Skills & MCPs
A skill is a set of instructions you give an assistant. Nothing to install, nothing running on your computer beyond the assistant itself.
An MCP server is a separate program that gives an assistant access to something on your computer or in an account: your files, your calendar, your Slack. It runs with whatever access you grant it.
Why the list is short
Each entry has a named maintainer, a current official page or source repository, a permission summary, and a removal path. Being listed here is not a security guarantee. Recheck the source before a workshop.
Start with a need gate. If the ordinary workflow can do the job, do not connect anything. For a trial, use synthetic data and a disposable account, grant the smallest scope, name an owner, and revoke access afterward.
ICIJ: how we use machine learning to find passportsHURIDOCS: the Uwazi metadata extractor
Skills
A skill changes the instructions an assistant follows. It does not prove an answer is correct and it does not add account permissions. Read the source and test it on a reversible, low-risk task.
Discernment Nudge
No terminal neededOfficialAdds a short prompt workflow that asks what to verify before acting on an answer. It changes the assistant's instructions; it does not check facts or connect to data.
What it can accessNo account, file, or network permission of its own. The host assistant still has whatever permissions and data access you give that conversation.
Security note
Use it as a pause, not a fact-check. Read the SKILL.md before installation and remove it if its extra questions distract from low-risk work.
MCP servers
An MCP server can read or change live systems. Connect one only when the base workflow cannot do the job, begin with a test account and read-only access, then review and revoke every permission.
Google Drive MCP Server
No terminal neededOfficialSearches, reads, and can create files in Google Drive through a compatible AI client.
What it can accessOAuth grants the connector the connected user's permitted Drive capabilities. The effective scope can include every file that account can access.
Security note
Google labels Workspace MCP servers Developer Preview. Use a dedicated workshop account or narrowly shared folder, not an account that can see case files.
Google Docs MCP Server
No terminal neededOfficialReads and can draft or edit Google Docs through a compatible AI client.
What it can accessOAuth inherits the connected user's document access and can permit writes.
Security note
Developer Preview. Give access only to a disposable workshop folder and require a person to review every edit before sharing.
Google Sheets MCP Server
No terminal neededOfficialReads and writes spreadsheet values in Google Sheets through a compatible AI client.
What it can accessOAuth inherits access to connected spreadsheets and can allow cell edits.
Security note
Developer Preview. Test on a copied sheet with invented records. Protect formula columns and compare totals before accepting changes.
Google Slides MCP Server
No terminal neededOfficialReads and can edit presentation content in Google Slides.
What it can accessOAuth inherits access to presentations and can allow edits.
Security note
Developer Preview. Use a copied deck with public images. Inspect names, figures, speaker notes, reading order, and image rights before export.
Google Calendar MCP Server
No terminal neededOfficialReads calendars and can create or change events.
What it can accessOAuth can expose event titles, attendees, links, locations, and notes, and can permit writes.
Security note
Developer Preview. Connect a test calendar only. Never let a first trial send invitations or expose protected meeting locations.
Gmail MCP Server
No terminal neededOfficialSearches email and can draft or send messages, depending on granted tools.
What it can accessOAuth can expose message bodies, attachments, contacts, and metadata. Write permission can create drafts or send mail.
Security note
Developer Preview and high impact. Do not connect a mailbox used for source, legal, or personnel correspondence. Start with a new test account and disable sending.
What it can accessOAuth inherits spaces visible to the user and can allow posting.
Security note
Developer Preview. Use a new test space with no real participants. A mistaken post is an external action, not a private draft.
Slack MCP Server
No terminal neededCommunityLegacy reference server for reading and posting in Slack.
What it can accessA Slack bot token can expose channel history and permit posting where the bot is installed.
Security note
The cited reference implementation is archived. Do not install it for a new workshop workflow. Prefer Slack's current official AI integrations or a reviewed vendor connector with channel-level controls.
Figma MCP Server
No terminal neededOfficialProvides design context to AI coding clients and can support workflows that write native Figma content.
What it can accessUses Figma authentication or a local desktop connection and exposes the selected file, frame, or accessible design context.
Security note
Useful to designers and developers, not a general participant need. Expose a copied public design, never a file containing unconsented photos or unpublished campaign details.
Airtable MCP
No terminal neededOfficialReads and changes records and schema in Airtable bases through an AI client.
What it can accessUses Airtable authentication and can be scoped to selected bases and actions. Write tools can modify records or structure.
Security note
Connect only a copied base with synthetic data. Grant the smallest set of scopes and resources, keep schema-changing tools off, and inspect the activity log.
Firecrawl MCP Server
No terminal neededOfficialFetches and extracts public web pages and can perform web search or crawling.
What it can accessSends target URLs and queries to Firecrawl. Depending on configuration, crawling can fetch many linked pages and consume credits.
Security note
URLs can reveal an investigation. Use only public links, set narrow crawl limits, and archive evidence separately. Firecrawl extraction is not a preservation record.
Canva MCP Server
No terminal neededOfficialSearches Canva content and can create, edit, comment on, and export designs through an AI client.
What it can accessPer-user OAuth grants access to the Canva content that user authorises. Available tools can create or modify shared content.
Security note
Use a workshop folder with public assets and require review before export or sharing. Disconnecting the AI client may not be enough; revoke the Canva authorisation too.
Notion MCP Server
Needs a terminalOfficialSearches, reads, creates, and updates pages and databases in a Notion workspace.
What it can accessOAuth gives the AI client the connected user's effective Notion access. The official hosted server supports broad read and write actions.
Security note
Use a restricted workshop member and one test page. Notion warns that the AI can access whatever the authenticated user can access.
MarkItDown MCP Server
Needs a terminalOfficialConverts supported local files and URLs into Markdown text for an AI client.
What it can accessThe local server reads only files or URLs presented to it. Optional plugins can call external services, so local conversion and cloud-enhanced conversion are different modes.
Security note
Install from Microsoft's repository, pin a reviewed version, and leave optional cloud or vision plugins disabled for sensitive files.
DeepL MCP Server
Needs a terminalOfficialTranslates text and documents, rephrases text, and can use DeepL glossaries inside an MCP-compatible assistant.
What it can accessRemote mode uses DeepL sign-in. Local server mode uses a DeepL API key. Both send selected text or documents to DeepL; the surrounding AI client also sees the request and result.
Security note
The connector is available with DeepL accounts, but data handling still depends on the DeepL plan and the AI client. Never use the free translation service for personal or confidential data.
Deepgram MCP Server
Needs a terminalOfficialSends audio to Deepgram for cloud transcription and returns text to the AI client.
What it can accessUses a Deepgram API key and sends the selected audio to Deepgram. The AI client receives the transcript.
Security note
This is cloud transcription. Do not use it for testimony or protected interviews without an approved contract, consent, retention review, and redaction plan. Prefer local Whisper for the sensitive lane.
ImageSorcery MCP Server
Needs a terminalCommunityRuns image operations, including OCR, through a local community MCP server.
What it can accessReads image files and writes outputs in locations allowed by the local MCP client configuration.
Security note
Community code runs with local file access. A registry listing or star count is not a security review. Use a disposable machine or sandbox, pin a reviewed version, and do not point it at a case-file directory.
Brave Search MCP Server
Needs a terminalCommunityLegacy reference server that sends search queries to Brave Search API.
What it can accessUses a Brave API key and sends each search query to Brave.
Security note
The old reference server is archived. Do not make it a workshop dependency. Prefer built-in web search or Brave's current official API integration, and never search using a protected person's exact identity or location.
Browse further yourself
If nothing above fits what you need, these are the places to look next, in the order we would try them ourselves:
- claude.com/plugins
The one to try first. Everything here installs from a web page. No terminal, ever.
- github.com/mcp
Every listing names its real publisher and links to real, readable source code.
- registry.modelcontextprotocol.io
The raw index. Anyone can list a server here; nothing on it has been checked by us, or, by its own account, by anyone else. Read carefully before installing anything you find only here.