How to declare Model Context Protocol servers in your skill.
MCP Servers
MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers give AI agents live tools — database queries, API calls, file operations, and more. When a skill declares MCP servers, the Shipables CLI automatically configures them during installation.
What is MCP?
MCP is an open protocol that lets AI agents use external tools. An MCP server is a process that exposes tools (functions the agent can call) and resources (data the agent can read).
For example, a PostgreSQL MCP server might expose:
- Tools:
query(run SQL),list_tables,describe_table - Resources: Database schema, table statistics
Declaring MCP servers
Add MCP servers to shipables.json under the mcp key:
{
"version": "1.0.0",
"mcp": {
"servers": [
{
"name": "postgres",
"package": "@modelcontextprotocol/server-postgres",
"registry": "npm",
"transport": "stdio"
}
]
}
}
Server fields
| Field | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
name | Yes | Unique name for this server (used as the key in MCP config) |
package | Yes | Package name to install (e.g., npm package name) |
registry | Yes | Package registry: , , or |