mcp-builder

mcp-builder is a skill for Claude Code from ckorhonen/claude-skills. It costs 86 tokens per session (4,442 once invoked), scanned A, original, MIT.

A development guide for building MCP servers. MCP, or Model Context Protocol, is a way to give AI assistants well-designed tools for working with outside services.

In plain words
What is it for?
Use it when creating MCP servers in Python or Node/TypeScript, designing tool workflows, and deciding how services should be exposed to AI agents.
Why use it?
It helps turn an external API or service into tools an assistant can discover and use, while planning coverage, naming, and context carefully.

Skill for Claude Code

Written for Claude Code: shipped in a Claude Code plugin.

Needs its repository: it runs a file that does not travel with it, so clone the repository first. The line is npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector stdio node dist/index.js.

Part of the claude-skills plugin — 62 skills, 4 commands, 7 agents shipped together

Good fit Use it when creating MCP servers in Python or Node/TypeScript, designing tool workflows, and deciding how services should be exposed to AI agents.

Compare 6 skills from other repositories ↓
Install

Getting it into your agent

It runs from inside its repository, so the clone comes first — what it calls does not travel with the file alone.

Clone the repo
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/ckorhonen/claude-skills
agentmods
npx agentmods add skills/ckorhonen/claude-skills/mcp-builder

Made for: Claude Code.

Or install claude-skills, the plugin that ships this one along with the rest of its 62 skills, 4 commands, 7 agents.

Wrote this? Show the measurements

A badge with what this costs and how it scanned, read live from this page, so it follows the numbers instead of freezing them. Markdown for a README, HTML for a documentation site or a project page.

agentmods badge for mcp-builder

README.md
[![agentmods](https://agentmods.dev/badge/skills/ckorhonen/claude-skills/mcp-builder/github.svg)](https://agentmods.dev/skills/ckorhonen/claude-skills/mcp-builder)
Your own site
<a href="https://agentmods.dev/skills/ckorhonen/claude-skills/mcp-builder"><img src="https://agentmods.dev/badge/skills/ckorhonen/claude-skills/mcp-builder/github.svg" alt="Measured on agentmods" height="20"></a>

Or the 80×15 button, for a site that already has a row of RSS and ATOM ones. Only the verdict fits; the numbers stay here.

agentmods 80×15 button for mcp-builder

Your own site · 80×15
<a href="https://agentmods.dev/skills/ckorhonen/claude-skills/mcp-builder"><img src="https://agentmods.dev/badge/skills/ckorhonen/claude-skills/mcp-builder.svg" alt="Reviewed on agentmods" width="80" height="20"></a>
Per session 86 Skills are progressive disclosure: only the name and description are preloaded; the body loads when the skill is used.
When invoked 4,442 The whole file, excluding the scripts and references it only reads on demand.
Security scan A 1 finding. A grade says what 26 rules found in the file — not that it is safe. ✓ AI security review Sonnet 5 · 7 Sept 2026 📄 Read the review
Origin original No closer match found in the catalogue.
Token cost

What it costs to keep this loaded

Counted locally with the o200k_base tokenizer, which is exact for GPT models; Claude uses its own tokenizer and its counts differ. Treat this as one consistent yardstick across the catalogue rather than a bill. Prices are per million input tokens.

ModelPer sessionOnce invoked
Fable 5.1 $0.00086 $0.04442
Opus 5 $0.00043 $0.02221
Sonnet 5 $0.00017 $0.00888
Haiku 4.5 $0.00009 $0.00444

Measured 12d ago against content hash 66b430f02060, method: parsed. Prices are Anthropic first-party input rates as of 2026-09-12, from the pricing page.

Security

Grade A, and why

mcp-builder scanned grade A with 1 finding against 26 rules in 11 categories — prompt injection, anti-refusal, data exfiltration, privilege escalation, supply chain, agent snooping, system-prompt leakage, SSRF and excessive agency — measured 12d ago.

The scan reads SKILL.md. This mod also ships 2 executable files (scripts/connections.py, scripts/evaluation.py), listed below but not scanned — reading those needs a real analyzer, not pattern matching.

A static scan of the body, not an audit. Every finding is printed with the line that produced it so you can judge whether it matters here. A mod is markdown that instructs an agent; that is exactly why what it instructs is worth reading.

Makes network callslowCapability

Not a fault in itself. Listed so you know the mod talks to something, and to what.

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $API_KEY" https://api.example.com/v1/test
skills/mcp-builder/SKILL.md · 563 lines

How it starts

The opening of the file, as written. The whole thing — 563 lines — stays where its author put it; the contents beside it link to each section on GitHub.

MCP Server Development Guide

Overview

Create MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers that enable LLMs to interact with external services through well-designed tools. The quality of an MCP server is measured by how well it enables LLMs to accomplish real-world tasks.


Process

🚀 High-Level Workflow

Creating a high-quality MCP server involves four main phases:

Phase 1: Deep Research and Planning

1.1 Understand Modern MCP Design

API Coverage vs. Workflow Tools: Balance comprehensive API endpoint coverage with specialized workflow tools. Workflow tools can be more convenient for specific tasks, while comprehensive coverage gives agents flexibility to compose operations. Performance varies by client—some clients benefit from code execution that combines basic tools, while others work better with higher-level workflows. When uncertain, prioritize comprehensive API coverage.

Tool Naming and Discoverability: Clear, descriptive tool names help agents find the right tools quickly. Use consistent prefixes (e.g., github_create_issue, github_list_repos) and action-oriented naming.

Context Management: Agents benefit from concise tool descriptions and the ability to filter/paginate results. Design tools that return focused, relevant data. Some clients support code execution which can help agents filter and process data efficiently.

Actionable Error Messages: Error messages should guide agents toward solutions with specific suggestions and next steps.

1.2 Study MCP Protocol Documentation

Navigate the MCP specification:

Start with the sitemap to find relevant pages: https://modelcontextprotocol.io/sitemap.xml

Then fetch specific pages with .md suffix for markdown format (e.g., https://modelcontextprotocol.io/specification/draft.md).

Key pages to review:

  • Specification overview and architecture
  • Transport mechanisms (streamable HTTP, stdio)
  • Tool, resource, and prompt definitions
1.3 Study Framework Documentation

Read the full file on GitHub · 563 lines

Files

What ships with it

9 files beside SKILL.md in the same directory: the scripts, references and assets a skill reads on demand. Not counted in the per-session cost; read them before you install if any of them is executable.

Changes

What this file has done since we first saw it

Hashed on every crawl. A supply-chain change to an agent config is a question of when, not whether, so the history is kept rather than the latest state alone.

  1. 12d ago First seen · 563 lines · 86 tokens per session scan E 66b430f02060

Subscribe to this mod's changes

mcp-builder is a skill published in the GitHub repository ckorhonen/claude-skills (14 stars, last pushed 2mo ago), licensed MIT. It adds 86 tokens to every session and 4,442 once invoked, about $0.0004 per session on Opus 5. A static security scan graded it A with 1 finding (makes network calls). No closer match exists in the catalogue, so it is treated as the original; first seen 2026-08-30.

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