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Mcp Client

  • 116 installs
  • 805 repo stars
  • Updated January 24, 2026
  • coleam00/second-brain-skills

Connects to any MCP server with progressive disclosure via a Python client, loading tool schemas on demand instead of dumping them into context.

About

Wraps external MCP servers (Zapier, GitHub, filesystem, Sequential Thinking, etc.) as a skill, listing servers and tools and executing tool calls through a bundled Python client. A developer uses it to interact with MCP servers without context bloat.

  • Progressive disclosure loads tool schemas on demand
  • Config resolved from env, references, or project .mcp.json

Mcp Client by the numbers

  • 116 all-time installs (skills.sh)
  • Ranked #3,865 of 16,556 AI & Agent Building skills by installs in the Skillselion catalog
  • Data as of Aug 3, 2026 (Skillselion catalog sync)
npx skills add https://github.com/coleam00/second-brain-skills --skill mcp-client

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Listed on Skillselion
Installs116
repo stars805
Last updatedJanuary 24, 2026
Repositorycoleam00/second-brain-skills

What it does

Connects to any MCP server with progressive disclosure via a Python client, loading tool schemas on demand instead of dumping them into context.

Files

SKILL.mdMarkdownGitHub ↗

Universal MCP Client

Connect to any MCP server with progressive disclosure - load tool schemas on-demand instead of dumping thousands of tokens into context upfront.

Skill Location

This skill is located at: .claude/skills/mcp-client/

Script path: .claude/skills/mcp-client/scripts/mcp_client.py

Configuration

The script looks for config in this order: 1. MCP_CONFIG_PATH env var (custom path) 2. `references/mcp-config.json` (this skill's config - recommended) 3. .mcp.json in project root 4. ~/.claude.json

Your config file: .claude/skills/mcp-client/references/mcp-config.json

Edit this file to add your API keys. The example file (example-mcp-config.json) is kept as a reference template.

If the user hasn't provided their Zapier API key yet, ask them for it.

Running Commands

All commands use the script at .claude/skills/mcp-client/scripts/mcp_client.py:

# List configured servers
python .claude/skills/mcp-client/scripts/mcp_client.py servers

# List tools from a server
python .claude/skills/mcp-client/scripts/mcp_client.py tools <server_name>

# Call a tool
python .claude/skills/mcp-client/scripts/mcp_client.py call <server> <tool> '{"arg": "value"}'

Workflow

1. Check config exists - Run servers command. If error, create .mcp.json 2. List servers - See what MCP servers are configured 3. List tools - Get tool schemas from a specific server 4. Call tool - Execute a tool with arguments

Commands Reference

CommandDescription
serversList all configured MCP servers
tools <server>List tools with full parameter schemas
call <server> <tool> '<json>'Execute a tool with arguments

Example: Zapier

# 1. List servers to confirm Zapier is configured
python .claude/skills/mcp-client/scripts/mcp_client.py servers

# 2. List Zapier tools
python .claude/skills/mcp-client/scripts/mcp_client.py tools zapier

# 3. Call a Zapier tool
python .claude/skills/mcp-client/scripts/mcp_client.py call zapier <tool_name> '{"param": "value"}'

Example: Sequential Thinking

# 1. List tools
python .claude/skills/mcp-client/scripts/mcp_client.py tools sequential-thinking

# 2. Use sequential thinking
python .claude/skills/mcp-client/scripts/mcp_client.py call sequential-thinking sequentialthinking '{"thought": "Breaking down the problem...", "thoughtNumber": 1, "totalThoughts": 5, "nextThoughtNeeded": true}'

Config Format

Config file format (references/mcp-config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "zapier": {
      "url": "https://mcp.zapier.com/api/v1/connect",
      "api_key": "your-api-key"
    },
    "sequential-thinking": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-sequential-thinking"]
    }
  }
}

Transport detection:

  • url + api_key → FastMCP with Bearer auth (Zapier)
  • command + args → stdio (local servers like sequential-thinking)
  • url ending in /sse → SSE transport
  • url ending in /mcp → Streamable HTTP

Error Handling

Errors return JSON:

{"error": "message", "type": "configuration|validation|connection"}
  • configuration - Config file not found. Create .mcp.json
  • validation - Invalid server or tool name
  • connection - Failed to connect to server

Dependencies

pip install mcp fastmcp

References

  • references/example-mcp-config.json - Template config file
  • references/mcp-servers.md - Common server configurations
  • references/python-mcp-sdk.md - Python SDK documentation

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