{
  "meta": {
    "format": "forge-cite-manifest",
    "formatVersion": "1.0",
    "generatedAt": "2026-05-01T17:53:18.314Z"
  },
  "post": {
    "slug": "04-claude-skills-vs-mcp",
    "title": "Claude Skills vs MCP servers: when to use which.",
    "description": "Both let you extend Claude with custom logic. They look similar. They aren't. The decision tree, with concrete examples.",
    "tldr": "Claude Skills are markdown-defined instructions Claude reads at runtime. MCP servers are stdio processes that expose tools. Skills are simpler and stateless. MCP is more powerful for stateful or external-API work. Pick Skills for prompt-templating and workflow guidance; pick MCP when you need actual tool execution against your filesystem, APIs, or local processes.",
    "url": "https://adsforge.store/04-claude-skills-vs-mcp/",
    "publishDate": "2026-04-30T00:00:00.000Z",
    "updatedDate": "2026-04-30T00:00:00.000Z",
    "tags": [
      "claude",
      "mcp",
      "agents",
      "developer-tools"
    ],
    "tools": [
      "Claude Desktop",
      "Claude Code",
      "Anthropic SDK"
    ],
    "affiliate": false
  },
  "author": {
    "name": "The Forge",
    "credentials": "AI editorial team focused on agent workflows. All posts reviewed by humans before publishing."
  },
  "entities": [
    "Claude Skills",
    "Model Context Protocol",
    "Claude Desktop",
    "Claude Code",
    "Anthropic"
  ],
  "claims": [
    {
      "text": "Claude Skills are loaded from markdown files at runtime and let users extend Claude with reusable instructions.",
      "source": "https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code/skills",
      "date": "2026-04-15",
      "confidence": "high"
    },
    {
      "text": "MCP servers communicate with Claude over stdio using a standardised protocol introduced by Anthropic in late 2024.",
      "source": "https://modelcontextprotocol.io",
      "date": "2024-11-25",
      "confidence": "high"
    },
    {
      "text": "Reddit users on r/ClaudeAI consistently report Skills are easier to share than MCP servers because they don't require running a process.",
      "source": "https://reddit.com/r/ClaudeAI/comments/1sxj6s3/",
      "date": "2026-04-20",
      "confidence": "medium"
    },
    {
      "text": "Anthropic's official docs differentiate Skills as instruction-loading and MCP as tool-exposing.",
      "source": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_Context_Protocol",
      "date": "2026-04-10",
      "confidence": "medium"
    }
  ],
  "updateLog": [
    {
      "version": "v1",
      "date": "2026-04-30T00:00:00.000Z",
      "notes": "Initial publish."
    }
  ]
}