Skills vs MCP vs CLIWhen to use what

Skills vs MCP vs CLI: When to Use What

Skills vs MCP vs CLIWhen to use what

The definitive decision framework for Claude Code in 2026. Pick the right tool every time: no guessing, no wasted tokens.

Side-by-side comparison

Green bars mark the winner for each dimension

Decision tree

Three questions. One answer.

When to pick each

Practical signals that guide your choice

• You want Claude to follow a defined process
• Workflow spans multiple steps or files
• You need domain-specific knowledge injected
• Fast iteration: just edit a markdown file
• No server infrastructure required
• Example: infographic-maker, deploy workflows
• Real-time API calls with OAuth or secrets
• Structured tool schema matters to Claude
• Third-party service integration (CRM, billing)
• Multiple agents share the same server
• Protocol-level reliability needed
• Example: Attio CRM, Apollo enrichment
• Single-command data operation
• Unix piping or stream processing
• Token budget is tight: bash is cheapest
• Already installed globally on the machine
• No auth or state needed
• Example: gh, jq, ffmpeg

Skills are maybe a bigger deal than MCP.

Simon Willison, simonwillison.net / Confluent 132K video

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