Mcp

---
model_tier: medium
name: mcp
description: "Use when working with MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers — their tools, capabilities, and best practices for effective agent workflows."
domain: process
workspaces:
  - agent-config-maintainer
packs:
  - meta
---

# MCP Skill

## When to use

Use this skill when:
- Deciding which MCP tool to use for a task
- Combining multiple MCP tools in a workflow
- Troubleshooting MCP tool errors or unexpected results
- Building commands or skills that reference MCP tools

## Procedure: Use MCP tools

1. **Inspect available MCP servers** — List configured servers (Sentry, Jira, GitHub, Playwright, Context7, Sequential Thinking) and confirm credentials/permissions for the task.
2. **Pick the right tool per task** — Match user intent to the server table below; prefer the most specific tool over generic search.
3. **Chain tools when needed** — Apply the *Combining tools in workflows* patterns; capture intermediate IDs (org slug, project slug, ticket key) before deeper calls.
4. **Verify and handle errors** — Apply *Error handling* and *Permission boundaries*; confirm the result answers the original question before moving on.

### Sentry (`augment-partner-remote-mcp-sentry`)

Error tracking and performance monitoring.

| Tool | Purpose | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| `find_organizations` | Find org slug | First call — needed for all other Sentry tools |
| `find_projects` | Find project slug | When filtering by project |
| `find_teams` | Find team slug/ID | Team-based queries |
| `find_releases` | Recent releases | Check deploy timing, release versions |
| `get_issue_details` | Full issue: stacktrace, tags | Investigating a specific error |
| `get_issue_tag_values` | Distribution by tag | Analyzing who/what is affected |
| `get_trace_details` | Trace overview | Performance investigation |
| `get_event_attachment` | Download attachments | Screenshots, logs on events |
| `search_issues` | List issues by criteria | "Show me unresolved errors" |
| `search_events` | Count/aggregate events | "How many errors today?" |
| `search_issue_events` | Filter events in an issue | "Events from last hour" |
| `analyze_issue_with_seer` | AI root cause analysis | When stacktrace alone isn't enough |

**Key pattern:** Always get org slug first → then use other tools.
**See:** `sentry-integration` skill for investigation workflow.

### Jira (`jira-integration`)

Issue tracking and project management.

| Tool | Purpose | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| `GET /search/jql` | Search with JQL | Find tickets by criteria |
| `GET /issue/{key}` | Read ticket details | Get context for a task |
| `POST /issue` | Create ticket | New bugs, tasks, stories |
| `PUT /issue/{key}` | Update ticket | Change fields, assignee |
| `GET /issue/{key}/transitions` | Available status changes | Before transitioning |
| `POST /issue/{key}/transitions` | Change ticket status | Move to "In Progress", etc. |
| `POST /issue/{key}/comment` | Add comment | Progress updates, analysis |
| `GET /project` | List projects | Find project key |
| `GET /field` | List available fields | Before writing JQL |

**Key pattern:** Check fields (`GET /field`) before writing JQL. Check transitions before changing status.
**See:** `jira-integration` skill for JQL patterns and ADF format.

### GitHub (`github-api`)

Repository, PR, and CI management.

| Tool | Purpose | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| `GET /repos/{o}/{r}/pulls` | List PRs | Find open PRs for branch |
| `POST /repos/{o}/{r}/pulls` | Create PR | Open a new pull request |
| `GET /repos/{o}/{r}/pulls/{n}/files` | PR changed files | Review what changed |
| `GET /repos/{o}/{r}/issues` | List issues/PRs | Search by label, assignee |
| `GET /search/issues` | Search issues/PRs | Complex queries with `q=` |
| `GET /repos/{o}/{r}/actions/runs` | CI runs | Check build status |
| `GET /repos/{o}/{r}/actions/jobs/{id}` | CI job details | Read failure logs |
| `GET /repos/{o}/{r}/commits/{sha}/check-runs` | Check runs | Detailed CI status |
| `GET /repos/{o}/{r}/commits/{sha}/status` | Commit status | Quick pass/fail check |

**Key pattern:** Use `head=org:branch` to filter PRs by branch. Use `q=is:pr` or `q=is:issue` to separate.
**See:** `git-workflow` and `code-review` skills.

### Browser / Playwright (`Playwright`)

Web interaction and testing.

| Tool | Purpose | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| `browser_navigate` | Open URL | Load a page |
| `browser_snapshot` | Accessibility snapshot | Read page content (better than screenshot) |
| `browser_click` | Click element | Interact with UI |
| `browser_type` | Type text | Fill forms |
| `browser_evaluate` | Run JavaScript | Extract data, manipulate DOM |
| `browser_take_screenshot` | Visual capture | Document UI state |
| `browser_network_requests` | Network log | Debug API calls |

**Key pattern:** Use `browser_snapshot` over screenshots — it returns structured data the agent can act on.

### Context7 (`Context_7`)

Library documentation lookup.

| Tool | Purpose | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| `resolve-library-id` | Find library ID | First — before querying docs |
| `query-docs` | Query documentation | Get up-to-date API docs and examples |

**Key pattern:** Always resolve library ID first → then query. Max 3 calls per question.
**Use for:** Laravel, PHP, Livewire, Tailwind, or any library docs.

### Sequential Thinking (`Sequential_thinking`)

Structured problem-solving.

| Tool | Purpose | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| `sequentialthinking` | Step-by-step reasoning | Complex problems, planning, analysis |

**Use for:** Breaking down complex tasks, planning before implementation, multi-step reasoning.

## Best Practices

### Tool selection

| Need | Tool |
|---|---|
| Error investigation | Sentry → `get_issue_details` |
| Ticket context | Jira → `GET /issue/{key}` |
| CI failure | GitHub → `actions/runs` + `actions/jobs/{id}` |
| Library docs | Context7 → `resolve-library-id` + `query-docs` |
| Web scraping | Playwright → `navigate` + `snapshot` |
| Complex planning | Sequential Thinking |

### Combining tools in workflows

```
Bug investigation:
  Jira (ticket context) + Sentry (stacktrace) + codebase-retrieval (code)

Feature planning:
  Jira (requirements) + codebase-retrieval (existing code) + Context7 (library docs)

CI fix:
  GitHub (failure logs) + codebase-retrieval (failing code) + launch-process (run locally)

PR creation:
  GitHub (create PR) + Jira (transition to "In Review")
```

### Error handling

- If an MCP tool returns an error, retry once with corrected parameters
- If org/project slug is unknown, use `find_organizations` / `find_projects` first
- Sentry and Jira tools need the correct org — don't guess, look it up
- GitHub API has rate limits — batch related calls, avoid unnecessary requests

### Permission boundaries

- **Read operations** — always safe, use freely
- **Write operations** — ask user permission first:
  - Creating Jira tickets or changing status
  - Creating GitHub PRs or pushing code
  - Posting comments on issues/PRs

## Related

- **Skill:** `sentry-integration` — Sentry-specific investigation patterns
- **Skill:** `jira-integration` — Jira-specific JQL and ticket management
- **Skill:** `git-workflow` — GitHub PR and branch conventions
- **Skill:** `copilot-config` — GitHub Copilot integration
- **Rule:** `no-commit.md` — permission boundaries for write operations


## Output format

1. MCP server configuration or tool integration code
2. Tool capability mapping for the agent workflow

## Gotcha

- MCP servers are token-expensive — prefer CLI equivalents when available (see `rtk-output-filtering` skill).
- Don't chain 5+ MCP tool calls when a single CLI command could do the same thing.
- MCP server availability varies — always handle connection failures gracefully.
- Sentry and Jira MCP provide unique capabilities — those are worth the token cost.

## Do NOT

- Do NOT call MCP tools without understanding their side effects.
- Do NOT use MCP tools when simpler alternatives exist.

## Auto-trigger keywords

- MCP
- Model Context Protocol
- MCP server
- MCP tools
- agent tools