GitHub - manojbajaj95/mcp-skill: Convert an mcp server to an skill that agents can use.

4 min read Original article ↗

Turn any MCP server into a typed Python SDK.

Compile MCP tools into code.

mcp-skill introspects an MCP server and generates a Python class where each tool becomes a typed async method.

Before and After

Before

Agents call MCP tools through the model loop — one round-trip per tool call:

llm.call_tool("web_search_preview", {"query": "..."})
# → model decides next step → calls another tool → model decides again → ...

After

Agents call tools directly in code:

result = await app.web_search_preview(
    objective="find latest news",
    search_queries=["topic X 2026"]
)
# Agent processes result in code — no round-trip back to model

How It Works

┌─────────────┐      ┌───────────────┐      ┌────────────────────┐
│  MCP Server  │─────▶│  mcp-skill    │─────▶│  Generated Skill   │
│  (any URL)   │      │  CLI          │      │                    │
│              │      │               │      │  app.py            │
│  Tools:      │      │  1. Connect   │      │  ├─ Typed class    │
│  - search    │      │  2. Introspec │      │  ├─ Async methods  │
│  - fetch     │      │  3. Map types │      │  ├─ Auth + storage │
│  - ...       │      │  4. Generate  │      │  └─ JSON parsing   │
│              │      │  5. Validate  │      │                    │
└─────────────┘      └───────────────┘      │  SKILL.md          │
                                             │  └─ Agent docs     │
                                             └────────────────────┘
  1. Connects to the MCP server using fastmcp
  2. Introspects all available tools via list_tools()
  3. Converts each tool's JSON Schema into Python type annotations
  4. Generates a typed App class where each MCP tool becomes an async method
  5. Validates the output with ast.parseruffty
  6. Generates SKILL.md with tool documentation and usage examples for agents

Motivation

MCP servers give agents access to tools, but every tool call round-trips through the model — request tool, execute, full result back into context, decide next step. For large payloads or sequential calls, this burns tokens and adds latency.

Programmatic Tool Calling fixes this: the agent writes code that calls tools directly, without model round-trips per invocation. Fetch, filter, aggregate — all in one code block.

mcp-skill makes this possible by compiling any MCP server into a plain Python class. Each tool becomes a typed async method. The agent just writes Python.

from parallel_search.app import ParallelApp

app = ParallelApp(auth="sk-...")
result = await app.web_search_preview(
    objective="find latest news on topic X",
    search_queries=["topic X 2026"]
)

Setup

# Install with uv
uv pip install -e .

# Or use directly
uv run mcp-skill create --url https://your-mcp-server.com/mcp --auth api-key

Requires uv and Python 3.10+.

Usage

# Interactive mode — prompts for URL, auth type, etc.
mcp-skill create

# Non-interactive mode
mcp-skill create \
  --url https://search-mcp.parallel.ai/mcp \
  --auth api-key \
  --api-key YOUR_KEY \
  --name parallel-search \
  --non-interactive

Generated Output

The skill lands in .agents/skills/<name>/ as a Python package:

.agents/skills/parallel_search/
├── __init__.py
├── app.py          # Typed Python class wrapping the MCP server
└── SKILL.md        # Agent-facing docs, dependencies, and usage

Here's what the generated app.py looks like:

class ParallelApp:

    def __init__(self, url: str = "https://...", auth=None) -> None:
        ...

    async def web_search_preview(
        self,
        objective: str,
        search_queries: list[str],
    ) -> dict[str, Any]:
        """Search the web with multiple queries in parallel."""
        ...

    async def fetch_url(
        self,
        url: str,
        max_length: int = None,
    ) -> dict[str, Any]:
        """Fetch and extract content from a URL."""
        ...

    def list_tools(self):
        return [self.web_search_preview, self.fetch_url]

Each method connects to the MCP server, calls the underlying tool, and returns parsed JSON. Auth credentials are persisted to disk (~/.mcp-skill/<name>/) after first use — provide once, reuse automatically.

Who Is This For?

Developers building:

  • MCP-based agents that need direct tool access without model round-trips
  • Automation systems using MCP tools as programmatic building blocks
  • Code-execution agents using Programmatic Tool Calling

Current Limitations

  • Auth: Supports API key (Bearer or custom header), OAuth, and none — no mTLS or complex auth flows
  • Runtime dependency: Generated code depends on fastmcp for MCP client connections
  • Connection per call: Each method creates a new MCP client connection (no pooling)
  • Tools only: MCP resources and prompts not yet supported

Task List

Tracked improvements based on real-world usage:

  • Fix output directory path — Changed from .agents/skill/<name> to .agents/skills/<name>
  • Add dependency info to SKILL.md — Dependencies listed with uv and pip install commands
  • Generate __init__.py — Skill directory is a proper Python package
  • Post-generation validationast.parseruff checkty check with uvx fallback
  • Package-style imports — Moved app.py to skill root; import via from <skill>.app import <Class>
  • Persistent token storage — Disk-backed credential storage at ~/.mcp-skill/<name>/
  • Unified auth signature — All auth types use auth=None in __init__
  • Sanitize skill names — Hyphens/dots converted to underscores for valid Python identifiers
  • Support MCP resources and prompts — Currently only tools are introspected and generated