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You said no MCP

682 points · 362 comments · yarapavan

  1. CamilleScholtz · · focus · HN ↗
    I don&#x27;t understand MCP still? What can MCP do that a skill + cli can&#x27;t? I&#x27;ve been using hax (<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;usehax.dev" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;usehax.dev) and haven&#x27;t missed skills at all to be honest.
    1. fnordsensei · · focus · HN ↗
      As a provider, I can add a tool or change instructions on my MCP server, and you&#x27;ll get it on your next connection, sometimes even mid-session.

      With a skill, updates depend on whatever channel delivered it to you. Whichever channel that is, it&#x27;s out of my hands as a provider.

      So, MCP solves the problem of coordinated distribution of updates to a larger subscriber base. Think inside of a company, for example. I don&#x27;t have to go around and tell people to `git pull` their skills folder.

      1. Juvination · · focus · HN ↗

        [dead]

      2. charcircuit · · focus · HN ↗
        How is this different from a skill giving you are a URL to another skill file where you can find an up to date list of everything that is available?
        1. jun_lung · · focus · HN ↗
          Because why should you have to load &quot;here&#x27;s how to update this skill!&quot; information into the context window every time you use it? Would you expect the agent to go to that URL and look for more recent skill files every time you use it? Is this a real question?
          1. charcircuit · · focus · HN ↗
            Versus having an agent read MCP config and fetch the existing tools every time it wants to use the MCP? It&#x27;s duplicate functionality.
            1. newtwilly · · focus · HN ↗
              The agent doesn&#x27;t do that. The harness does the fetching and provides the tool definitions to the agent without the agent having to do anything.
              1. charcircuit · · focus · HN ↗
                Nothing says that agents can&#x27;t read skills, interpret them and fetch stuff. Needing to agent to pass things off to powerful LLMs to interpret doesn&#x27;t have to be done for everything.
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