Skills vs. MCP
Agent Skills and the Model Context Protocol solve different problems. When to use which, and why they work well together.
Updated 17 Oct 2026 2 min read
Both Agent Skills and the Model Context Protocol (MCP) extend what a coding agent can do, so they are often compared. They are not alternatives — they work on different layers.
The short version#
| Agent Skill | MCP server | |
|---|---|---|
| What it adds | Know-how: instructions, examples, checklists | Capabilities: tools and data the agent can call |
| Format | Files (SKILL.md + resources) in your project | A program the agent connects to (local or remote) |
| Runs | Nothing runs by itself; the agent reads it | A process or service runs and answers tool calls |
| Loaded | Only when the description matches the task | Its tool list is available for the whole session |
| Typical example | "How we write migrations in this repo" | "Query the production database", "open a Jira issue" |
When a skill is the right choice#
- The agent already has the tools (shell, editor, git) but needs to know how you want the job done.
- You want the same behaviour across tools: the files can be installed for several agents.
- You want something you can read in full before using it — a skill is plain text.
When MCP is the right choice#
- The agent needs access to a system it cannot reach otherwise: an API, a database, a SaaS tool.
- The data changes all the time and must be fetched live.
- Authentication or rate limits are involved; a server can handle them in one place.
Together#
The most useful setups combine both: an MCP server provides the tools ("create issue", "run query") and a skill explains when and how to use them in your workflow ("before closing an issue, link the PR and add the release label"). Skills can name the MCP tools they expect.
Security is different, too#
- A skill is text. Its risk is in what it tells the agent to do. Denofy scans every version for risky patterns — piping downloads into a shell, reading SSH keys, prompt injection — and grades it from A to F.
- An MCP server is code with its own permissions. Review who runs it, what it can access and which credentials it holds, the same way you would review any dependency.
Next: Getting started or Writing secure skills.