Spawn and manage fully-configured opencode CLI sessions. Use when the user wants to launch opencode on a local or remote machine, bootstrap environments with skills from a git repo, set up config-cli auth and vault secrets, or orchestrate opencode agents. Also triggers when the user mentions opendawg-agent, spawning agents, remote opencode, or multi-machine orchestration.

2026-03-044

config-cli

VincentHanxiaoDu/opendawg

Secure key-value vault for managing sensitive credentials (API keys, passwords, tokens) — encrypted at rest with AES-256-CBC

2026-02-234

cron-scheduler

VincentHanxiaoDu/opendawg

AI cron/scheduler skill based on Cronicle — create, manage, and monitor scheduled jobs. Supports cron expressions, interval scheduling, one-time runs, opencode session callbacks, and distributed worker execution. Use when the user mentions scheduling, cron jobs, timed tasks, periodic execution, or agent wake-up.

2026-02-234

tmux-tty

VincentHanxiaoDu/opendawg

Use tmux for ALL operations that need a TTY (interactive CLI tools, REPLs, editors, interactive git, full-screen terminal apps). Each session runs on its own isolated tmux socket so it never interferes with the user's tmux or other sessions. Use when running vim, nano, python REPL, git rebase -i, git add -p, htop, or any command requiring terminal interaction.

2026-02-234

name	mcp-cli
description	Use MCP servers on-demand via the mcp CLI tool - discover tools, resources, and prompts without polluting context with pre-loaded MCP integrations

MCP CLI: On-Demand MCP Server Usage

Use the mcp CLI tool to dynamically discover and invoke MCP server capabilities without pre-configuring them as permanent integrations.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when you need to:

Explore an MCP server's capabilities before deciding to use it
Make one-off calls to an MCP server without permanent integration
Access MCP functionality without polluting the context window
Test or debug MCP servers
Use MCP servers that aren't pre-configured

Prerequisites

The mcp CLI must be installed at .opendawg/bin/mcp (project root). If not present:

# Clone and build (install to project-level .opendawg/bin/)
cd "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}" && git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/f/mcptools.git
OPENDAWG_ROOT="$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null || pwd)"
cd mcptools && CGO_ENABLED=0 go build -o "${OPENDAWG_ROOT}/.opendawg/bin/mcp" ./cmd/mcptools

Always ensure PATH includes the binary:

export PATH="$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null || pwd)/.opendawg/bin:$PATH"

Discovery Workflow

Step 1: Discover Available Tools

mcp tools <server-command>

Examples:

# Filesystem server
mcp tools npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem /path/to/allow

# Memory/knowledge graph server
mcp tools npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-memory

# GitHub server (requires token)
mcp tools docker run -i --rm -e GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server

# HTTP-based server
mcp tools https://example.com/mcp

Step 2: Discover Resources (if supported)

mcp resources <server-command>

Resources are data sources the server exposes (files, database entries, etc.).

Step 3: Discover Prompts (if supported)

mcp prompts <server-command>

Prompts are pre-defined prompt templates the server provides.

Step 4: Get Detailed Info (JSON format)

# For full schema details including parameter types
mcp tools --format json <server-command>
mcp tools --format pretty <server-command>

Making Tool Calls

Basic Syntax

mcp call <tool_name> --params '<json>' <server-command>

Examples

Read a file:

mcp call read_file --params "{\"path\": \"${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/example.txt\"}" \
  npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}"

Write a file:

mcp call write_file --params "{\"path\": \"${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/test.txt\", \"content\": \"Hello world\"}" \
  npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}"

List directory:

mcp call list_directory --params "{\"path\": \"${TMPDIR:-/tmp}\"}" \
  npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}"

Create entities (memory server):

mcp call create_entities --params '{"entities": [{"name": "Project", "entityType": "Software", "observations": ["Uses TypeScript"]}]}' \
  npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-memory

Search (memory server):

mcp call search_nodes --params '{"query": "TypeScript"}' \
  npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-memory

Complex Parameters

For nested objects and arrays, ensure valid JSON:

mcp call edit_file --params "{
  \"path\": \"${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/file.txt\",
  \"edits\": [
    {\"oldText\": \"foo\", \"newText\": \"bar\"},
    {\"oldText\": \"baz\", \"newText\": \"qux\"}
  ]
}" npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}"

Output Formats

# Table (default, human-readable)
mcp call <tool> --params '{}' <server>

# JSON (for parsing)
mcp call <tool> --params '{}' -f json <server>

# Pretty JSON (readable JSON)
mcp call <tool> --params '{}' -f pretty <server>

Reading Resources

# List available resources
mcp resources <server-command>

# Read a specific resource
mcp read-resource <resource-uri> <server-command>

# Alternative syntax
mcp call resource:<resource-uri> <server-command>

Using Prompts

# List available prompts
mcp prompts <server-command>

# Get a prompt (may require arguments)
mcp get-prompt <prompt-name> <server-command>

# With parameters
mcp get-prompt <prompt-name> --params '{"arg": "value"}' <server-command>

Server Aliases (for repeated use)

If using a server frequently during a session:

# Create alias
mcp alias add fs npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem /home/user

# Use alias
mcp tools fs
mcp call read_file --params '{"path": "README.md"}' fs

# List aliases
mcp alias list

# Remove when done
mcp alias remove fs

Aliases are stored in ~/.mcpt/aliases.json.

Authentication

HTTP Basic Auth

mcp tools --auth-user "username:password" https://api.example.com/mcp

Bearer Token

mcp tools --auth-header "Bearer your-token-here" https://api.example.com/mcp

Environment Variables (for Docker-based servers)

mcp tools docker run -i --rm \
  -e GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN="$GITHUB_TOKEN" \
  ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server

Transport Types

Stdio (default for npx/node commands)

mcp tools npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}"

HTTP (auto-detected for http/https URLs)

mcp tools https://example.com/mcp

SSE (Server-Sent Events)

mcp tools http://localhost:3001/sse
# Or explicitly:
mcp tools --transport sse http://localhost:3001

Common MCP Servers

Filesystem

# Allow access to specific directory
mcp tools npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem /path/to/allow

Memory (Knowledge Graph)

mcp tools npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-memory

GitHub

export GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN="your-token"
mcp tools docker run -i --rm -e GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server

Brave Search

export BRAVE_API_KEY="your-key"
mcp tools npx -y @anthropic/mcp-server-brave-search

Puppeteer (Browser Automation)

mcp tools npx -y @anthropic/mcp-server-puppeteer

Best Practices

1. Always Discover First

Before calling tools, run mcp tools to understand what's available and the exact parameter schema.

2. Use JSON Format for Parsing

When you need to process results programmatically:

mcp call <tool> --params '{}' -f json <server> | jq '.field'

3. Validate Parameters

The table output shows parameter signatures. Match them exactly:

param:str = string
param:num = number
param:bool = boolean
param:str[] = array of strings
[param:str] = optional parameter

4. Handle Errors Gracefully

Tool calls may fail. Check exit codes and stderr:

if ! result=$(mcp call tool --params '{}' server 2>&1); then
  echo "Error: $result"
fi

5. Use Aliases for Multi-Step Operations

If making several calls to the same server:

mcp alias add tmp-server npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}"
mcp call list_directory --params "{\"path\": \"${TMPDIR:-/tmp}\"}" tmp-server
mcp call read_file --params "{\"path\": \"${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/file.txt\"}" tmp-server
mcp alias remove tmp-server

6. Restrict Capabilities with Guard

For safety, limit what tools are accessible:

# Only allow read operations
mcp guard --allow 'tools:read_*,list_*' --deny 'tools:write_*,delete_*' \
  npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem /home

Debugging

View Server Logs

mcp tools --server-logs <server-command>

Check Alias Configuration

cat ~/.mcpt/aliases.json

Verbose Output

Use --format pretty for detailed JSON output to debug parameter issues.

Quick Reference

Action	Command
List tools	`mcp tools <server>`
List resources	`mcp resources <server>`
List prompts	`mcp prompts <server>`
Call tool	`mcp call <tool> --params '<json>' <server>`
Read resource	`mcp read-resource <uri> <server>`
Get prompt	`mcp get-prompt <name> <server>`
Add alias	`mcp alias add <name> <server-command>`
Remove alias	`mcp alias remove <name>`
JSON output	Add `-f json` or `-f pretty`

Example: Complete Workflow

# 1. Discover what's available
mcp tools npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem /home/user/project

# 2. Check for resources
mcp resources npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem /home/user/project

# 3. Create alias for convenience
mcp alias add proj npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem /home/user/project

# 4. Explore directory structure
mcp call directory_tree --params '{"path": "/home/user/project"}' proj

# 5. Read specific files
mcp call read_file --params '{"path": "/home/user/project/README.md"}' proj

# 6. Search for patterns
mcp call search_files --params '{"path": "/home/user/project", "pattern": "**/*.ts"}' proj

# 7. Clean up alias
mcp alias remove proj

Troubleshooting

"command not found: mcp"

Ensure PATH is set: export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"

JSON parse errors

Escape special characters properly
Avoid shell expansion issues by using single quotes around JSON
For complex JSON, write to a temp file and use --params "$(cat params.json)"

Server timeout

Some servers take time to start. The mcp CLI waits for initialization automatically.

Permission denied

For filesystem server, ensure the allowed directory path is correct and accessible.