MCP Tooling
Let agents without a skills folder list, read and save skills through the built-in Skills server
Introduction
Not every agent reads a skills folder. A hosted agent, a sandbox, an automation or a chat client has no ~/.claude/skills to install into. These agents reach the same skills over MCP, through the built-in Skills server in your gateway. The tools act for the person or service account that is connected, so an agent lists and reads what that person can read.
The server also gives agents a way to save skills. An agent that has just worked out how a job is done can store the result for the next one.
Adding the server
- In Gatana, click Add Server and choose Built-in.
- Pick Skills. The default slug is
skills. - Grant access to the users and teams that should have the tools, as for any other server.
The server needs no credentials. Any gateway connection that has access to it sees its tools.
The tools
The tools carry the server slug as a prefix. With the default slug:
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
skills_list_skills | Lists the skills the caller can read, grouped by collection. Each line gives the name, the description and when the skill was last updated. An optional query narrows the list to names and descriptions containing the text, an optional collection to one collection |
skills_get_skill | Returns one skill by name as a SKILL.md document, with the name and description in the frontmatter |
skills_create_skill | Saves a new skill: a name, a one-line description and Markdown instructions. Readable by the organization by default; team_names makes it private to the caller and those teams, collection puts it in an existing collection |
skills_update_skill | Replaces the description or the instructions of a skill, or renames it with new_name. Only the fields given change. Needs Can maintain on the skill |
The same name rule and size limits apply as in the dashboard and the CLI.
Making agents look for skills
An agent only follows a skill it has read. Agents with a skills folder see the skill names and descriptions at session start. Over MCP, the agent has to call skills_list_skills first.
To make agents check for skills first, add one line to the project's
CLAUDE.md or the equivalent instructions file: "At the start of a task, call skills_list_skills and follow
any skill that applies."
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