Relay vs Skillsmith

In-depth architectural comparison of the Relay and Skillsmith MCP servers. Compare execution transports, security boundaries, tool capabilities, quality scores, and ready-to-paste client installation snippets for Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, and VS Code.

Which MCP Server Should You Choose?

Choose Relay when:

• You need dedicated capabilities in the Developer Tools domain.
• You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
• Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).

Explore Relay Details

S

Choose Skillsmith when:

• You need dedicated capabilities in the Developer Tools domain.
• You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
• Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).
• Primary tools included: search, get_skill, install_skill.

Explore Skillsmith Details

Feature & Specification Comparison

Specification	Relay Developer Tools	S Skillsmith Developer Tools
Summary	MCP relay server for Claude Desktop <-> Claude Code communication	MCP server for Claude Code skill discovery, installation, and management.
Category & Scope	Developer Tools	Developer Tools
Quality signal

Tools & Capabilities Breakdown

Ready-to-Paste Client Configurations

Paste either (or both) of these JSON server blocks into your client config file (e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json).

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "relay": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-server-relay"
      ]
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "skillsmith": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@skillsmith/mcp-server"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Related MCP Server Comparisons