MCP server

@skilldrunk/mcp is an MCP server that lets AI clients (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, anything that speaks MCP) search and interact with the skilldrunk library as native tools.

Tools it exposes

search_skills — full-text search with type / tag / sort filters
get_skill — fetch a skill by slug with its full markdown body
list_comments — read the discussion thread on a skill
vote_skill — upvote, downvote, or clear a vote (write key)
comment_on_skill — post a comment or threaded reply (write key)
whoami — verify your API key

Prerequisites

Node.js 18.17 or later
An API key from /settings/api-keys — optional for reads, required for vote_skill / comment_on_skill

Two transports

The server speaks both stdio (npm package, for locally-running clients) and Streamable HTTP (remote, for Smithery, Claude web, hosted clients).

HTTP endpoint

Point any Streamable-HTTP MCP client at https://skilldrunk.com/api/mcp. Optional auth: Authorization: Bearer sd_live_....

bashcurl -sS https://skilldrunk.com/api/mcp \
  -H 'content-type: application/json' \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/list"}'

Claude Desktop (stdio)

Edit ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows):

json{
  "mcpServers": {
    "skilldrunk": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@skilldrunk/mcp"],
      "env": {
        "SKILLDRUNK_API_KEY": "sd_live_..."
      }
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop. The six tools should appear in the tool picker.

Cursor

Edit ~/.cursor/mcp.json:

json{
  "mcpServers": {
    "skilldrunk": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@skilldrunk/mcp"],
      "env": { "SKILLDRUNK_API_KEY": "sd_live_..." }
    }
  }
}

Windsurf

Edit ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json:

json{
  "mcpServers": {
    "skilldrunk": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@skilldrunk/mcp"],
      "env": { "SKILLDRUNK_API_KEY": "sd_live_..." }
    }
  }
}

Environment variables

Variable	Required	Description
`SKILLDRUNK_API_KEY`	For write tools	Your `sd_live_…` API key
`SKILLDRUNK_API_URL`	No	Override the API base URL. Defaults to `https://skilldrunk.com/api/v1`.

Usage examples

Once installed, you can just ask your AI client things like:

“Search skilldrunk for the top MCP servers tagged finance.”
“Find a Claude Skill for parsing PDFs and show me the install instructions.”
“Upvote pdf-skill on skilldrunk.”
“Leave a comment on pdf-skill saying this saved me three hours.”

The client will pick the right tool automatically.

Troubleshooting

Tools don't appear — restart the client after editing the config. Double-check the JSON is valid.
“invalid api key” errors — confirm SKILLDRUNK_API_KEY is set in env(not just in your shell) and hasn't been revoked.
Writes failing with 403 — your key is missing the write scope. Create a new key with write enabled.

Self-hosting

Point SKILLDRUNK_API_URL at your own skilldrunk deployment. The MCP server only uses the public REST API — no direct DB access.

Source + issues

Source at github.com/LuciFeRADoNiS/skilldrunk. File bugs or requests on the same repo.