skill discovery, YAML frontmatter parsing, and metadata merging.

• Clarification on the priority and override behavior for skill directories, including user-defined paths, project-specific directories, and built-in repositories.

• Operational insights into how the agent performs lazy loading of skill instructions to optimize the context window.

• Guidelines for navigating the codebase, including the role of types.ts in defining the skill schema and the structure of integration tests.

• Practical documentation on the SKILL.md format, emphasizing required YAML metadata fields and validation rules implemented in the loader.

• Use this guide when auditing the interaction between index.ts and the skill-loader module for custom deployment scenarios.

• Consult the documentation for troubleshooting tool invocation or evaluating custom skill logic.

• The server expects skills to be valid Markdown files with clear name and description frontmatter, which are essential for effective discovery.

• Note that skills are loaded in a specific order: global ~/.claude/skills, project-local folders, then the internal ./skills directory, with later paths overriding earlier ones.

• Ideal for developers looking to build local, privacy-focused AI agents or extend existing MCP-compatible clients like Claude Desktop, Cline, or Continue.