Why OKP is skills-first — and why we chose skills over MCP

[markbang]

Why OKP is skills-first — and why we chose skills over MCP

When we built OKP (Open Knowledge Protocol), we had to decide how AI agents would consume knowledge. Two integration paths were on the table: MCP servers and agent skills. We went skills-first, and here is the reasoning behind that call.

The problem with MCP for knowledge

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is a reasonable tool-transport standard, but as a distribution layer for knowledge it carries real costs:

• Server lifecycle friction — every MCP server needs a process, credentials, config, and a compatible client. For a knowledge source that is heavy: you don't "run" a knowledge base, you read it.
• Discovery is fragmented — there is no canonical place where agents find knowledge servers. Tool directories mix everything together, and trust is unclear.
• Context cost is yours — the model still has to be told what to ask, when to call, and how to interpret the response. The protocol transports bytes; it doesn't teach the agent how to use the knowledge.

Why skills fit knowledge better

A skill is a Markdown instruction file — the agent reads it and learns how to work with a domain:

• Skills teach, not just transport. okp-search starts by reading the domain README, then filters by schema, then follows links between concepts. The workflow is the knowledge.
• Zero infrastructure. Install with npx skills add, run anywhere your agent runs. No server, no token, no process to babysit.
• One artifact, three uses. A SKILL.md is documentation, executable instruction, and searchable content in one file. The same file that teaches your agent is the page search engines index.

What OKP chose

OKP ships two skills — okp-search and okp-import — and nothing else. No MCP server. The protocol itself is open and self-hostable; skills are the only integration surface.

The philosophy in one sentence: the context layer for AI agents should be knowledge you can read, not a service you must run.

Try it

npm install -g @markbangwu/okp
npx skills add https://github.com/talesofai/okp --skill okp-search --agent codex

Questions, pushback, or your own MCP war stories — drop them below.