37 lines
2.1 KiB
Markdown
37 lines
2.1 KiB
Markdown
# Evolution of Agent Tooling (Tools → MCP → Skills)
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#concept
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## Summary
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Konstantin's three-generation map of how agents get capabilities: **Tools (2022–2024) → MCP (late 2024–2025) → Skills (2025→)**. Each generation trades off developer cost, context consumption, and flexibility.
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## Current Understanding
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| Generation | What it is | Strength | Weakness |
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|---|---|---|---|
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| **Tools** | Function tagged and injected into the model call (LangChain/LlamaIndex) | Direct control | Every tool eats context; you write/adapt each yourself |
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| **MCP** | Locally-deployed server exposing many tools via a standard protocol (Anthropic); marketplaces exist | Ready-made tools, plug-in | Dozens of tools per server → context blowout (>100 = chaos); network-load = security surface; needs a developer |
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| **Skills** | Directory + `SKILL.md` (+ tools + data), two-stage loading | Hundreds without context blowout; author with text in any language; share via git/messenger | No standards yet for data/limits |
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**When to use which:** Skills when tasks are unknown/diverse or tool count is ~5–50; MCP when the agent is narrow, tasks are uniform, and the same small toolset applies every time. The line blurs — Claude Code converts MCP servers *into* skills (file laid down, functions not all injected), erasing most MCP downsides. Konstantin doesn't hate MCP; its problems are largely solved.
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## Evidence
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- Three generations, per-generation problems, skills-vs-MCP decision table, Claude-Code-turns-MCP-into-skills caveat — [[2026-07-14-skills-based-on-git]].
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- Skills as portable markdown folders across Claude/Perplexity/Gemini — [[2026-07-14-gap-between-ai-users-irreversible]].
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## Related Pages
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- Concepts: [[skills-as-memory]], [[harness]], [[context-as-scarce-resource]]
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- Tools: [[claude-code]], [[hermes]]
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- Entity: [[konstantin]]
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## Contradictions / Uncertainty
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- "Everything changes every 6 months" — MCP was just ratified and A2A is already wanted; this map may shift quickly. Status: tentative.
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## Next Questions
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- Where does agent-to-agent (A2A) sit in this progression?
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