---
title: "Discussion on \"Why I Reach for Skills Before MCP\" | Hashnode"
description: "Discussion on \"Why I Reach for Skills Before MCP\". When to use Claude Skills vs MCP servers for AI agents. Skills win for CLI wrappers and stateless APIs; MCP for session state and resilience patterns."
url: "https://hashnode.com/posts/why-i-reach-for-skills-before-mcp/695efa87d64e5d0d0b361700"
---

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# [Why I Reach for Skills Before MCP](https://arvindand.hashnode.dev/why-i-reach-for-skills-before-mcp?utm_source=hashnode&utm_medium=feed)

When to use Claude Skills vs MCP servers for AI agents. Skills win for CLI wrappers and stateless APIs; MCP for session state and resilience patterns.

Jan 8 · 4 min read · arvindand.hashnode.dev  
Updated Sep 11  
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-   [#ai](https://hashnode.com/tag/ai)
-   [#mcp](https://hashnode.com/tag/mcp)
-   [#developer-tools](https://hashnode.com/tag/developer-tools)
-   [#agent-skills](https://hashnode.com/tag/agent-skills)
-   [#ai-tools](https://hashnode.com/tag/ai-tools)

## Written by

[Arvind Menon](https://hashnode.com/@arvindand)

@arvindand · Amsterdam, Netherlands

  
[View profile](https://hashnode.com/@arvindand)

Software Architect with 9+ years in Java, Spring Boot, and cloud-native architectures. Building MES software at Rockwell Automation. Also exploring AI tooling and agentic systems.

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