skills MCP — Use Cases, Install & Live Demo

Why use it

Key features

48 skills distilling canonical books into interactive guidance
14 skills in Code Craftsmanship & Systems (Clean Code, Refactoring, DDD, DDIA, System Design, Clean Architecture, Release It!)
8 UX Design skills (Refactoring UI, iOS HIG, Hooked, Design of Everyday Things)
Product, marketing, sales, innovation, strategy, and team categories
Three install paths: plugin marketplace, skills.sh CLI, per-skill npm packages

Live Demo

What it looks like in practice

skills-skill.replay ▶ ready

0/0

Install

Pick your client

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json · Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "skills-skill": {
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/wondelai/skills",
        "~/.claude/skills/skills"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Open Claude Desktop → Settings → Developer → Edit Config. Restart after saving.

~/.cursor/mcp.json · .cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "skills-skill": {
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/wondelai/skills",
        "~/.claude/skills/skills"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Cursor uses the same mcpServers schema as Claude Desktop. Project config wins over global.

VS Code → Cline → MCP Servers → Edit

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "skills-skill": {
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/wondelai/skills",
        "~/.claude/skills/skills"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Click the MCP Servers icon in the Cline sidebar, then "Edit Configuration".

~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "skills-skill": {
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/wondelai/skills",
        "~/.claude/skills/skills"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Same shape as Claude Desktop. Restart Windsurf to pick up changes.

~/.continue/config.json

{
  "mcpServers": [
    {
      "name": "skills-skill",
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/wondelai/skills",
        "~/.claude/skills/skills"
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Continue uses an array of server objects rather than a map.

~/.config/zed/settings.json

{
  "context_servers": {
    "skills-skill": {
      "command": {
        "path": "git",
        "args": [
          "clone",
          "https://github.com/wondelai/skills",
          "~/.claude/skills/skills"
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

Add to context_servers. Zed hot-reloads on save.

claude mcp add skills-skill -- git clone https://github.com/wondelai/skills ~/.claude/skills/skills

One-liner. Verify with claude mcp list. Remove with claude mcp remove.

Use Cases

Real-world ways to use skills

Refactor a legacy module using the Clean Code + Refactoring patterns

👤 Senior developers tackling legacy code ⏱ ~120 min advanced

When to use: You're about to touch a 500-line god-class and want principled guidance.

Flow

Assess with Clean Code lens

Use the Clean Code skill. Review this file — what SOLID violations are present?✓ Copied

→ Concrete violations named after principles, not vibes
Plan with Refactoring patterns

Use the Refactoring Patterns skill. Plan the refactor using Extract Class and Replace Conditional with Polymorphism.✓ Copied

→ Named Fowler refactorings with stepwise plan
Execute incrementally

Apply the first step; run tests; repeat.✓ Copied

→ Small safe steps, not one giant rewrite

Outcome: A refactor defensible in code review with explicit principles.

Pitfalls

Refactor without tests = risk — Skill insists on characterization tests first

Combine with: claude-skill-2

Run Mom Test-style customer interviews

👤 Founders validating a product idea ⏱ ~45 min intermediate

When to use: Before writing any code, you need to pressure-test the problem.

Flow

Plan the interview

Use the Mom Test skill. I want to validate [idea]. Help me draft questions that avoid bias.✓ Copied

→ Questions focused on past behavior, not hypothetical future
Debrief after calls

Here are notes from 5 calls. Apply the Mom Test frame — what's signal vs compliment?✓ Copied

→ Honest separation of validated evidence from polite agreement

Outcome: Interview notes you can actually make a decision on.

Pitfalls

Customer says 'I'd buy that' — skill flags this as worthless without behavior evidence — Trust the frame; push for past behavior

Combine with: product-manager-skill

Design a system using DDIA + System Design skills

👤 Senior engineers and architects ⏱ ~90 min advanced

When to use: You're whiteboarding a new service and want depth, not hand-waving.

Flow

State constraints

Use the DDIA and System Design skills. Design a real-time leaderboard for 5M users. Discuss reliability, scalability, maintainability.✓ Copied

→ Tradeoffs from DDIA vocabulary (replication, partitioning, consistency)
Pressure-test

Apply the Release It! skill — what failure modes should I anticipate?✓ Copied

→ Stability patterns (circuit breaker, bulkhead, timeout) named explicitly

Outcome: A design doc that a staff engineer would take seriously.

Pitfalls

Skills can over-index on book vocabulary — Insist on concrete numbers — latency targets, QPS, data sizes

Combinations

Pair with other MCPs for X10 leverage

skills-skill + product-manager-skill

Books-based discovery + PM deliverable templates

Use Mom Test skill for the interview plan, then the product-manager-skill to turn findings into a PRD.✓ Copied

skills-skill + claude-skill-2

Clean Code / Refactoring skill for principles + full-stack skill for implementation

Refactor the auth module guided by the Clean Code skill; implement with the NestJS skill from claude-skill-2.✓ Copied

Tools

What this MCP exposes

Tool	Inputs	When to call
Code Craftsmanship skills (14)	code to review/design	Code quality, architecture, design work
UX Design skills (8)	design problem	UI/UX decisions
Product Strategy skills (4)	product question	Discovery, framing
Marketing & CRO skills (4)	marketing question	Messaging, landing pages
Strategy & Growth skills (4)	strategy question	Market/strategy decisions

Cost & Limits

What this costs to run

API quota: None
Tokens per call: 2-6k per skill
Monetary: Free — skill is local
Tip: Pick one book-skill per task; stacking too many blurs recommendations.

Security

Permissions, secrets, blast radius

Credential storage: No credentials — skill is prompts

Data egress: None

Troubleshooting

Common errors and fixes

Skill quotes principles but doesn't apply them

Force application: 'apply this principle to THIS line of my code, not in general'.

Not obvious which skill to invoke

The README maps problems to skills — start there.

Alternatives

skills vs others

Alternative	When to use it instead	Tradeoff
Reading the books directly	You want depth and have time	More depth, no interactive application
product-manager-skill / claude-skill-2	You want deliverable templates or framework code, not book wisdom	Different modality

More

Resources

📖 Read the official README on GitHub

🐙 Browse open issues

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