MCP Integration

This handles MCP server integration for Claude Code plugins, covering all four connection types: stdio for local processes, SSE for OAuth-enabled cloud services, HTTP for REST APIs, and WebSocket for real-time stuff. The skill walks through both configuration approaches (dedicated .mcp.json versus inline in plugin.json) and explains the automatic tool naming scheme that prefixes everything with mcp__plugin_name_server__toolname. Most useful when you're bundling external service access into a plugin and need to understand how authentication flows work, how to use environment variable expansion with CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT, or how to pre-allow specific MCP tools in command frontmatter. The security section on token management and permission scoping is worth reading even if you've used MCP before.

GitHub stars: 340
last updated: May 19, 2026

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Install

$ npx -y skills add tzachbon/smart-ralph --skill 'MCP Integration' --agent claude-code

Installs into .claude/skills of the current project.

Files

MCP Integration for Claude Code Plugins

Overview

Model Context Protocol (MCP) enables Claude Code plugins to integrate with external services and APIs by providing structured tool access. Use MCP integration to expose external service capabilities as tools within Claude Code.

Key capabilities:

Connect to external services (databases, APIs, file systems)
Provide 10+ related tools from a single service
Handle OAuth and complex authentication flows
Bundle MCP servers with plugins for automatic setup

MCP Server Configuration Methods

Plugins can bundle MCP servers in two ways:

Method 1: Dedicated .mcp.json (Recommended)

Create .mcp.json at plugin root:

{
  "database-tools": {
    "command": "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/servers/db-server",
    "args": ["--config", "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/config.json"],
    "env": {
      "DB_URL": "${DB_URL}"
    }
  }
}

Benefits: