Open Skills
Battle-tested skill library for AI agents. Save 98% of API costs with ready-to-use code for crypto, PDFs, search, web scraping & more. No trial-and-error, no expensive APIs.
What is Open Skills?
Open Skills is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that allows AI assistants like Claude, Cursor, and VS Code to battle-tested skill library for ai agents. save 98% of api costs with ready-to-use code for crypto, pdfs, search, web scraping & more. no trial-and-error, no expensive apis.
Battle-tested skill library for AI agents. Save 98% of API costs with ready-to-use code for crypto, PDFs, search, web scraping & more. No trial-and-error, no expensive APIs.
This server falls under the Developer Tools category on MCPgee, the world's largest MCP server directory with 33,000+ servers.
Features
- Battle-tested skill library for AI agents. Save 98% of API c
Use Cases
Maintainer
Works with
Installation
Manual Installation
npx open-skillsConfiguration
Configuration Details
claude_desktop_config.json
Performance
Response Metrics
Resource Usage
How to Set Up and Use Open Skills
Open Skills is a local MCP server that runs Anthropic-style Claude Skills in a fully sandboxed environment on Apple Silicon Macs, using native container isolation for VM-level security. It lets any MCP-compatible AI client (Claude Desktop, Gemini CLI, Qwen CLI, OpenCode) execute file processing tasks — PDF analysis, spreadsheet manipulation, image handling, web scraping, crypto operations — entirely on your local machine with no data uploaded to cloud services. The tool is designed to drastically cut API costs by running pre-built, tested skill scripts locally instead of relying on expensive cloud inference for every file operation.
Prerequisites
- Mac with Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4/M5) running macOS
- Python 3.10 or later
- An MCP-compatible client such as Claude Desktop, Gemini CLI, or OpenCode
- Git for cloning the repository
Clone the Open Skills repository
Clone the repository to your local machine. The install script requires this directory to be present.
git clone https://github.com/BandarLabs/open-skills.git
cd open-skillsRun the installer
Execute the install script to set up the sandboxed MCP server. Installation takes approximately 2 minutes and starts the server at http://open-skills.local:8222/mcp.
chmod +x install.sh
./install.shInstall Python dependencies for examples
Install the required Python packages for running the included skill examples. Use a virtualenv and note the Python path for the Claude Desktop config.
pip install -r examples/requirements.txtVerify the server is running
Check that the MCP server is healthy and accessible at its local address.
curl http://open-skills.local:8222/healthConfigure Claude Desktop
Create the Claude Desktop MCP configuration pointing to the local Python proxy script. Replace paths with your actual Python binary and repository location.
# Edit ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
{
"mcpServers": {
"open-skills": {
"command": "/opt/homebrew/bin/python3",
"args": ["/Users/yourname/open-skills/examples/claude_desktop/mcpproxy.py"]
}
}
}Open Skills Examples
Client configuration
OpenCode JSON configuration connecting to the Open Skills MCP server via its HTTP endpoint.
{
"$schema": "https://opencode.ai/config.json",
"mcp": {
"open-skills": {
"type": "remote",
"url": "http://open-skills.local:8222/mcp",
"enabled": true
}
}
}Prompts to try
Example prompts for using Open Skills through an MCP-connected AI client.
- "Extract all tables from this PDF and convert them to CSV format"
- "Analyze this Excel spreadsheet and summarize the key trends"
- "Scrape the product prices from this URL and compare them to last week's data"
- "Process these 50 images and extract any text visible in each one"Troubleshooting Open Skills
install.sh fails with 'command not found: containerctl' or similar
Open Skills relies on Apple's native container runtime available in macOS. Ensure you are running a recent version of macOS on Apple Silicon (M1+). Intel Macs and non-Apple platforms are not supported.
http://open-skills.local:8222/health returns connection refused
The server may not have started correctly after install. Re-run ./install.sh or check for errors in the install output. Ensure port 8222 is not blocked by a firewall or used by another process.
Claude Desktop does not show open-skills in the MCP server list
Verify the Python path in claude_desktop_config.json is correct (run `which python3` to find it). The mcpproxy.py path must be the absolute path to your cloned repository. Restart Claude Desktop after editing the config.
Frequently Asked Questions about Open Skills
What is Open Skills?
Open Skills is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that battle-tested skill library for ai agents. save 98% of api costs with ready-to-use code for crypto, pdfs, search, web scraping & more. no trial-and-error, no expensive apis. It connects AI assistants to external tools and data sources through a standardized interface.
How do I install Open Skills?
Follow the installation instructions on the Open Skills GitHub repository. Clone the repo, install dependencies, and add the server config to your AI client.
Which AI clients work with Open Skills?
Open Skills works with all major MCP-compatible AI clients including Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code (GitHub Copilot), Windsurf, and Cline.
Is Open Skills free to use?
Yes, Open Skills is open source and available under the Apache-2.0 license. You can use it freely in both personal and commercial projects.
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